Ballistic Recovery System (Parachute)

[gcm52]

For those who are using parachutes either in a sailplane or during aerobatics, did you get training doing parachute jumps? I am wondering how it would go with your very first jump being out of an airplane in an emergency.

[Sonex1517]

Funny, I was going to ask a similar question...

[Bryan Cotton]

I have never jumped out of an airplane that wasn't parked. When I sat in the S2A for the first time, with a chute on, it seemed very tight. I asked the instructor how I would get out if we actually broke the thing. He said we would be motivated.

I have had training for ditching. There the big lesson was muscle memory- open the window or door first, get a reference to the exit with one hand, release the seatbelt with the other, and swim out. It makes sense, if you fly acro, to dry run the steps of canopy release, seatbelt release, exit, and pull. As far as being willing to get out, I think if you really break it you will be motivated.

Years ago I was towing, and a former club member showed up all shaken, scratched and bloody. His motorglider had an in-flight failure and he figured it out! I don't think he was a skydiver and he was no spring chicken either.

Edit:
NTSB ID NYC99L102
5/1/99

[Sonerai13]

There the big lesson was muscle memory- open the window or door first, get a reference to the exit with one hand, release the seatbelt with the other, and swim out. It makes sense, if you fly acro, to dry run the steps of canopy release, seatbelt release, exit, and pull. As far as being willing to get out, I think if you really break it you will be motivated.

This is spot-on. Many years ago, in a former life, I owned a Pitts Special and did a lot of acro. I was taught by instructors and experienced acro pilots to always exit the airplane in exactly the same manner, WITH MY CHUTE ON. Some acro pilots of the day tended to leave their chutes in the airplane and climb in and buckle the chute harness and then the airplane harness. My mentors explained to me that, in an emergency when acting as fast as possible, it was a very real possibility that such pilots would just unbuckle EVERYTHING and jump out, just like they did every time they exited the airplane on the ground. That would NOT be good! So I always put the chute on and then climbed into the airplane, and would climb out with my chute on and then undo the harness once I was outside the airplane and standing on the ground. Words to live by.

[NWade]

For those who are using parachutes either in a sailplane or during aerobatics, did you get training doing parachute jumps? I am wondering how it would go with your very first jump being out of an airplane in an emergency.

I went and took a Tandem Skydive jump once, partly for fun and partly to get a sense of what it would be like if I ever bailed-out. But otherwise, no formal training.

However, as others have alluded-to, I practice a very strict sequence of putting on the 'chute outside the aircraft, snugging it all up, and then getting in and doing my belts. And every couple of landings - once I am at a stop and know that I'm not blocking anyone else landing - I practice an emergency egress:

1. I get the canopy unlatched/ready to open. Then I put one hand** on the canopy jettison handle and callout "Canopy!" (but don't actually jettison it)
2. I swing open the canopy and try to quickly undo my belts while saying "Belts!"
3. I push up out of the seat and/or roll out over the cockpit rail while saying "Butt!"
4. I reach for (but am careful not to pull on) the D-ring/ripcord after I'm out, just to reaffirm the arm-movement required to find it.

**Given numerous stories & studies of people being hit in the head by the canopy or other objects, I block my face with one arm while simulating the jettison with the other arm. I grab my forehead with my hand and point my elbow at the panel, so my forearm becomes a "ramp" in case the front of the canopy slides back towards my face. I figure I can land with a broken arm but I can't bail-out or deploy my 'chute if I'm unconscious!

--Noel

[fastj22]

For those who are using parachutes either in a sailplane or during aerobatics, did you get training doing parachute jumps? I am wondering how it would go with your very first jump being out of an airplane in an emergency.

I actually did do 18 skydives when I was young, 30 years ago. 12 free falls. Back before they did tandem jumps. I have pulled the rip cord while free falling and tumbling. I have landed under chute and know how to do a landing fall. But....
I don't think you need any training to make an emergency jump except how to pull the rip cord and how to wear the chute. Loose straps mean crushed nuts. So what if you break your leg on landing. You survived.

[avee8r]

Many More years ago I bet, in a former life, I also owned a Pitts S-1 and did a lot of acro. I lived by that same advice. There is a valuable lessons from studying accidents. A prominent competitor that perished tragically back in the day, because he flew cross country with his parachute harness so loose or even released, I forget which, that it came off when he had to use it enroute home from a contest.
Buckle Up Snugly!
Happy Landings
John
N50NX

[gcm52]

My concern with taking parachute training would be that I would end up with another costly hobby. I used to fly parachute jumpers but I never did a jump myself.

[vigilant104]

I don't think you need any training to make an emergency jump except how to pull the rip cord and how to wear the chute.

That's true--once you are out and under the canopy, Newton is doing most of the driving. The USAF spends minimal time in training pilots in parachute landing falls (PLFs)--they really don't want to break a pilot trainee, so it's not like Army Airborne training. But the main value of experiencing it is so the person will not hesitate when it is time to go. But, as you say, that's probably not a problem in a plane that has suffered an inflight catastrophe. Under a typical round 'chute, the impact itself is about like jumping off the roof of a house--and most of us have done that (maybe a few decades ago--when Mom wasn't looking)

[fastj22]

On one of my 18 jumps, I got sloppy with tightening up the leg straps because they just were uncomfortable when fully cinched up. Somehow it passed the buddy check as we entered the jump plane. When I found myself under canopy, I was seeing stars. Total wedgie and the rig was so high on my chest, I could barely grab the toggles. Felt like I would fall out of the harness.
So now, when I strap on the chute, I really cinch up the straps and locate my package appropriately. Just in case. A well fitting parachute is the most uncomfortable thing you can wear until you are hanging from it.