Modifications

BRS Retrofits: Cessna 172 and 182

As the number of lives saved by whole-airplane parachutes increases, so does the attractiveness of a BRS retrofit on airplanes where it’s available.

Rick Durden
Verified

Edited By:

Omar Filipovic

A RANS S-9 flown by airshow pilot Dino Molina lost a wing during an akro routine because recommended jury struts were not installed on the wing. He deployed the BRS parachute—shown here opening—and landed without injury.

When I was first taking aerobatic dual, my instructor spent some time discussing the use of the parachutes we were required to wear. We set a hard altitude at which we would get out of the airplane if we could not make it do what we wanted, be it due to structural failure, unrecoverable spin or other nightmare. In a joking manner he recited a brief mantra: “When in danger or in doubt, pull the handle and step out.”

The handle to which he referred was the cabin door release handle.

Rick Durden

Senior Editor Rick Durden has written for Aviation Consumer since 1994 and specializes in aviation law. Rick is an active CFII and holds an ATP with type ratings in the Douglas DC-3 and Cessna Citation. He is the author of The Thinking Pilot’s Flight Manual or, How to Survive Flying Little Airplanes and Have a Ball Doing It, Vols. 1 & 2.