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BRS
Has anyone considered flying their trike without a BRS? Does anyone do this?
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12 Replies
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Yes, I fly without a reserve chute. If it’s airworthy it’s safe. Safe as the pilot. Why would we need a parachute back-up. ?
1. Mid-air/being run over in the sky? Chances of deploying a reserve? 10-30%?
2. Weather-conditions? If the conditions are violent enough to break your wing a chutes not much good?
3. Structural failure? Not on modern wings in approved flight. Name one if you can?
4. Aerobatics? Not allowed to go there. another no chute needed.
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I fly my airplane without a chute. All my trikes have chutes. I teach to use the chute for non suitable landing areas (tall trees, steep canyons, water) or my greatest fear of flying, MIDAIR’S. I do not want my last thought to be “I wish I had a chute”.
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One would choose life in a live or die but that isn’t real life. In a mid-air what is the chance of even surviving the impact or being able to deploy and then not landing under canopy on a powerline or freeway? If this is the big reason go ahead but see and avoid is all you get in a 103 and it works pretty good?
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I have 3 friends that have had mid-airs with birds including my father. My dad was in a Cessna Sky Catcher and a vulture pushed his leading edge all the way back to the spar with over $10,000 damage. The impact knocked his students headset off his head. Because of the way a trike wing is attached, it cannot withstand much of a leading edge impact. The structure is simply not designed to take a load in that direction. We did a test on a fairly standard hang block and found it to break at 2500 foot pounds. That may sound strong, but 15 feet out from the HB that means a force of 166lbs will snap the HB. And that sounds scarier, now multiply a 6lb bird getting hit at 60 MPH and you exceed that number by quite a margin. I forget the math used to calculate that, but your wing will probably not survive a large bird strike.
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You asked and I told you what I thought. Real live has many forms. There are so many types of mid airs. Something (drone, big bird, airplane) hits the wing and twists it off. Something hits and breaks the leading edge outside the crossbar and loose control, bird comes through the windshield and blinds you. Endless possibilities. I may or may not be physically capable of pulling the handle, but if I am, I will. If you want me to justify not using a chute I can do that also considering cost, weight and maintenance……
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Never considered birds a problem @ 50mph your 3 examples were faster GA planes. Did any of them deploy a reserve, no? and no one died hopefully. GA pilots aren’t flooding BRS with orders. But trikes should have them and GA not? Understand the wing structure and what could be possible but what history of bird strikes fatal or other wise is there for trikes? Have pilot friends that owe their life to a reserve and many that aren’t here because they or the reserve system failed to deploy. I flew with a BRS or hand thrown reserve since Boris fired off a prototype at the WW dealer seminar in 80-81? I Have an 800 soft pack BRS current and on the shelf but only one for 4 soon to be 5 trikes. Don’t want to be anti-reserve chute but I build my own trikes and would rather have another trike or a new wing instead of something in 40+ years I haven’t needed. Anyway yes I choose to fly without a BRS except for reason #4 .
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The 2nd bird strike similar to the Sky Catcher was an RV4. Both cases required hot landings with lots of rudder. The 3rd one was Craig Ewing in his REVO. No BRS and it was fatal.
The wing landed about 1/2 mile away from the carriage. The carriage apparently free falls inverted and so the seat belt was undone and the pilot was found a few hundred feet away. If he unbuckled the seat belt and bailed, I’m sure he could have pulled a chute. The wing floated down very gently and landed in high soft grass. allowing us to see the damage and the impact zone that happened in the air. Unfortunately no DNA on the wing but the impact zone was so clear and the wing strut hit the engine when it turned 90 degrees to the carriage before separation. The 4130 mast was also twisted 45 degrees. The leading edge was also broken and the HB torn in half (before we had CNC HBs)
And unfortunately this was in IMC conditions and the pilot was on 2 different “no fly drugs” with a history of accidents in all types of aircraft with FAA violations. So the NTSB report reads inaccurate as best the evidence showed a mid air. No telling how fast he was going or what he hit. I have all the photos. It was fairly obvious to me and others what happened.
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I have always flown with a hand deploy reserve in my hang glider. BRS in my powered hang glider. I have always and continue to fly with a BRS in my trike. I have had close calls over the years with GA aircraft in pattern, large military aircraft are present and they leave quite a wake especially for a tailless aircraft. I thermal with birds and trust me, many times they are looking at the ground for something to eat and do not clear their turns. Thank God they are so talented. I love to share flying with passengers and if I were unable to see, etc. I like the option of a chute. I mounted my chute more near the center of mass so if I ever was forced to land on a steep hillside if a very small field I could deploy chute as a drag chute to assist stopping in an emergency. Never want to see the color of my chute but if I do it’s my new favorite color. I promised my wife I will always fly the safest way I can and I believe that includes a BRS. Also go to YouTube and watch Mike Patey’s explanation on why he installed a BRS on Srcappy. I shook his hand at AirVenture and thanked him for that video as it may someday save a fellow aviators life. Fly safe so we can all fly together someday.
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Sorry to hear of Craigs bird strike? Is he the only one in 40+ yrs of triking? Sounds like he was a high risk type of pilot. Was that HB the northwing 5/16″x2″ 6061T6? Made my last HB out of 3/8″x 3″ 6061T6 so I should be good. No back up hang cable/strap either, Never heard of a failure? Except for? Did Craig’s Revo have a safety back up cable?
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Yes that’s the only trike mid air fatality I am aware of. The HB was irrelevant since the keel, the leading edge, the keel pocket, the wing strut all broke as well as the 5/16” bolt the safety cable went to.
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I paid my money and I believe, upped my chances.
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If i was only flying over farm land I might consider it. Many of the areas I fly require a BRS if you want to survive an\engine out. That being said, sometimes I am flying lower than my BRS would be deployable. I know that a perfect world it is safety first but sometimes for just about all of us, Fly first and safety 3rd. I am always watching for my engine out landing spots and sometimes I say this for sure is a BRS moment. On the other hand having a BRS makes me take the extra chance of flying over the mountains instead of following the roads around the mountains. Stacking as many of safety options as you can get is a good plan.
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