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They're required when performing aerobatics, or if you plan to open the door in flight. (e.g. pilots of skydiving planes need to wear one, even though they pla
by dpifke 5y ago
They're required when performing aerobatics, or if you plan to open the door in flight. (e.g. pilots of skydiving planes need to wear one, even though they plan to land with the plane)
But bail-out rigs are much smaller than normal skydiving rigs; the latter would be uncomfortable to wear while operating the plane. A bail-out rig is thinner, shaped more like a seat cushion, and contains only a single parachute, often a non-steerable round (which can reliably open much lower).
Example of typical bail-out rig: https://www.summitparachutesystems.com/pilot-emergency-back-type https://www.summitparachutesystems.com/pilot-emergency-back-...
- KennyBlanken 5y ago> (e.g. pilots of skydiving planes need to wear one, even though they plan to land with the plane) This is not true. I've watched numerous youtube videos of pilots flying skydivers and I've never seen them wearing a parachute. Flight Chops, for example. The pilot in question in the videos was chief instructor for a flight safety training company.
- dpifke 5y agoI thought this was required by the FAA advisory circular governing parachute operations (https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC_105-2E.pdf https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/... - PDF), but after just looking, I now think it was part of the supplemental type certificate (https://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/design_approvals/stc/ https://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/design_approvals/stc/) or 337 approval for the door modifications on the planes at the drop zone where I used to work. Thus, it probably depends on the aircraft, and possibly the process by which the owner got FAA approval to modify the door.
- benlm 5y agoI've been a skydiver for many years and as far as I know the FAA _does_ require the pilot to wear a bail out rig. Most skydiving pilots I know do wear them, but I have come across some pilots not wearing them in flight (even though their bail out rig was in the plane next to them).
- malexw 5y agoFlight Chops is based in Canada, so anytime he's flying up here he'll fall under Transport Canada and Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs). There are no legal requirements in Canada for pilots to wear parachutes.