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Thread: BRS installation guidelines

  1. #1
    Mike Switzer's Avatar
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    BRS installation guidelines

    Does anyone know where I can find an article on the installation of a BRS chute in an experimental aircraft? Or has anyone here done it?

    I would like to include one in my design but I have some concerns.

    (And yes, I have looked at their website if there is any relevant engineering information there I can't find it)

    My biggest concern is if I try to put it near the CG of the aircraft it will be either fore or aft of the baggage compartment, which puts it either immediately behind the passenger's seat or directly in front of the fuel tank, neither of which seems like a good choice.

  2. #2
    Dana's Avatar
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    The anchor point should be at or near the CG but the canister and rocket can be anywhere it can fire into clear air and not foul the lines during deployment.

  3. #3
    Mike Switzer's Avatar
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    Well, if I can use a single anchor point that would make it easier, what little was on their web site talked about multiple attachment points.

    A 2 seat tandem layout doesn't give you a whole lot of options for where to put the rocket if you are trying to keep it away from both the seats & the fuel tanks.

  4. #4
    Mike Switzer's Avatar
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    You know, I'm sitting here thinking, if the objective is to impact at a survivable speed in the event of 1) power failure over rough terrain or 2) a unrecoverable stall/spin situation, I wonder if a drogue chute installation might not work as well. I don't really care what direction I am facing or if the airframe requires repair, as long as the occupants survive.

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    Eric Witherspoon's Avatar
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    Do you have a type that your design is comparable to? That might generate some ideas. My plane (Sonex) is a 2-seat, side-by-side low wing. I have seen photos of similar planes (CH-601 or one of the follow-on types) where they put the BRS behind the seat, and ran cables on the OUTSIDE of the fuselage on either side of the canopy to the forward attach points. These external cables were faired in with some sort of break-away (light) coverings, so there would be 2 attach points near the front of the wing, and 2 attach points near the back of the wing. One Sonex builder posted to the type-specific Yahoo group that he put the BRS behind the seat such that it fires DOWN out a hole in the bottom of the fuselage, and the airplane would recover inverted, hanging from the main spar, I believe. Though in the Sonex, it's quite a compromise, as a BRS and its mount/attach hardware will use up all of the factory-allowed behind-seat weight, and with 2 aboard, the airplane is running near/at most aft allowed cg.

    But to answer your general question, yes, people have added BRS to homebuilts. Have you tried contacting the company directly? They might have resources available to help a potential customer become a paying customer...
    Murphy's 13th: Every solution breeds new problems...

    http://www.spoonworld.com

  6. #6
    Mike Switzer's Avatar
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    I'm building something loosely based on a Long EZ, with a baggage compartment behind the passenger, the only one I know of that had a chute was N3R & since Tim had a stroke in flight the chute didn't matter...

    He put it behind the passenger seat but there was nobody back there usually...

  7. #7
    Matt Gonitzke's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Switzer View Post
    You know, I'm sitting here thinking, if the objective is to impact at a survivable speed in the event of 1) power failure over rough terrain or 2) a unrecoverable stall/spin situation, I wonder if a drogue chute installation might not work as well. I don't really care what direction I am facing or if the airframe requires repair, as long as the occupants survive.
    This morning I ran across a video of some sort of aerobatic aircraft that lost a wing in a negative-G maneuver, and it appeared to have a drogue chute, as it was hanging by the tail after parachute deployment. The pilot walked away after it came down. And of course, I didn't think to save the link so I could post it here...

  8. #8
    Mike Switzer's Avatar
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    Thank Matt, I will hunt for that later tonite if Comcast doesn't slow down too much, it would sure make for an easier installation.

  9. #9
    Eric Witherspoon's Avatar
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    Here you go:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a8cntPdRtk

    My guess is it was not rigged for nose-straight-down recovery, but that the roll rate was so fast when it deployed that it got wrapped around the fuselage/tail.
    Murphy's 13th: Every solution breeds new problems...

    http://www.spoonworld.com

  10. #10
    Mike Switzer's Avatar
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    I think Eric may be right - but it shows landing nose down is a survivable option

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