Mid-air collision
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wrote on 15 May 2021, 19:40 last edited by
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With that amount of damage, he didn't even feel it?
How is that possible?
I would think the green twin-engine plane would have been knocked so hard it would pinwheel.
I also wonder what percentage of small one-engine planes have a parachute. That is fantastic, I had no idea. Maybe I would not have this fear of flying if I knew there was a parachute for the entire plane.wrote on 15 May 2021, 23:36 last edited by Copper@rainman said in Mid-air collision:
I also wonder what percentage of small one-engine planes have a parachute. That is fantastic, I had no idea. Maybe I would not have this fear of flying if I knew there was a parachute for the entire plane.
You still want to be afraid, maybe not quite as much.
It is not a soft fluffy touchdown, you will probably get hurt, but it is still way better than the crash.
There are debates about exactly when they should be used. Some say there are times when you shouldn't use the parachute. And they are right, for example if you lose the engine it is probably better to make a controlled landing rather than a parachute landing with no control.
In this case the collision probably caused enough damage that the parachute was the right answer.
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wrote on 16 May 2021, 07:23 last edited by
It's been around for 20 years. I had no idea!
(the parachute system, I mean)So, after watching several YouTube videos on this parachute system, I went down several rabbit holes. Crashes, near crashes, huge passenger planes flying sideways while trying to land. Crabbing I guess it's called. Turbulance, where smashed up people are literally being scraped off the ceiling of the cabin with a spatula. Well, OK. Maybe not quite literally and maybe with some poetic license.
So after feeling safe again since there is a parachute system that really works in small airplanes, it's back to being terrified of flying.
But if you were sitting next to me on a commercial flight, you would have no idea I hate flying. I'd be totally normal, although you might wonder why I'm studying seriously the magazine that shows what plane we're in, and where the emergency exits are. I'm the only one on the plane that listens intently, although I've heard it a hundred times. And, I actually look where the stewardess is pointing. Then I think to myself what I'd do if there was dense smoke and it was too dark to see. Crazy, I know.
And, I ride a motorcycle, a motorcycle without a parachute.
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It's been around for 20 years. I had no idea!
(the parachute system, I mean)So, after watching several YouTube videos on this parachute system, I went down several rabbit holes. Crashes, near crashes, huge passenger planes flying sideways while trying to land. Crabbing I guess it's called. Turbulance, where smashed up people are literally being scraped off the ceiling of the cabin with a spatula. Well, OK. Maybe not quite literally and maybe with some poetic license.
So after feeling safe again since there is a parachute system that really works in small airplanes, it's back to being terrified of flying.
But if you were sitting next to me on a commercial flight, you would have no idea I hate flying. I'd be totally normal, although you might wonder why I'm studying seriously the magazine that shows what plane we're in, and where the emergency exits are. I'm the only one on the plane that listens intently, although I've heard it a hundred times. And, I actually look where the stewardess is pointing. Then I think to myself what I'd do if there was dense smoke and it was too dark to see. Crazy, I know.
And, I ride a motorcycle, a motorcycle without a parachute.
wrote on 18 May 2021, 02:47 last edited by@rainman said in Mid-air collision:
And, I ride a motorcycle, a motorcycle without a parachute.
Although not a parachute, I remember reading a long time ago about a company that developed a motorcycle suit, that when you fell off in an accident would inflate to provide protection. I think it activated by a cord "plugged" into the motorcycle that would become unplugged when you were thrown off.
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wrote on 18 May 2021, 03:37 last edited by
It would be a great idea, TG.
I could see me the first time I roll up to a gas station.
I would feel how stupid? -
It would be a great idea, TG.
I could see me the first time I roll up to a gas station.
I would feel how stupid?wrote on 18 May 2021, 03:43 last edited by@rainman said in Mid-air collision:
It would be a great idea, TG.
I could see me the first time I roll up to a gas station.
I would feel how stupid?Don't worry, nobody would notice because you would already look like a huge overinflated bulbous balloon even without an inflatable suit. Fatso.
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wrote on 18 May 2021, 04:53 last edited by
Fatso!!!
I know you are but what am IFatso!!
Sticks and stones can break somethin somethin, and somthin.
So there. -
@rainman said in Mid-air collision:
I also wonder what percentage of small one-engine planes have a parachute. That is fantastic, I had no idea. Maybe I would not have this fear of flying if I knew there was a parachute for the entire plane.
You still want to be afraid, maybe not quite as much.
It is not a soft fluffy touchdown, you will probably get hurt, but it is still way better than the crash.
There are debates about exactly when they should be used. Some say there are times when you shouldn't use the parachute. And they are right, for example if you lose the engine it is probably better to make a controlled landing rather than a parachute landing with no control.
In this case the collision probably caused enough damage that the parachute was the right answer.
wrote on 18 May 2021, 08:41 last edited by@copper said in Mid-air collision:
@rainman said in Mid-air collision:
I also wonder what percentage of small one-engine planes have a parachute. That is fantastic, I had no idea. Maybe I would not have this fear of flying if I knew there was a parachute for the entire plane.
You still want to be afraid, maybe not quite as much.
It is not a soft fluffy touchdown, you will probably get hurt, but it is still way better than the crash.
How does a full plane parachute compare to the kinds of emergency parachutes that military jets have? Would it be possible to deploy the latter in small one-engine planes, too?
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@copper said in Mid-air collision:
@rainman said in Mid-air collision:
I also wonder what percentage of small one-engine planes have a parachute. That is fantastic, I had no idea. Maybe I would not have this fear of flying if I knew there was a parachute for the entire plane.
You still want to be afraid, maybe not quite as much.
It is not a soft fluffy touchdown, you will probably get hurt, but it is still way better than the crash.
How does a full plane parachute compare to the kinds of emergency parachutes that military jets have? Would it be possible to deploy the latter in small one-engine planes, too?
wrote on 18 May 2021, 11:19 last edited by@klaus said in Mid-air collision:
Would it be possible to deploy the latter in small one-engine planes, too?
A real ejection seat would probably weigh much too much for a single-engine aircraft. 200 lb. The takeoff weight for a Cessna 172 is in the range of 2200-2500 lb. Put Sokolov in the airplane and it'll never take off.
Also, ejecting is not a safe, or fun, event. Very violent, and any pilot who's "punched out" will say they never want to do it again. A former colleague's brother flew Falcons for the USAF, and he ejected. The experience made him almost quit flying.
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@copper said in Mid-air collision:
@rainman said in Mid-air collision:
I also wonder what percentage of small one-engine planes have a parachute. That is fantastic, I had no idea. Maybe I would not have this fear of flying if I knew there was a parachute for the entire plane.
You still want to be afraid, maybe not quite as much.
It is not a soft fluffy touchdown, you will probably get hurt, but it is still way better than the crash.
How does a full plane parachute compare to the kinds of emergency parachutes that military jets have? Would it be possible to deploy the latter in small one-engine planes, too?
wrote on 18 May 2021, 14:29 last edited by Copper@klaus said in Mid-air collision:
How does a full plane parachute compare to the kinds of emergency parachutes that military jets have? Would it be possible to deploy the latter in small one-engine planes, too?
I think that modern jets have the parachute connected to the ejection seat. So just the seat is under the canopy, not the whole plane.
Most small planes don't have a parachute in them. The Cirrus planes (like the one in the story) come with a ballistic parachute system. I have flown these planes.
The parachute is deployed by a handle in the ceiling of the cabin. It is launched by a rocket that blows through the skin of the plane and pulls the parachute out.
Once the pilot (or anyone onboard) has deployed the parachute there is no way to control the plane, it will just go where gravity and the wind take it.
I think a military ejection seat can weigh over a couple hundred pounds so that would probably be too much for a small plane plane built to carry 4 or 5 people.
If you are going to be doing aerobatic maneuvers in a small plane you might wear a parachute strapped on your back. But other than that we never wore a parachute in the small, 4-7 passenger, planes.
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@klaus said in Mid-air collision:
Would it be possible to deploy the latter in small one-engine planes, too?
A real ejection seat would probably weigh much too much for a single-engine aircraft. 200 lb. The takeoff weight for a Cessna 172 is in the range of 2200-2500 lb. Put Sokolov in the airplane and it'll never take off.
Also, ejecting is not a safe, or fun, event. Very violent, and any pilot who's "punched out" will say they never want to do it again. A former colleague's brother flew Falcons for the USAF, and he ejected. The experience made him almost quit flying.
wrote on 18 May 2021, 14:31 last edited by Copper@george-k said in Mid-air collision:
Very violent, and any pilot who's "punched out" will say they never want to do it again.
A guy I worked with many years ago ejected from the co-pilot seat of a B-52 over Hanoi. The ejection broke both of his legs which made his stay in the Hanoi Hilton even more uncomfortable.