To all those (of us) tsk-ing players for landing their KSP planes with chutes...

[swjr-swis]

..you (we?) can stop claiming now that this is unrealistic.

https://i.imgur.com/pggUi0u.mp4  (you'll have to click the link to see the video, forum refuses to show it no matter how I link it)

 

[AlamoVampire]

Wonder if thats a hull loss or if it can be repaired and pass an air worthiness inspection… happy the pilot (couldnt see if there was more than just the pilot) was able to walk away after. 
 

085308012022

[swjr-swis]

Do you think he was still actively trying to steer right until touch down?

"No no no, not on the road.... if I can ... just park it .. right ...... THERE!"

 

(Not that I've any recollection of ever frantically trying to steer while my craft was floating down under a fully deployed chute. Nope, not me.)

[kerbiloid]

https://www.stratos07.cz/en

[swjr-swis]

12 minutes ago, kerbiloid said:

https://www.stratos07.cz/en

With all due respect to a very worthy safety device... the website pitch reads uncannily similar to some kerbal part descriptions.

I wonder how many potential customers read this, look at the diagrams, and think "Pfff... I'm a pilot, not an amateur" and pass on something that may one day well save their lives.

[AlamoVampire]

40 minutes ago, swjr-swis said:

Do you think he was still actively trying to steer right until touch down?

"No no no, not on the road.... if I can ... just park it .. right ...... THERE!"

 

(Not that I've any recollection of ever frantically trying to steer while my craft was floating down under a fully deployed chute. Nope, not me.)

Its possible. Given that birds size it may have had enough airflow across the control surfaces to have a limited bit of control on how it was facing just prior to final impact.

100908012022

[Caerfinon]

A good pilot uses all available option in an emergency! 

[swjr-swis]

1 hour ago, Caerfinon said:

A good pilot uses all available option in an emergency! 

Indeed!

In retrospect, I have to imagine that this must've been some kind of control/hydraulic failure, or they would've prefered to glide the plane down to a rolling landing? Or am I -very kerbally- overestimating the glide ratio of that plane type?

[Cydonian Monk]

3 hours ago, AlamoVampire said:

Wonder if thats a hull loss or if it can be repaired and pass an air worthiness inspection… 

This came up in conversation on one of my Discord servers recently, and all of the pilots in the chat said that insurance will claim the entire craft and scrap it regardless of airworthiness. I know that doesn't really answer the question, sorry.

[adsii1970]

2 hours ago, Cydonian Monk said:

This came up in conversation on one of my Discord servers recently, and all of the pilots in the chat said that insurance will claim the entire craft and scrap it regardless of airworthiness. I know that doesn't really answer the question, sorry.

Ahem, as someone who once jumped out of airplanes using chutes, I will say that when a chute deploys, there's always a hard jerk as it fully opens. I imagine that no insurance company in the world would want to continue to insure an aircraft in active fleet or private service that's once deployed a chute while in free fall. I imagine there would be all kinds of potential weakened spots on the air frame - particularly any joints and welds. 

 

[swjr-swis]

24 minutes ago, adsii1970 said:

I imagine that no insurance company in the world would want to continue to insure an aircraft in active fleet or private service that's once deployed a chute while in free fall. I imagine there would be all kinds of potential weakened spots on the air frame - particularly any joints and welds.

Interesting. Any idea if the force of the deploying chute forces are more or less than what naval airplanes are subjected to during catapult launch or cord-arrested landings? I guess military doesn't really do insurance, but there's got to be some similar kind of acceptable risk assessment involved.

Are command/reentry capsules ever reused, after successful recovery? Or are those always single-use?

That website @kerbiloid linked earlier in this thread actually does describe how they try to mitigate risk of damage by, among other things, gradual deployment. I have however no personal experience of any kind with parachutes, no frame of reference here.

[Pixophir]

These systems are standard on some types of small or light aircraft (Cirrus I think), offered as an extra in some others (small Cessnas), but not generally in use. In some countries (Germany for instance) they are required by law for light aircraft (<=450kg).

They have saved a lot of unlucky or unwary pilots who flew in bad weather or didn't watch the fuel gauge, the two most frequent accident causes in light aviation.

Edited August 1, 2022 by Pixophir

[AlamoVampire]

@Cydonian Monk @adsii1970 @swjr-swis

I just did some googling and learned something. What we see in the OP is a Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) deployment. Every time that system is used it is a hull loss event. So there we have it. Fly safe yall.

181008012022

[Gargamel]

On 8/1/2022 at 5:30 PM, Pixophir said:

Cirrus I think

I believe your right, and have been available for some time (Apparently 20+ years).

 

 

[Nuke]

any landing you can walk away from... etc.

small planes have always been death traps. almost no redundancy compared to an airliner. you got one engine and if it fails you dont really have enough altitude to get to an airport or other viable landing area. chute systems are a real life saver in these situations. 

 

[kerbiloid]

Ultimate solution.

Spoiler

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

[Pixophir]

A paraglider is not a rescue or emergency device. Paragliders, motorized or not, are light aircraft or sports equipment, depending on varying local regulations which may be relaxed compared to the bigger machines, or when not used commercially, e.g. for paid tandem flights.

But in most countries paragliders are required to carry an additional  rescue device, called a reserve, which usually is a just a canopy designed for ease of use and quick deployment, but there are also steerable versions.

Example non steerable reserve, the pilot has neatly collected the non-flying main canopy to avoid any interference which might compromise the reserve's functionality and awaits the ground in a relaxed manner. Hopefully the next pub isn't too far away :-)

 

Sink rate is around 4-6m/s (there are different sizes), so one would have to be really unlucky to seriously hurt oneself on touchdown. Though with this version there is no control whatsoever about the exact place.

Edited August 16, 2022 by Pixophir