Ballistic parachute
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A ballistic parachute, ballistic reserve parachute, or emergency ballistic reserve parachute, is a
microlights
, where an emergency may occur in close proximity to the ground. In such a situation, a conventional parachute would not open quickly enough.
In 1982, Comco Ikarus developed the FRS rocket-launched parachute system for its ultralight and hanglider aircraft.[2] In 1999, Cirrus Aircraft (then known as Cirrus Design) provided the first ballistic parachutes as standard equipment on their line of type-certified aircraft, the Cirrus SR20; and in 2016, the company delivered the Cirrus Vision SF50, the first jet aircraft with a ballistic parachute. The Curti Zefhir is the first helicopter fitted with a ballistic parachute, successfully tested in 2018.[3]
See also
- Ballistic Recovery Systems – manufacturer of ballistic parachutes for use in light aircraft
- Scott D. Anderson – test pilot who flight tested the first certified ballistic parachute
Notes and references
- ^ Also there are slug-fired systems (pre-1990), mortar-fired systems (pre-1994), and A.I.R. rocket (compressed-gas) systems.
- ^ "The History of Comco-Ikarus Aircraft". Sport Aviation. March 2009.
- ^ Head, Elan. "How Curti put a parachute on its Zefhir helicopter." verticalmag.com, 15 April 2019.
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