It’s not airworthy if parachute assembly is expired.
Well, if that’s true, then humankind is at a far greater risk than I ever thought possible.
aart wrote:
Is a Cirrus no longer airworthy without the chute overhaul?
If I recall correctly, the reason is that the airframe itself doesn’t fulfil the certification requirement for ability to exit from a spin, and the parachute replaces that: exit from spin is by pulling the parachute.
From Cirrus marketing material:
Modern production airplanes are, in general, not tested or certified for spins.
Aerobatic designs such as Extra and Sukhoi products are, of course, tested and certified for spins – but mainstream general aviation four-seat designs such as Cirrus, Cessna (182, 350/400), Diamond, Piper etc. are not certified for spins. Few 4-seat designs have ever been certified for spins.
For most pilots recognizing the early stages of a spin, or recovering a developed spin, is unlikely in any kind of airplane. Spins were eliminated from basic flight training decades ago; recovery from a developed spin is long gone from certification tests; and FAA data suggests less than 3% of inadvertent spins are recovered (regardless of the airplane), and probably none at low altitude. As such, from a general aviation point of view spins are a “loss of control.”
That’s mostly BS, surely, in the generality. @pilot_dar will know more. But we have had many other threads on whether the SR22 has been spin tested. IIRC it was not tested for FAA but was eventually tested for JAA/EASA. But yes this does explain why the chute being released to service is mandatory.
Maybe a ferry permit is possible. You can get these for MTOW plus “lots” (like 20%).
As far as I understand this spin theory about the Cirrus is not true. The initial design did not comply with the FAA certification requirements but the series model does. There will be some Cirrus pilots here who know more.
Other than that it seems like touring aircraft don’t need to be spin certified.
For my Comanche spin is prohibited. So although I have trained and done spins quite some times, I don’t know how she behaves and I don’t actually like that I cannot train that.
UdoR wrote:
Other than that it seems like touring aircraft don’t need to be spin certified.
Spin-certified and spin-tested are two different things! And CS-23 clearly says the spin-exit characteristics that aircraft must demonstrate during the certification.
There was a video on Youtube somewhere how some of the Diamon aircraft spin-tested.
In the US, the FAA approved the SR series with a condensed stall/spin program, relying on a ‘equivalent level of safety’ ELOS option. This determination hinged on the parachute’s presence and its use for spin recovery, relieving Cirrus from demonstrating alternative recovery methods. However, European aviation safety authorities rejected this approach, mandating Cirrus to prove spin recoveries through a more comprehensive testing program. As it turns out, the plane can recover from spins using the same inputs as any other aircraft.
What is happening?
Compare price of a new SR22 in 2006 to a new one today. Same goes for parts overall and CAPS replacement.
arj1 wrote:
And CS-23 clearly says the spin-exit characteristics that aircraft must demonstrate during the certification.
That’s actually an AMC and not a strict requirement. It should be possible to certify an aircraft with unrecoverable spin characteristics if it has a BRS.
