4 ms·

Helicopters can auto-rotate if you lose power, I'd be interested to see what it's like to deadstick land one of these. I guess that's what the whole-aircraft ba

Helicopters can auto-rotate if you lose power, I'd be interested to see what it's like to deadstick land one of these. I guess that's what the whole-aircraft ballistic parachute system is for? IIRC in other airframes if you deploy that it's basically a write off.

sitzkrieg 3y ago
the dead sticking result is probably measured by meters below grass
- kibwen 3y ago
  The good news is that, at 343 pounds when empty, they won't need to dig too deep to recover your body.
pests 3y ago
They have parachutes for airplanes. edit: I didn't read the end of the comment that mentioned the whole-airplane system already, apologies.
- jcgrillo 3y ago
  Right, but if you deploy the parachute you can kiss your airplane goodbye. It's totalled at that point and will never fly again. So in this case that's a $190k decision. Why not instead just fly an airplane (or helicopter) that is good at being an aircraft? If your budget is $190k you have some incredible options available.
  - pests 3y ago
    I mean, people buy airplanes AND an airplane parachute already - there's a reason for it, even if it just means a bigger chance of personal survival.
    - jcgrillo 3y ago
      Right, but (at least in normal aircraft) an engine-out situation doesn't (usually) immediately mean "pull the chute right now or we'll die". Instead the chute a last resort where the the alternative is unpleasant enough that you're willing to trade your aircraft to avoid it (e.g. you're staring down a situation where the aircraft will be destroyed anyway--think going down in trees, mountain cliffs, buildings, water, ...). In other words, in a normal aircraft you still have options when you lose power.
      - JumpCrisscross 3y ago
        Cirrus makes great planes on their own merits, before considering the parachute.
  - bee_rider 3y ago
    I thought the point of this thing is you don’t need a license to fly it. I guess it makes a good gift for a rich parent if you want to get that inheritance a little quicker?
  - gexla 3y ago
    Not necessarily? Here's a Youtube video of the parachute system in action. Seems like the aircraft could survive depending on where it lands? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcsutISR6os https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcsutISR6os
    - jcgrillo 3y ago
      That looks like it was pretty easy on the machine, but they started in hover and used the engines to slow descent at the end. I'd be interested to see what happens when the chute opens at speed, and they don't fire up the engines to dull the final impact.
0_____0 3y ago
Autorotation depends on rotor inertia and rotor pitch control. These companies don't do pitch control because if they could, they'd build a helicopter or an Osprey analog, and fixed pitch rotors must be low inertia to slew thrust quickly. So no autorotation.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

sitzkrieg 3y ago

the dead sticking result is probably measured by meters below grass

kibwen 3y ago
The good news is that, at 343 pounds when empty, they won't need to dig too deep to recover your body.

pests 3y ago

They have parachutes for airplanes. edit: I didn't read the end of the comment that mentioned the whole-airplane system already, apologies.

jcgrillo 3y ago
Right, but if you deploy the parachute you can kiss your airplane goodbye. It's totalled at that point and will never fly again. So in this case that's a $190k decision. Why not instead just fly an airplane (or helicopter) that is good at being an aircraft? If your budget is $190k you have some incredible options available.
- pests 3y ago
  I mean, people buy airplanes AND an airplane parachute already - there's a reason for it, even if it just means a bigger chance of personal survival.
  - jcgrillo 3y ago
    Right, but (at least in normal aircraft) an engine-out situation doesn't (usually) immediately mean "pull the chute right now or we'll die". Instead the chute a last resort where the the alternative is unpleasant enough that you're willing to trade your aircraft to avoid it (e.g. you're staring down a situation where the aircraft will be destroyed anyway--think going down in trees, mountain cliffs, buildings, water, ...). In other words, in a normal aircraft you still have options when you lose power.
    - JumpCrisscross 3y ago
      Cirrus makes great planes on their own merits, before considering the parachute.
- bee_rider 3y ago
  I thought the point of this thing is you don’t need a license to fly it. I guess it makes a good gift for a rich parent if you want to get that inheritance a little quicker?
- gexla 3y ago
  Not necessarily? Here's a Youtube video of the parachute system in action. Seems like the aircraft could survive depending on where it lands? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcsutISR6os https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcsutISR6os
  - jcgrillo 3y ago
    That looks like it was pretty easy on the machine, but they started in hover and used the engines to slow descent at the end. I'd be interested to see what happens when the chute opens at speed, and they don't fire up the engines to dull the final impact.

0_____0 3y ago

Autorotation depends on rotor inertia and rotor pitch control. These companies don't do pitch control because if they could, they'd build a helicopter or an Osprey analog, and fixed pitch rotors must be low inertia to slew thrust quickly. So no autorotation.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]