The chute is a major first for a standard production aircraft! A chute which will lower the aircraft and its passengers to the ground.
The possibilities are huge and I for one would love to see the chute as standard fit in other SEP aircraft.
For me there are two issues! Without doubt the security of having a chute will lure pilots into conditions they would not normally venture into.
As stated I would not be comfortable flying cross country at night in a single piston.
Flying a Cirrus would encourage me to fly at night etc.
The second issue is when to use it? I feel there could be a complete course on that fact alone.
Everyone here has presumed zero wind conditions and a vertical descent.
Many times in the past I have flown singles in 30 to 50 kt winds.
Pulling the chute in those situations will not only mean a high descent rate but the possibility of slamming hard into an object in the horizontal mode.
We have all seen the effects of a 30 mph (25kt) car crash.
Yet for the flying aircraft wind is the saviour as into wind landings reduce the ground speed to sometimes very low speeds.
So I feel reading the comments here that there is a mass of confusion and lack of direction on when and when not to pull the chute and no or little manuafacture direction or even authority direction on the matter.
The whole approach to the chute comes over as wishy washy and amateurish rather than a properly researched and directed SOP
It seems to be left to individual opinion which is not good enough on such a major development which goes away from traditional training and procedures.
Pace
Last edited by Pace; 14th Oct 2012 at 09:25.