Some considerations: First, I'm not a big fan of Cirrus' system on its planes. Why? First, let me point out that the descent rate on a Cirrus under a canopy is more than a (What is now called) Cessna TTx in a glide. It is for good reason that the Cirrus has seats that are designed to cushion a high vertical G load in a crash or parachute deployment. A KR has no such cushion or crush area under the pilot.
Generally, it is the vertical component of a crash that is a high factor in survivability when crashing on a relatively smooth surface. Ya go straight in, you're gonna die. If you don't have a crush area under you, you may end up a lot shorter. Next, the Cirrus has a definite deployment envelope. There have been several crashes, if I recall correctly, where the airplane was found in one spot and the chute in another because, obviously, the chute was deployed at high speed and simply ripped away from the fuselage. There have also been crashes where someone deployed the chute too close to the ground, perhaps to stop a pattern altitude stall/spin event. I think it's good that Cirrus has apparently started training for deployment of the chute, because the fatality rate for Cirrus was actually higher than for comparable aircraft. Perhaps it was a psychological over-dependence on the chute or a misunderstanding of the deployment envelope. The Cirrus is a slick airplane, and it is easy to exceed the deployment speed with the nose pointed down. Another thing to consider when wearing a chute is the ability to get out of the plane. Will your canopy open enough to get out? It is for good reason that aerobatic planes usually have a way of ridding the canopy so that the person can leave the plane. In the service, we didn't have ejection seats, (that tells you how long ago it was) but we did have the ability to blow the canopy open. I knew one guy that had a midair in the pattern (1200' agl, if I recall) and he made it out successfully, but he acted instantly. The other pilot didn't, and died. Have you practiced getting out of your plane as quickly as possible? It's easy to get tangled in seat belts and headset wires, and, in a KR, you're sitting with your legs under the instrument panel. Even if you roll the plane upside down to fall out, what can hang you up? Remember that we only hear stories from survivors. The people who didn't make it out, or died can't tell us how wonderful their chute was. Dan Branstrom --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus
