Making sense of where to aerobat and what to wear

[Fuji Abound]

Another thread provoked my thoughts, although they would have been slightly off topic there.

In England, unlike much of the continent, parachutes are not required for aerobatics. I have always suspected it would be pretty difficult to exit the typical aerobatic aircraft should the need arise. What’s peoples views.

On the other thread some justification was made for aerobating in a particular area because it afforded an airfield and sufficient height before the base of TMA. I am not convinced of the justification for wanting to operate above disused airfields because there would seem to be very very few instances of engine failure while aerobating. I appreciate some types without injected systems are prone to the engine temporarily stopping and I would agree that at least a satisfactory farmers field in the “box” makes sense. What about airspace? A TMA base of 5,500 would seem adequate with the possible exception of spinning?

What other requirements make sense. A line feature is certainly handy.

All of these factors add up to what defines a suitable area in which to aerobat and whether or not to go off wearing parachutes. There may be other factors such as is the area a good one for avoiding too much other passing traffic and what about giving the locals a break from the noise as raised on the other thread. What do we think?

[Lowtimer]

What's "the typical aerobatic aircraft"? Having considered and rehearsed bale-out drills from the Yak-52, Bulldog, T-67M, Chipmunk, Tiger Moth, Cap-10, Stearman, Super Decathlon and Pitts S-2, the only one that strikes me as being in any way less straightforward to get out of is the Decathlon. If you have an open cockpit or a jettisonable / lockable open canopy, and providing you haven't had the wings fold over and bar the way out, then I think you will find your way out if the need arises.

When I was a very raw and young pilot I used to do all sorts of things without a parachute or helmet that I prefer not do now, and I like to think I have become more rather than less wise over the years. While aerobating you have an increased risk of structural failure, control restructions, engine problems (possibly leading to in-flight fire), departure from controlled flight and arguably mid-air collision. None of these risks should put you off aerobatics, they just need to be managed. They are all risks for which you can manage the potential downsides by wearing a parachute and knowing how to use it, which includes thinking about and practising your bale-out drill.
Disused airfields are excellent locations not just because they are potentially suitable emergency landing grounds, but also because they are flat, tend to be uninhabited, and usually provide a variety of handy orientation points (line features etc). They also help you get used to the sights associated with aerobating over airfields, which you will be doing when you start competing.

[Fuji Abound]

"then I think you will find your way out if the need arises."

Yea I know that is the usual thinking. However, you are probably not going to leave the aircraft because the engine quits. So the plane has suffered some sort of catastrophic failure. Maybe structural, maybe limitation of the control movements. If it is limitation of the control movements the aircraft might well be recovered to level flight and a bale out performed. In the other scenarios it seems to me the aircraft may already be at low level in an "unusual" attitude. Practically how likely are you going to be able to exit the aircraft - I just wonder? Has there been any cases of a pilot baling out of a light aircraft after aerobatic failure?

I agree with everything you say about disused air fields. I am just not convinced they are a sufficient requirment to attract some pilots to carry out all their training in one area, causing a local nuisance.

[TheKentishFledgling]

Following on from FA's comments about using a parachute after a catastrophic failure...

If this is the case, and I'm sure that if this happened, we'd all use a chute if we had one, the g force being experience will certainly not make a swift exit from the aeroplane easy.

tKF

[Lowtimer]

There are very,very few examples of structural failure in post-war aerobatics, so the sample size is probably to low to prove anything statistically valid from the numbers. (I will have a look though). But there have been several cases of RAF trainees and instructors bailing out of the likes of Chipmunks and Bulldogs in unrecoverable spins. If they can do it, why can't you? There have also been cases I know of where pilots have baled out of gliders in the UK following collisions.
Engine failures are often a very good reason for bailing out, if you are over water, over mountainous terrain or over solid undercast. SOP in the RAF if to eject, or in non bang seat equipped aeroplane, to bail out, in such circumstances.
There are many, many extremely well documented cases of scared 17 and 18 year olds successfully bailing out of much higher performance aircraft, in many cases burned or ptherwise injured, those aircraft having been mortally crippled, spinning, wings blown off, you name it. Just read any WW2 history. Getting out of a Spitfire, P-51, or spinning wingless B-17 or a Lancaster on fire in a searchlight cone at night has to be harder than jettisoning the canopy on a slow lightplane, releasing the harness and making sure you and the aeroplane go in different directions.
Have you practiced your parachute drill?

[Fuji Abound]

"Engine failures are often a very good reason for bailing out, if you are over water, over mountainous terrain or over solid undercast."

Not my cup of tea for aeros, and I doubt many GA pilots wear parachutes when not doing aeros. Mind you sometimes I have thought it would provide an option of last resort in these circumstances! :D

"But there have been several cases of RAF trainees and instructors bailing out of the likes of Chipmunks and Bulldogs in unrecoverable spins."

Fair point, irrecoverable spins are a good case in point.

"Just read any WW2 history. Getting out of a Spitfire, P-51, or spinning wingless B-17 or a Lancaster on fire in a searchlight cone at night has to be harder than jettisoning the canopy on a slow lightplane, releasing the harness and making sure you and the aeroplane go in different directions."

Yes but height and probably aircraft attitude are on your side.


How many pilots do wear a parachute?

[Send Clowns]

Upside-down is the perfect attitude - gravity assistance! To be honest, you would get out in most attitudes if it is physically possible to open an egress route.

[cosworth211]

The aircraft I fly aero's in (R2160i) I couldn't imagine being able to wear a parachute in, it's a very small cockpit with bucket seats. I therefore try and fly my aero's over either a disused airfield or flat farm land as my only option with EF would be a forced landing. The canopy is jetisonable on this type, but I expect this is to ensure quick exit after a forced landing.

I always fly 3-5000ft to try and minimise noise disturbance, however I will not practice over an area that would be more likely to jeapordise my safety or the safety of those in the ground in the event of a forced landing just to be "less annoying", it is an important issue, but as far as I'm concerned it comes way below safety in the event of engine failure. There is a limited amount of area in most regions where you can successfully complete your HASELL checks.

Line features are important for orienation, aerobatic manouvres in fairly featureless areas could lead to bad orientation, and could lead to difficulty to spin recovery, height judgement etc.

On a selfish note, the noise emitted from most aerobatic aircraft is far lower then that of the average superbike zooming around our streets, but no-one is campaigning to ban them.... :suspect:

[cubflyer]

I know of someone who bailed out of an aerobatic aircraft with a control jam a couple of years ago in France, I think it was a CAP 232.
Surely the jettesonable canopy in the Robin 2160 is just for getting out with a parachute in the case of a similar incident, or structural failure. Being a French designed aerobatic aircraft, surely it is easy to wear a parachute in it. Arent the bucket seats designed so that the seat cushion can be removed and so a parachute worne, thats how it worked in the CAP 10

[cosworth211]

Arent the bucket seats designed so that the seat cushion can be removed and so a parachute worne, thats how it worked in the CAP 10

Seat cushion? Not on this type! Its a plastic moulded seat with about 1/2 inch of padding, although I can only talk about the particular Robin that I have flown.

[Zulu Alpha]

If you want to know whether parachutes save lives then take a look at
http://www.parachuteshop.com/bailout.htm

Seems they do work as long as you decide to use them.

[waldopepper42]

Zulu Alpha,

Ah, but there's the rub... deciding to use them. In the military, an "abandonment height" is calculated before they even start the spinning. This is to be strictly adhered to - no "one more turn it'll come out", just: 3500' (or whatever) OUT!

A simple question: how many pilots (of the amateur category, like me) work this out beforehand?

This could be embarrassing if I'm the only one, but before I had the opportunity to fly with one of the RAF instructors (where the rules were spelled out in the briefing), I pulled on the parachute for aerobatics without really knowing at what stage I would use it.

Thoughts, folks?

[Lowtimer]

Waldo,
I do! It's how I was taught. The abandonment height is only one part of the spinning height calculations, which start with the height of the ground on the relevant altimeter setting, then the abandonment height you are happy with, then the recovery allowance, then the allowance for the deliberate number of turns you intend to spin, then your safety margin. I thought everyone did that calculation as part of a spinning exercise, even if they aren't wearing a parachute they still need a way of working out they are at a suitable height before spinning.

When flying around below a safe abandonment height you still need to be aware of what the abandonment height is so that you don't start dithering about whether to jump or not if the engine catches fire at 900 feet.

Lucky are those with zero-zero seats whose safe abandonment height is "parked at the holding point"!

Cosworth211, if there is no room for a seat-pack type, would one of the slim profile backback types not work? Some of them are really quite compact, like the ones we use in the T-67 - sorry I\'m not sure what make they are offhand, I don\'t fly it often.

[Miserlou]

When I started flying skydivers I quickly discarded the 'chute because it made the shoulder strap rub on my neck. I reasoned that the irritation was more likely to cause me to screw something up than the risk of having to use it.

A month or two later an instructor asked me to reconsider and told me about a video he had seen of a Pilatus which got a static-line student hit the tailplane. Due to the twisting of the fuselage and the tumbling of the aircraft most of the remaining jumpers and the pilot were killed. That it to say, skydivers sitting beside a big, open door, and having the intention (and experience) of jumping were unable to do so!

I chose to wear it 'off the shoulder' thereafter in such a way that it would not fall off but didn't interfere.

For aeros, I wear one if it's there but don't if it ain't. And I wouldn't aerobat anything which I wouldn't aerobat without one.

Incidentally, my bale-out procedure for the Decathlon involves me turning round and grabbing the passenger as I roll out backwards. But who knows how it will actually be?

Final point, if I am wearing a 'chute I always leave the aircraft with it on. That way you only ever undo the aircraft 's harness whilst seated.

Re. area. You have no control whatsoever once you have left the aircraft (which is may be why you left in the first place) os good practice says the least populated area you can find. And line features are always good.

[MLS-12D]

I doubt many GA pilots wear parachutes when not doing aeros. Well I do, anyway.

There have also been cases I know of where pilots have baled out of gliders See "Bailout" (http://www.soaridaho.com/Schreder/Stories/Bailout.htm) for a firsthand account, following a control failure. "Leaps of Faith" (http://www.chutinggallery.com/services/safety/leaps.htm) is also interesting. And there was the famous case in 1999 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/uk/558095.stm), when an ASK-21 lost a wing following a lightning strike: both pilots (one of whom was a very low-time student) parachuted safely (see further AAIB Bulletin No: 12/99 (http://www.pas.rochester.edu/~cline/ASK%20lightning%20strike/ASK%20accident%20report.htm)).

Any pilot who wears a parachute should read Alan Silver's article, "Emergency Bailout Procedures", published in both Soaring and Sport Aerobatics magazines in 1992. If you don't have access to those periodicals, see "Emergency Bailout - Are You Prepared?" (http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/fallschirm-vorbereitet-e.html), by Pete Williams, which summarizes the Silver article. Also worth reading is "Ally in The Sky: Your Pilot's Emergency Parachute" (http://www.chutinggallery.com/services/safety/ally.htm), by Dan Tarasievich.

I hope that you will take the time to explore these resources. But if you can't be bothered(!), at least take a minute to consider the following extract from "Bailout", referred to above:Only a few days before the last flight I'd been complaining about the absurdity of paying a thousand dollars for a cushion to put behind me so I could reach the rudder pedals. I certainly had never expected to use it and was sure l couldn't have gotten out of a sailplane in flight anyway. It was difficult enough getting out on the ground.

As everyone knows, in an emergency you usually can do whatever you have to. My parachute harness straps happened to be snug, not because I had considered this to be important, but because they got in the way of the ship's harness when they weren't. And I didn't know for sure where the D-ring was. Yet that chute rewarded me with the most beautiful sound I ever expected to hear - a little "pop" as it opened. There was no shock, no jolt; it just picked me up and slowed me down. These days I hate leaving home without it. The hell with my American Express Card.

[LOMCEVAK]

I think that wearing a parachute falls into the "keep your options open" category. It can never do any harm (although I bet this comment elicits a reply that will attempt to refute it!).

When I first started flying a certain large piston type (P-51) and displaying it, I did not wear a parachute because the owner did not leave one in that particular airframe. On my fifth sortie in this machine, I suffered a dropped valve rod and a considerable loss of power. Luckily, I was close enough to home plate to land without further damage (albeit on a runway that we had declared unsuitable for a normal landing with the prevailing wind, but that is another story). After the engine change, I always wore a parachute, even though I had been too low to bail out when the aforementioned engine failure occurred; you never know what will happen next. In fact, the next incident I had in it was ruder tab buzz (which coupled into rudder flutter through the anti-balance tab mechanism) on the Vne dive during an airtest. I was close to losing the rudder and could have had to bail out. Luckily, again I landed safely but felt much more comfortable knowing that bail out was an option.

"What ifing" is one of the great airmanship tools in avaiation, and I am sure that we can all think of "what ifs" when bail out is the best, and perhaps only, option.

[Lowtimer]

Miserlou,
Good point about always getting out of the aeroplane before you unbuckle the parachute. As you may know, the RAF lost an instructor that way, through the ingrained habit of releasing BOTH harnesses before departing from the aeroplane. Very sad. Ever since I heard about that accident I have always got out of the aeroplane first, and only released the chute with both feet on terra firma.

[yakker]

Should any of you now consider a parachute a good idea, we have two 'chutes for sale. They are back chutes bought from the RAF when we purchased the Slingsby. If you are interested pm me.

[Fuji Abound]

Yakker - I have sent you a PM