All Cessna Piston Singles to be Offered With Ballistic Recovery Parachutes

On Oct 11, 10:24 am, "Darkwing" theducksmail"AT"yahoo.com wrote:

I think pilots tend to poo poo safety innovations way to much. Anything that
makes GA flying safer or at least the perception that GA flying is safer
because of x, y or z is a plus. GA needs all the positive news it can get. I
know that a parachute is no substitute for poor planning but an engine out
right after takeoff in a no win situation or a midair or something similar a
chute might be the only thing that will save your ass.

An engine failure right after takeoff would likely leave too
little altitude for the 'chute to do much good. Got to figure in your
reflexes, too. A midair often tears the airplane to pieces and throws
the occupants out. What good is a BRS there? Assuming the thing stays
together enough, the 'chute itself might be damaged or the pilot
incapacitated.
Cirrus used it because they had to, to get the airplane
certified. It has some nasty spin tendencies if the fuel load gets
imbalanced or if the pilot is incompetent, and the 'chute is the only
way to avoid drilling a big expensive hole in the ground. That's what
I understand, anyway.
Most accidents involve the same old avoidable factors. Engine
failures are most commonly caused by carb ice (fuel injection removes
that risk), then fuel starvation, then oil starvation, then
catastrophic failure. The last two are WAY down the list. CFIT
accidents involve flying into terrain that you didn't see or expect,
often out of control because the pilot flew into weather he wasn't
equipped for. The occasional developing CFIT might be avoided with a
'chute, but to use it the pilot is going to have to admit he screwed
up and he might resist that.
And, of course, a 'chute is useless in the rather common
landing or takeoff accident where control is lost.
It's like anti-skid brakes. People can't drive properly, can't
be bothered or don't want to learn, and let the manufacturer convince
them that the system is indispensable and will save your life. Except
that it just breeds complacency and they drive more and more
aggressively until they finally get the car into a situation that even
the ABS can't save them from, and bang! another totally avoidable
accident. A 'chute will instill a sense of security that might lead
the pilot into stretching his fuel or poking the airplane into some
clouds that might have granite in them. He'd be better off a little
bit scared so that he doesn't do stupid things.
See http://www.4vfr.com/?goto=view_artic...icle_key=29 6
Dan