United Aviate academy, Cirrus CAPS deployment

MikeD

MikeD

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Happened yesterday evening, Sr20 N619AV, ELP-GYR. Ran into some Wx west of the Galiuro mountains, possible icing issues followed. Deployed the chute west of Basset Peak and luckily landed west of the mountains in the mostly flat terrain, southeast of San Manuel. Pilot reportedly uninjured. Rescued by Pinal County Air 2, closer than us to the scene and was able to render aid.
 
MikeD said:
Happened yesterday evening, Sr20 N619AV, ELP-GYR. Ran into some Wx west of the Galiuro mountains, possible icing issues followed. Deployed the chute west of Basset Peak and luckily landed west of the mountains in the mostly flat terrain, southeast of San Manuel. Pilot reportedly uninjured. Rescued by Pinal County Air 2, closer than us to the scene and was able to render aid.
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Parachutes are a good thing. That's pretty cool.
 
CAPS isn't great for water landings. The gear will push through the water without yielding, then the fuselage & wings hit with a sudden stop. More than one broken back from the compression forces. Potentially better than gliding into water, but not something that changes the risk profile for myself. Honestly I'd rather swim away from a sinking airplane with a cut up face than a broken back, and have briefed that I won't pull for an engine failure if a water "landing" would result.

Murdoughnut said:
Yeah, for all the grief people give them, it’s an awesome technology that makes a piston SE platform suitable for night over terrain and over water ops.
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Murdoughnut said:
Yeah, for all the grief people give them, it’s an awesome technology that makes a piston SE platform suitable for night over terrain and over water ops.
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If I was king for a day, and had the money, I'd try to get a CAPS system or whatever, it's pretty cool stuff.
MikeD said:
Just lucky the mountains were cleared and managed to parachute down into the flats. If it was a landing on the side of the Gailuros and then tumbling down the steep cliffs. Once the chute is pulled, youre just along for the ride.
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I reckon that'd be part of the planning - or at least it hypothetically would have been for me - I never flew a CAPS equipped machine, but, like, "ok, if I am going to lose an engine, where is the optimal terrain to point towards for CAPS deployment?"

Hell, there could even be times where pointing towards a known airport that's close to the edge of gliding range would actually be a poor choice. "I can go over turn right and go over this field of pillows and deploy immediately, or I can turn towards KABC and come down over this boulder field."

Regardless, I think it's pretty cool technology, and if I had one, I'd nerd TF out over the deployment regimes, stats on the recovery success, etc. Very cool, I wish it was a more common tool in bigger turbine singles too.
 
ppragman said:
If I was king for a day, and had the money, I'd try to get a CAPS system or whatever, it's pretty cool stuff.

I reckon that'd be part of the planning - or at least it hypothetically would have been for me - I never flew a CAPS equipped machine, but, like, "ok, if I am going to lose an engine, where is the optimal terrain to point towards for CAPS deployment?"

Hell, there could even be times where pointing towards a known airport that's close to the edge of gliding range would actually be a poor choice. "I can go over turn right and go over this field of pillows and deploy immediately, or I can turn towards KABC and come down over this boulder field."

Regardless, I think it's pretty cool technology, and if I had one, I'd nerd TF out over the deployment regimes, stats on the recovery success, etc. Very cool, I wish it was a more common tool in bigger turbine singles too.
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The tech is definitely cool and definitely a good tool to have in the toolbox. I do wonder if sometimes it’s depended on too much or defaulted to quickly, instead of flying an airplane that may still be flyable. Because while nice, it’s not an end all, be all, you’re safe now kind of thing; it comes with its own set of hazards and injury potential.

The plane here, I believe it entered IMC inadvertently into a small cell, and had some icing beginning to build. Not sure when the decision was made to pull the chute. But again, lucky it wasn’t over the jagged mountains that couldn’t be seen, or might not have been survivable.
 
ppragman said:
I reckon that'd be part of the planning - or at least it hypothetically would have been for me - I never flew a CAPS equipped machine, but, like, "ok, if I am going to lose an engine, where is the optimal terrain to point towards for CAPS deployment?"
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The data I last saw was several years old, but the vast majority of deployments were for LOC (or perceived LOC) and not for an engine failure.
 
BobDDuck said:
The data I last saw was several years old, but the vast majority of deployments were for LOC (or perceived LOC) and not for an engine failure.
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Love stuff like this thanks - solid note

Almost assuredly correct given the demographics of the owners of Cirri, that scans. Arguably it's better to pull the chute if "I'm out of my element Donnie" than auger in at 280kts out of control.
 
MikeD said:
The tech is definitely cool and definitely a good tool to have in the toolbox. I do wonder if sometimes it’s depended on too much or defaulted to quickly, instead of flying an airplane that may still be flyable. Because while nice, it’s not an end all, be all, you’re safe now kind of thing; it comes with its own set of hazards and injury potential.

The plane here, I believe it entered IMC inadvertently into a small cell, and had some icing beginning to build. Not sure when the decision was made to pull the chute. But again, lucky it wasn’t over the jagged mountains that couldn’t be seen, or might not have been survivable.
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That's a win! One person made a bad decision and lived to tell the tale (and kept their tail) - solid win.
 
I forget the exact number from my days of flying the -20, but the prop clearance is only like 8" or so, so even if you do put it down off-field, the engine is probably going to be a rebuild, not to mention the high possibility of it nosing over. The book was pretty clear about when to use the chute, and if you opted to fly it in against the book's recommendation, you were assuming a lot of liability.
 
Murdoughnut said:
I forget the exact number from my days of flying the -20, but the prop clearance is only like 8" or so, so even if you do put it down off-field, the engine is probably going to be a rebuild, not to mention the high possibility of it nosing over. The book was pretty clear about when to use the chute, and if you opted to fly it in against the book's recommendation, you were assuming a lot of liability.
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Isn't there a speed/altitude limitation or envelope for CAPS use?
 
killbilly said:
There is. It’s 700 or 800 feet altitude, not sure of speed.
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A bit lower for the -20 than for the -22 but yes, calling out CAPS available altitude was a checklist item.

Also interesting to note, the caps cover has to be velcro stuck behind the handle because it has required placards. My CFI called me out once for not having it up there in a photo (because it kept falling)

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On the speed side there is an envelope (133 KIAS on the one pictured above), but there have been successful deployments beyond that speed. It's recommended that in a completely FUBAR situation at speeds above it you go ahead and pull it anyway and see if it saves your butt.
 
bp said:
alan klapmeier flies a skymaster
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I don't think Alan has been involved with Cirrus at all since he was booted from their board around 2010, and there may be some bad blood between him and his brother. There may be reasons aside from design that Alan doesn't want to fly a Cirrus.
 
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