Tony Verhulst wrote:

Here's another fact: the BRS (ballistic parachute systems) has a 6
year (2170 days) repack cycle. What makes that possible for them,
while personal parachutes are limited to 120 days?


Because the canister is sealed and impervious to moistu
http://brsparachutes.com/TI_techtips.mgi

The soft pack isn't sealed, but has a 5 year repack if it is inside the
airplane. Why would that situation offer more protection to the
parachute than a personal parachute that is kept in a house? Or even in
a glider in a trailer, for that matter?

Does anyone know what criteria was used to set the 120 day cycle? I
suspect it's a "legacy" value, and simply hasn't been rationally
evaluated for decades. I think very few people are motivated enough to
work for changes, as riggers make money from it, it doesn't affect the
manufacturers, and pilots that don't like it just ignore it - their
butt, their bucks. Enforcing it is clearly not important to the FAA,
since any enforcement has been just an "add-on" to what they were really
after.


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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA