Automatic Parachutes

I was looking at my new-to-me glider on Saturday and noticed a 1" hole
just over the pilot's left shoulder with a red stripe painted above
it. See http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/grosse-piloten-e.html for a
picture of the hole.

We stood around and pondered what the hole was for. No one had much
of an idea. The manual was no help. I wrote to DG and they said it
was for the static line of an automatic parachute, which DG said are
very popular in Germany.

My question is, why aren't automatic parachutes popular in other
countries? I can understand the advantages. What are the
disadvantages (besides getting out of your glider when back on the
ground after a long flight and forgetting to unbuckle!)?

Also, how long is the static line?

Thanks, John DeRosa

Hi John,

don´t know much more about the downsides (you named the only one I know
already).
I have one with a "back-up" manual release, but use the automatic release
everytime (in fact, I can hardly remember what time I removed my chutethe
last time form the cockpit). The static line on mine is about 7 meters
(afaik) or about 20 ft.

Many happy landings,
Markus

John DeRosa Sky Soaring Chicago IL schrieb in Nachricht ...
I was looking at my new-to-me glider on Saturday and noticed a 1" hole
just over the pilot's left shoulder with a red stripe painted above
it. See http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/grosse-piloten-e.html for a
picture of the hole.

We stood around and pondered what the hole was for. No one had much
of an idea. The manual was no help. I wrote to DG and they said it
was for the static line of an automatic parachute, which DG said are
very popular in Germany.

My question is, why aren't automatic parachutes popular in other
countries? I can understand the advantages. What are the
disadvantages (besides getting out of your glider when back on the
ground after a long flight and forgetting to unbuckle!)?

Also, how long is the static line?

Thanks, John DeRosa

(John DeRosa Sky Soaring Chicago IL) wrote in message . com...
I was looking at my new-to-me glider on Saturday and noticed a 1" hole
just over the pilot's left shoulder with a red stripe painted above
it. See http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/grosse-piloten-e.html for a
picture of the hole.

We stood around and pondered what the hole was for. No one had much
of an idea. The manual was no help. I wrote to DG and they said it
was for the static line of an automatic parachute, which DG said are
very popular in Germany.

My question is, why aren't automatic parachutes popular in other
countries? I can understand the advantages. What are the
disadvantages (besides getting out of your glider when back on the
ground after a long flight and forgetting to unbuckle!)?

Also, how long is the static line?

Thanks, John DeRosa

John,

the only disadvantage may be if you had to bail out at extreme
altitudes or after your glider suffered a structural overload in a
cloud. In either case, you would not be able to free-fall to lower
(=breathable) altitudes. The prospect of being sucked up into a CuNimb
and to experience first hand what it is like in there, doesn't appeal
to me. Other than that, I think there is no real disadvantage for the
static-line chute. I have seen two guys bail out of a Blechnik and
they were glad that they didn't have to fiddle around with the
rip-chord.

The line should be somewhat longer than the fuselage, otherwise the
chute begins to unfurl next to the tail and could get caught.

Uli Neumann
Libelle 'GM'

Todd Pattist wrote:


Other disadvantages a

1) the pilot who climbs out without releasing the static or
removing the chute and deploys his chute on the ground;

2) the pilot who bails out under emergency stress conditions
and disconnects the chute before getting out of the
aircraft, just like every other time he has gotten out of
the aircraft.

Has this ever happened to a glider pilot?
--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

Eric Greenwell wrote:


Todd Pattist wrote:


Other disadvantages a

1) the pilot who climbs out without releasing the static or
removing the chute and deploys his chute on the ground;

2) the pilot who bails out under emergency stress conditions
and disconnects the chute before getting out of the
aircraft, just like every other time he has gotten out of
the aircraft.


Has this ever happened to a glider pilot?

Do chutes set up this way also have a manual rip cord?

Some have a manual back up.

With a 7 metre long static line youd have to be pretty dumb to keep walking
with the static line tugging at you.!

Ian

"Shawn Curry" wrote in message
...
Eric Greenwell wrote:


Todd Pattist wrote:


Other disadvantages a

1) the pilot who climbs out without releasing the static or
removing the chute and deploys his chute on the ground;

2) the pilot who bails out under emergency stress conditions
and disconnects the chute before getting out of the
aircraft, just like every other time he has gotten out of
the aircraft.


Has this ever happened to a glider pilot?

Do chutes set up this way also have a manual rip cord?

This one I don't know about. In the U.S. it's pretty
common
wisdom that it's worthwhile practicing the egress with
a
chute, instead of always unbuckling the chute and leaving
it
in the aircraft. I don't know if unbuckling under
emergency
stress is a real concern. I think practicing egress
while
wearing the chute *is* a good idea, as it's harder
than you
think.

Our ex-CFI nearly baled out of an open cirrus having
removed his straps AND parachute. Fortunately (or unfortunately
depending on whether you liked him or not) he realised
when he was only half way out and put it back on before
jumping.
The local newspaper report said:
'Club members watched in horror as his parachute opened'

Jon Meyer wrote:
This one I don't know about. In the U.S. it's pretty
common
wisdom that it's worthwhile practicing the egress with
a
chute, instead of always unbuckling the chute and leaving
it
in the aircraft. I don't know if unbuckling under
emergency
stress is a real concern. I think practicing egress
while
wearing the chute *is* a good idea, as it's harder
than you
think.


Our ex-CFI nearly baled out of an open cirrus having
removed his straps AND parachute. Fortunately (or unfortunately
depending on whether you liked him or not) he realised
when he was only half way out and put it back on before
jumping.
The local newspaper report said:
'Club members watched in horror as his parachute opened'

Sounds like an interesting story the did he routinely remove the
parachute before getting out of the glider after a normal flight, and
what was the situation that allowed him so much time to do things right,
and would the clubs members have been equally horrified if the parachute
didn't open?

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

Todd Pattist writes:

This one I don't know about. In the U.S. it's pretty common wisdom
that it's worthwhile practicing the egress with a chute, instead of
always unbuckling the chute and leaving it in the aircraft. I don't
know if unbuckling under emergency stress is a real concern. I
think practicing egress while wearing the chute *is* a good idea, as
it's harder than you think.

Years ago I was talking to the crew cheif for Ferrari, and he stated
that they have a `pain of death' rule that you NEVER get into a car
without doing up the belts. The reason for this is to get the drivers
trained so they can undo the harness without even having to think
about it, let alone look for the buckle etc.

A policy to always get out with the chute on would be a good one IMO.
I seem to remeber reading a crash report where the pilot was found
straped in, with the chute undone.

--
Paul Repacholi 1 Crescent Rd.,
+61 (08) 9257-1001 Kalamunda.
West Australia 6076
comp.os.vms,- The Older, Grumpier Slashdot
Raw, Cooked or Well-done, it's all half baked.
EPIC, The Architecture of the future, always has been, always will be.

Todd,
The line is, as you said, stored in the chute (at least the part which you
don´t need). You just pull out how much you need, or stow it away if to much
hangs out. I´m flying unlimited aerobatics and ANYTHING loose in the cockpit
is very distrating, but I´ve never had an issue with the static line so far
(I´m doning my chute when standing next to the cockpit and there is at least
5 ft of line hanging out)!

Happy landings,
Markus


Todd Pattist schrieb in Nachricht
...
Paul Repacholi wrote:

A policy to always get out with the chute on would be a good one IMO.

So is this easy to do with the static line option? I'm not
familiar with the static line setup. I see posts saying
that the line is "7 meters" long, but I presume it's at
least partially stored in the chute, as that's a lot of line
to be floating around loose or stuffed into a corner of a
cockpit. Is there enough slack to allow regular practice
with the chute on, or do you have to uncouple the static to
practice?
Todd Pattist - "WH" Ventus C
(Remove DONTSPAMME from address to email reply.)