Andrew Wood wrote:
I did once see an open cirrus undershoot using the
tail parachute. The pilot was using the tail parachute
for the first time. He found the tail chute opened
fine, but would not jettison. I'm told the tail chute
release mechanism is prone to jam if the approach speed
is high.



I think this is unlikely, but poor packing can cause problems. The heavy
metal fittings must be inside the tailcone, not the fuselage - you can
check this once assembled by pushing the rudder to the right and looking
in the gap. If the fitting is hard against the slot in the tailcone the
chute can fail to deploy properly; I found this out the hard way, but no
damage done. It's probably worth trying out packing and deployment on
the ground a few times. If the tailcone falls away cleanly, the same
packing method should work in flight.