Parachute repack

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Ted Gordon
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Joined: Fri Sep 01, 2017 1:50 pm

Parachute repack

Post by Ted Gordon »

Does anyone have experience in having their ballistic parachute repacked when the six year term is reached? Did you go back to the dealer to have it done? Did your usual mechanic excuse himself because of the implied risk in removal and reinstallation?
What was the cost? What was the down time? The GRS chute in my new-to-me Sting has exceeded the repack time and prior owners were happy to keep it aboard "just in case."

Thanks for sharing your experience.
Ted Gordon
roger lee
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Re: Parachute repack

Post by roger lee »

I haven't removed one from a Sting yet, but lots of Flight Designs ($1000) at the 6 year interval. I do have a Sting at my field that needed one done. I called the distributor here in the US and they said plan on 3 hours to remove. Then when you send it in they swap it out for ones that they have on hand. The cost was $4500 (includes rocket) and that's not including labor. I ask about alternatives. They said you can label it out of date and inop. This is what the person with the Sting at my field did. I'm sure it would still work, but time down the road may or may not be the enemy. People who live in wet and humid climates vs the dry southwest may have a shorter life span. No one knows for sure.

Personally I think $4500, 3 hours just to remove it plus labor is outrages.

The FD chutes take about 15 minutes to remove and $1K for the repack. That said every 12 years the rocket is due to. With the repack and rocket it is about $1900.

Add the $4500 every 6 years to a rubber change every 5 years plus transponder every 2 years and other incidentals and a Sting looks to be kind of costly.
Roger Lee
Tucson, Az.
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Warmi
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Re: Parachute repack

Post by Warmi »

$4900 is what you will pay for a new one at 1350 lbs class.
Maybe that's what they do ...

BTW. In my plane I have a Galaxy (GRS) parachute that is rated for 9 years between repacking.

http://www.sportflyingshop.com/Safety/GRS/grs.html

Maybe it would make more sense to get a new one for $4900 and be done for it for 10 years ..
Flying Sting S4 ( N184WA ) out of Illinois
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dstclair
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Re: Parachute repack

Post by dstclair »

I'm pretty sure the GRS can be repacked once, then replace the rocket every other time. I guess I'll find out since mine is due pretty soon as well (I have the 9 year version).
dave
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drdehave
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Re: Parachute repack

Post by drdehave »

Our Stings can keep the GRS or switch to the BRS chutes. Both are authorized OEM in the Master Equipment list.

I've been mulling over just switching to a new BRS, but I'm not sure whether it would be a plug-n-play install, or not.

I hope somebody else leads the way, with details, soon, because my existing GRS is 10 years old now. I'm starting to wonder about its viability, although my mechanic says he knows of real old ones (>20 yrs) being pulled (before removal/replacement), and working just fine.
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Warmi
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Re: Parachute repack

Post by Warmi »

I am not sure if it is worth it.
Both Brs and Grs are priced very similar and if you get a new Grs it will last you another 10 years.
Flying Sting S4 ( N184WA ) out of Illinois
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drdehave
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Re: Parachute repack

Post by drdehave »

True, but the thought of going to Little Rock, in tornado alley, is a pretty big downside for me.
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Ted Gordon
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Re: Parachute repack

Post by Ted Gordon »

Thank you all for your comments and information. I will probably keep the expired parachute package as is and fly the plane. If I decide to replace or repack in the future, I will write up my experience and post it here. I love the plane, now if I could only get the canopy to close easily.
Best
Ted
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MrMorden
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Re: Parachute repack

Post by MrMorden »

I might be the lone voice here, but I consider a parachute system, when equipped, to be a critical piece of safety equipment. No other piece of equipment can salvage as many likely unsurvivable scenarios. Mid-air collision, VFR into IMC, engine out over hostile terrain, pilot incapacitation...

Your parachute will "probably" still work when you want it to. Probably. But for $4900, or $544/year over nine years, you could have very high confidence that it will perform as designed. That seems like relatively inexpensive insurance in the overall cost of owning a modern LSA, especially if you carry family members or close friends as passengers.
Andy Walker
Athens, GA
Sport Pilot ASEL, LSRI
2007 Flight Design CTSW E-LSA
TimTaylor
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Re: Parachute repack

Post by TimTaylor »

I agree. If your airplane is equipped with a parachute, you might as well spend the money to keep it legal and in good working order.
Retired from flying.
Nomore767
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Re: Parachute repack

Post by Nomore767 »

To me this thread highlights some of the realities of LSA ownership.
Some say they absolutely 'have to have' the chute option and absolutely it offers a real safety benefit.
A practical reality though is, as mentioned here, the not inconsiderable cost to have that option installed as well as the required periodic maintenance. Couple that with the additional empty weight penalty and reduced payload.
Having it installed and then deciding to placard it inop due to the cost of maintaining it, and having the continuing payload impact anyway, seems odd. To me anyway.
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drdehave
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Re: Parachute repack

Post by drdehave »

A parachute “update” wouldn’t have saved this pair from a spin to their deaths, in a low-hour, 2007 model Sting in July 2012. Available evidence suggests: (1) they failed to remove the arming pin before flight; (2) then, in panic, ripped the pull handle from the ceiling, possibly by pulling down instead of out (of the cable); and (3) the nose-first impact with the ground, ejected the arming pin from the pull handle back into the cabin. https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.avia ... 295&akey=1

For a while longer, at least, I'll continue believing there is more risk (of death) mitigation to be gained from ensuring that both people aboard know exactly the parachute’s deployment parameters and adhere to a fail-safe method to remove the arming pin before flight–-than from updating the parachute at some arbitrary date.
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TimTaylor
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Re: Parachute repack

Post by TimTaylor »

Those are false equivalents or whatever the saying is. One has nothing to do with the other. Why not do both?
Retired from flying.
Ted Gordon
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Re: Parachute repack

Post by Ted Gordon »

Does anyone know of a shop or mechanic in the Northeast who will remove, ship for repack, and reinstall a GRS parachute from my Sting? I know that it can be done in Little Rock, but I'd delighted if it could be done closer to home in Connecticut or a nearby state.

Thanks.
Ted Gordon
roger lee
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Re: Parachute repack

Post by roger lee »

Placing a sign on that parachute handle that says in op doesn't mean you can't pull it. The one I had to put a lable on I wrote in op due to being out of date. Didn't mean it wasn't functional.

If I remember right the Cirrus repack time is 12 years which includes chute and rocket replacement for about $12K.. Many BRS chutes in LSA repack in 6 years and repack rocket and chute in 12 years like the Cirrus. Same basic chute system.

Many have died over the years because they left chute pins in while flying. You spent good money for the chute in that plane and thinking you will have the time, coordination and calmness to remove a pin in an out of control situation is pure foolishness.
There is absolute no good reason to ever leave a pin in while flying.
The people who think there could be an accidental pull doen't know much about the system.

I show all my CT pilots that that can't happen. I actually pull the handle out of its socket. The handle is held in place by an "O" ring. The cable has about 2.5 - 3" of slack. The handle will come out and just flop down. Now if someone grabbed the handle and continued to pull with about 25+ lbs. of force for another 6 -7" then yes it would fire. Pulling with 25+ Lbs. of force for 10- 12" is not accidental.
Roger Lee
Tucson, Az.
LSRM-A, Rotax Instructor & Rotax IRC
(520) 574-1080 (Home) Try Home First.
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