>>They are in fact working on incorporating a ballistic parachute. Bang goes the idea of jogging with the jetpack on then!
It will be an interesting trade-off between duration of opening and speed which it can open at. The design of a backup parachute of something like a hang glider gives very rapid opening in a short distance but at comparatively low speed because the glider slows the descent. With something like the jetpack, if and when you need to deploy the chute, you'll be plummeting fast so you'll need a staged deployment which takes some time so the distance which you fall is considerable. I think an HG deployment can be done in a few hundred feet from throw to slow but with a heavier, faster descent the distance stretches out to something closer to a thousand which is a long way to fall. With gliders getting heavier by the week, I wonder why manufacturers don't revisit the ballistic chute idea. I understand that if it's a certified aircraft, then you don't need a chute but if you are not, then for an LSA to fly in Europe, you do need a ballistic chute. Is this correct? What about things like the Silent Electro etc. ? Do they have ballistic chutes? D _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
