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A plane (with BRS parachute) falls at 10-20mph, according to BRS's website. Typically a small plane will weigh about 2000-3000lb. A car in the city will be goi

A plane (with BRS parachute) falls at 10-20mph, according to BRS's website. Typically a small plane will weigh about 2000-3000lb. A car in the city will be going at about 30mph, and will weigh about 4000lb. There are news stories here regularly of cars driving into storefronts. Generally when I hear a story about a Cirrus activating their parachute, it lands on empty space and doesn't do any damage.

tempestn 10y ago
Any reason you couldn't add steering controls to an emergency parachute, just like skydivers use? Not manually pulled, but with some small emergency actuators? Basically you'd just need the ability to pull down corners of the parachute, right?
- cpncrunch 10y ago
  If the engine is still operating, you might be able to steer: https://www.cirruspilots.org/copa/safety_programs/b/pull_early_pull_often/archive/2010/09/26/brs-founder-boris-popov-on-the-cirrus-parachute-system.aspx https://www.cirruspilots.org/copa/safety_programs/b/pull_ear... (although obviously most of the times you would want to use the chute is because the engine has died!)
- alphapapa 10y ago
  Maybe. But if you're making an emergency landing in a populated area, there is generally no safe place to land. Parachute or not, you're probably going to land on or in the middle of something, and injury or property damage is almost certain. Whereas, if my car breaks down on the street...
alphapapa 10y ago
Drop a 3,000 lb aircraft on a roof at 20 mph, and I think it will break through the roof.
- cpncrunch 10y ago
  Maybe not: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_(2014_season)#Piano_Pile-Up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_(2014_season)#Pian... a 1400lb piano dropped from 50ft (40mph at impact) won't break through a roof.
  - alphapapa 10y ago
    Uh, yes it did. Did you read what you cited? > A baby grand piano weighing 1,400 pounds (640 kg) pierced its legs through the roof but was unable to fully break through. I consider the legs breaking through to be "breaking through the roof." Then: > Calling the myth busted, the team loaded another upright piano with enough sand to reach a total weight of 2,600 pounds (1,200 kg), much more than a full-size grand piano, then dropped it from 75 feet (23 m) above the roof. This time, the piano did smash a hole in the roof and landed on the floor. Since we've been talking about a heavier aircraft, anyway, I hardly think this Mythbusters experiment proves anything here. As much as I enjoy watching the show, it's not a scientific study of how roofs are affected by heavy objects falling on them. There are a variety of factors to consider, including design, materials, condition, etc. And finally, even if it didn't pierce the roof in any way, when it slid off the roof, it would land on something, damaging or injuring it. The bottom line is that you don't want aircraft falling on your house.

tempestn 10y ago

Any reason you couldn't add steering controls to an emergency parachute, just like skydivers use? Not manually pulled, but with some small emergency actuators? Basically you'd just need the ability to pull down corners of the parachute, right?

cpncrunch 10y ago
If the engine is still operating, you might be able to steer: https://www.cirruspilots.org/copa/safety_programs/b/pull_early_pull_often/archive/2010/09/26/brs-founder-boris-popov-on-the-cirrus-parachute-system.aspx https://www.cirruspilots.org/copa/safety_programs/b/pull_ear... (although obviously most of the times you would want to use the chute is because the engine has died!)
alphapapa 10y ago
Maybe. But if you're making an emergency landing in a populated area, there is generally no safe place to land. Parachute or not, you're probably going to land on or in the middle of something, and injury or property damage is almost certain. Whereas, if my car breaks down on the street...

alphapapa 10y ago

Drop a 3,000 lb aircraft on a roof at 20 mph, and I think it will break through the roof.

cpncrunch 10y ago
Maybe not: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_(2014_season)#Piano_Pile-Up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_(2014_season)#Pian... a 1400lb piano dropped from 50ft (40mph at impact) won't break through a roof.
- alphapapa 10y ago
  Uh, yes it did. Did you read what you cited? > A baby grand piano weighing 1,400 pounds (640 kg) pierced its legs through the roof but was unable to fully break through. I consider the legs breaking through to be "breaking through the roof." Then: > Calling the myth busted, the team loaded another upright piano with enough sand to reach a total weight of 2,600 pounds (1,200 kg), much more than a full-size grand piano, then dropped it from 75 feet (23 m) above the roof. This time, the piano did smash a hole in the roof and landed on the floor. Since we've been talking about a heavier aircraft, anyway, I hardly think this Mythbusters experiment proves anything here. As much as I enjoy watching the show, it's not a scientific study of how roofs are affected by heavy objects falling on them. There are a variety of factors to consider, including design, materials, condition, etc. And finally, even if it didn't pierce the roof in any way, when it slid off the roof, it would land on something, damaging or injuring it. The bottom line is that you don't want aircraft falling on your house.