5 ms·

Well you wouldn’t pull the chute. The plane has lift when it has forward motion at a non stalling angle of attack. It would become a glider until reaching stall

Well you wouldn’t pull the chute. The plane has lift when it has forward motion at a non stalling angle of attack. It would become a glider until reaching stall speed

tialaramex 5y ago
No, you should probably pull the chute. Yes you're gliding right now, but whilst that's better than just falling uncontrolled from the sky it's no guarantee you'll walk away. Now if you're gliding... right towards a perfectly nice runway you were already lined up on then CAPS is likely the wrong call, not least because you may already be too low. But if you're just in the middle of nowhere then CAPS is much safer than hoping that's just a big empty grassy meadow you see ahead and doesn't have a thin, wheel-snagging ditch, or a barbed wire fence, or a dozen other obstacles that you wouldn't see until it's too late. Even for a water landing, if you have never practised there are a lot of ways for putting a conventional plane down in the water to go badly, including flipping or breaking up the plane, whereas CAPS should just plonk you in the water, relatively gently, right side up, not great news, but very survivable.
- jrockway 5y ago
  Here's an analysis of the CAPS system's safety record: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT58pzY41wA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT58pzY41wA (contains some good footage of an SR22 parachuting into the ocean, and into the ground). This is a good overview on the survivability of water landings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LwGYBBhTss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LwGYBBhTss. I haven't watched the video recently but I think even a 172 that cartwheels after landing has a pretty good survivability rate, something like 90%. Parachute is a nice to have, of course.
  - tialaramex 5y ago
    Paul Bertorelli is a lot of fun, I have seen those videos a while back. I enjoy his "cheap pilot bastard" attitude to things even if maybe I don't agree with it.

Well you wouldn’t pull the chute. The plane has lift when it has forward motion at a non stalling angle of attack. It would become a glider until reaching stall speed

tialaramex 5y ago

No, you should probably pull the chute. Yes you're gliding right now, but whilst that's better than just falling uncontrolled from the sky it's no guarantee you'll walk away. Now if you're gliding... right towards a perfectly nice runway you were already lined up on then CAPS is likely the wrong call, not least because you may already be too low. But if you're just in the middle of nowhere then CAPS is much safer than hoping that's just a big empty grassy meadow you see ahead and doesn't have a thin, wheel-snagging ditch, or a barbed wire fence, or a dozen other obstacles that you wouldn't see until it's too late. Even for a water landing, if you have never practised there are a lot of ways for putting a conventional plane down in the water to go badly, including flipping or breaking up the plane, whereas CAPS should just plonk you in the water, relatively gently, right side up, not great news, but very survivable.

jrockway 5y ago
Here's an analysis of the CAPS system's safety record: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT58pzY41wA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT58pzY41wA (contains some good footage of an SR22 parachuting into the ocean, and into the ground). This is a good overview on the survivability of water landings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LwGYBBhTss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LwGYBBhTss. I haven't watched the video recently but I think even a 172 that cartwheels after landing has a pretty good survivability rate, something like 90%. Parachute is a nice to have, of course.
- tialaramex 5y ago
  Paul Bertorelli is a lot of fun, I have seen those videos a while back. I enjoy his "cheap pilot bastard" attitude to things even if maybe I don't agree with it.