Escape hatch?

[Guest Maj Millard]

Maybe putting a round or two through it ??.......the canopy I mean..................................................Maj...

 

 

[turboplanner]

Just make sure you land in a Ferris Wheel and the canopy will pop right open for you!

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

The RV range of aircraft have a nice round tube built in to the fwd windscreen support. It looks adequet. I have been upside down in a biplane with no dramas getting out, probabily the best protection of all, the top wing above you.

 

I have been on one side in a Storch, after a wing came off one foot above the ground on takeoff, (very long story). No worries, another door above me, which I hastely exited from.

 

I flew an old early-production Storch a couple of weeks ago that only has one side door on the right, and solid structure on the left. It was the left one I went out of previous, in the other Storch.

 

I was in a Cessna 182 crash after take-off that killed the two front occupants on impact, and destroyed the aircraft., back in 1974. With an open side door right beside me, I exited through a large crack in the fuselage-side opposite where I had been seated, cutting myself in the process..but I got out quickly.

 

Often after an 'incident' you are in an unusual, or non-normal position, possible hurt, possibly in shock, and possibly with fuel dripping around you. The structure may be distorted so it doesn't look right, and the risk of fire is always present.

 

If you need an axe or hammer to get out of you'r low-winger if it's on it's back, than you better have one if you need it.

 

I flew for around ten years with a 'Second Chantz' balistic chute on a small biplane I designed and built. Back then it was only US$900 and mighty cheap insurance really. I only did low hops down the runway until I could dig up the 900 bucks for the chute. It did feel good flying with one, but I don't have one on my current aircraft. My mates who also had balistic chutes, and I decided that we would only use them for either structural failure or control failure/loss. Never got to use it !...

 

Our legs are very strong muscles and there have been some great escapes made by people 'kicking' themselves out when the panic sets in.

 

Look at your aircraft and do what you need to do to ensure a rapid exit if need be. Rare as they may be, these incidents do occur, as other posters can also attest to..Much nicer being though of as 'parinoid' than dead !..IMOP.................................Maj...

 

 

[facthunter]

Look, regarding the chute it is the individuals call. It's mandated in some countries, and some aircraft come with it standard because the plane is not spin tested. To me the cost (ongoing), the weight penalty( there all the time). The hazard to people rescuing you, and the limit of the extent of the protection afforded, I take into account. It wouldn't be any help with a engine failure just after take-off. and going down in high trees, (some help maybe, but not guaranteed).

 

Generally I would see myself as being very safety conscious. I just don't see the chute as the total answer. The hazards that I fear the most are mid air collision, structural failure and fire in flight. You could still be killed by the impact of a collision, the structural thing is covered by having a strong aircraft and maintaining it well,and fly it within the envelope. This probably means you have to own it as you don't know how others fly it. The fire in flight- Stringent maintenance and always get the thing down fast if it is alight...Nev