BRS - Yes, I'm doing it

[hawgdrvr]

There is no doubt that the three letters BRS has a stigma in this field of flying. While I'm not yet in this field of flying with an FX3 on order, I've done a lot of questioning including several CubCrafters sales folks, fellow SS, EX, FX owners on the topic of BRS. Those that follow Mike Patey on YouTube probably watched his video in the recent months about putting a BRS in his Scrappy build along side someone that survived a structural failure.

I'm posting this post to hopefully follow in the footsteps (huge so I'm taking giant leaps within each step) of Mike Patey to also promote the safety that BRS affords us as aviators. I'm not new to flying and I'm certainly not new to low and slow as a former A-10 pilot and FWIC grad, for those that know what that is. I've done it all including 100ft qual in the A-10 so I know the risks of this flying, illusions, mountains, obstacles, other aircraft.

I've heard many justifications against BRS from many folks that participate on this forum and I respect those opinions. They range from speeds of the cubs, impact, better to impact with forward momentum vs. vertical, aim between two trees, stall speeds, etc. I get it. Let me share why I'm opting for BRS regardless of the enormous cost, yes, it's expensive no doubt but I'll choose that price over months of recovery in a hospital (if I'm lucky) and a life of pain and suffering going forward from injuries.

I've flown ejection seat aircraft my entire adult life and I've even watched a fellow A-10 pilot in my squadron eject. Sadly the first A-10 accident in my Air Force career was an A-10 mid-air in my squadron. A blind spot formed by just the right closure causing the wingman to be hidden behind a corner panel just like the structure in cubs. I am the new owner of Flightinfo.com as my good friend Mark, the original owner that I built this community with in the 90's died in a mid-air. The good news (knock on wood) is CubCrafters hasn't had a structural failure to date, that I've heard of. But it certainly is a possibility especially when there are kits involved and people like ME that shouldn't be assembling airplanes. I'm glad the ones I flew in radio control held together! However, a structural failure is possible on any aircraft, bird strike, severe turbulence, who knows. There is a carbon cub accident that I found when I was googling Carbon Concepts that was a slat failure scenario from a kit builder I believe it was that resulted in serious injury. Had this aircraft had BRS it would likely have had a much better ending. Click here for the details on that accident. I wish I could find the safety film I saw in my air force days of a fast mover with a cub in the middle of the HUD. Fast movers will not see us and certainly not have time to react, they are heads down too in radar, maps, and other task saturating scenarios. We will not win that fight should they make contact with us.

I flew on a flight a few years ago with a friend inviting me along. It had a Garmin G1000 in it and I was shocked at the lack of clearing, I cleared out of fear as the passenger! So much heads down time. With more and more glass cockpits becoming the norm in new aircraft and panel upgrades that means less clearing. With ADS-B for traffic notifications, potentially less clearing could result but we all know there will never be a time every aircraft has ADS-B OUT. Far too many mid-airs even in the pattern such as Johnson's Creek I think was one? Found it, click here. Flying over AK or mountainous terrain with dense forest, we can all list many scenarios where landing options may not exist. The one scenario I don't want is the self-dialog during going down due to some uncontrollable situation wishing I had gotten BRS.

I know there are folks here or even out in the field that will not reveal they have BRS as its frowned upon, I offer that people should promote this and the side effects are minimal. We are very lucky and thank you CubCrafters and BRS Aerospace for making this option available in some of their products. I'm seeing a trend of more people getting this, I know of a SS owner, EX owner, me, and yet another FX owner to be that is going the route of BRS and I hope this trend continues.

As Mike Patey says in his video, it's just a few more feet. I'm standing here to say "I'm getting it" and I hope Mike Patey with his voice and reach will start a "me too" trend here with BRS.

Fly safe and hope to see you off airport sometime next year!

[turbopilot]

I wonder if that plywood is part of the package.

[turbopilot]

I ordered the BRS parachute as well. Bought my first SR22 in 2003 with a BRS system. I never used it but I did have several friends try it out and they are still around to talk about it. I considered doing a retrofit into my 2014 SS but glad I waited to put it in the new SS on the line now. The BRS system (like several other options for the SS) is only approved for the ELSA version. So the BRS will be installed in the SS after my aircraft leaves final assembly sometime around September 22.

My BRS is a $14,690 option on the SS. The BRS system used in the SS is BRS CCUBSI-05. This parachute is rated for both the 1320 lb SS and the 1430 lb SS on floats. Form factor is the rectangular soft pack which is different from the original BRS introduced in the round canister and different from the canister system seen in the video above. This BRS system only weighs 34.4 lbs. The EX/FX version weighs 43.5 pounds to handle higher gross weights of those airplanes. Like the Cirrus, the chute must be repacked every 6 years and the rocket replaced every 12 years. Unlike the Cirrus this BRS should not be required for flight during repack. The SR2X airplanes were certified to have BRS operable so the airplane has to be grounded during repack and rocket replacement.

[TigerCub]

I put the BRS in both my SS and FX-3. No regrets.

[hawgdrvr]

I put the BRS in both my SS and FX-3. No regrets.

Great to hear @TigerCub. Would you happen to have pictures of the install in a FX-3 so I can see how it integrates in the storage area? Curious how much space it really takes.

Thanks

[hawgdrvr]

AVWeb email this morning had a lot on BRS:

https://www.avweb.com/polls-quizzes/...ame-parachute/

https://www.avweb.com/multimedia/avw...s-caps-record/

https://www.avweb.com/insider/will-p...-cirrus-thing/

[TigerCub]

Would you happen to have pictures of the install in a FX-3 so I can see how it integrates in the storage area? Curious how much space it really takes.

It's pretty unobtrusive. Canister is 10" or so off the cargo floor and out of the way. It reduces cargo capacity in that area to about 26 lbs, but I only put fluffy stuff back there anyway (sleeping bag, cowl cover, etc.). It also helps offset the weight of the heavier-nosed FX-3 (BTW, I wrote a fairly detailed response to your FX-3 vs SS thread, but it seems to have vanished. I've owned both and would be glad to share my thoughts on each).

I'll try to attach some photos below.

BRS-1.jpg

BRS-2.jpg

N134PB-1.jpg

[turbopilot]

It's pretty unobtrusive. Canister is 10" or so off the cargo floor and out of the way. It reduces cargo capacity in that area to about 26 lbs, but I only put fluffy stuff back there anyway (sleeping bag, cowl cover, etc.).

Nice installation. I think (do not know for sure) extended baggage limit of 60lbs is based on constraints around the strength of the floor. If so, BRS canopy in that location should not be an issue if everything is within CG envelope. I will confirm with CubCrafters when I get mine.

[hawgdrvr]

It's pretty unobtrusive. Canister is 10" or so off the cargo floor and out of the way. It reduces cargo capacity in that area to about 26 lbs, but I only put fluffy stuff back there anyway (sleeping bag, cowl cover, etc.). It also helps offset the weight of the heavier-nosed FX-3 (BTW, I wrote a fairly detailed response to your FX-3 vs SS thread, but it seems to have vanished. I've owned both and would be glad to share my thoughts on each).

I'll try to attach some photos below.

BRS-1.jpg

BRS-2.jpg

N134PB-1.jpg

Thank you! If you happen to have a picture zoomed out so I can see the entire baggage area and put it in better perspective with the room BRS takes up that would be great. I'm also curious about if the baggage limit is a CG or floor issue.

[stretch]

There is no doubt that the three letters BRS has a stigma in this field of flying. While I'm not yet in this field of flying with an FX3 on order, I've done a lot of questioning including several CubCrafters sales folks, fellow SS, EX, FX owners on the topic of BRS. Those that follow Mike Patey on YouTube probably watched his video in the recent months about putting a BRS in his Scrappy build along side someone that survived a structural failure.

I'm posting this post to hopefully follow in the footsteps (huge so I'm taking giant leaps within each step) of Mike Patey to also promote the safety that BRS affords us as aviators. I'm not new to flying and I'm certainly not new to low and slow as a former A-10 pilot and FWIC grad, for those that know what that is. I've done it all including 100ft qual in the A-10 so I know the risks of this flying, illusions, mountains, obstacles, other aircraft.

I've heard many justifications against BRS from many folks that participate on this forum and I respect those opinions. They range from speeds of the cubs, impact, better to impact with forward momentum vs. vertical, aim between two trees, stall speeds, etc. I get it. Let me share why I'm opting for BRS regardless of the enormous cost, yes, it's expensive no doubt but I'll choose that price over months of recovery in a hospital (if I'm lucky) and a life of pain and suffering going forward from injuries.

I've flown ejection seat aircraft my entire adult life and I've even watched a fellow A-10 pilot in my squadron eject. Sadly the first A-10 accident in my Air Force career was an A-10 mid-air in my squadron. A blind spot formed by just the right closure causing the wingman to be hidden behind a corner panel just like the structure in cubs. I am the new owner of Flightinfo.com as my good friend Mark, the original owner that I built this community with in the 90's died in a mid-air. The good news (knock on wood) is CubCrafters hasn't had a structural failure to date, that I've heard of. But it certainly is a possibility especially when there are kits involved and people like ME that shouldn't be assembling airplanes. I'm glad the ones I flew in radio control held together! However, a structural failure is possible on any aircraft, bird strike, severe turbulence, who knows. There is a carbon cub accident that I found when I was googling Carbon Concepts that was a slat failure scenario from a kit builder I believe it was that resulted in serious injury. Had this aircraft had BRS it would likely have had a much better ending. Click here for the details on that accident. I wish I could find the safety film I saw in my air force days of a fast mover with a cub in the middle of the HUD. Fast movers will not see us and certainly not have time to react, they are heads down too in radar, maps, and other task saturating scenarios. We will not win that fight should they make contact with us.

I flew on a flight a few years ago with a friend inviting me along. It had a Garmin G1000 in it and I was shocked at the lack of clearing, I cleared out of fear as the passenger! So much heads down time. With more and more glass cockpits becoming the norm in new aircraft and panel upgrades that means less clearing. With ADS-B for traffic notifications, potentially less clearing could result but we all know there will never be a time every aircraft has ADS-B OUT. Far too many mid-airs even in the pattern such as Johnson's Creek I think was one? Found it, click here. Flying over AK or mountainous terrain with dense forest, we can all list many scenarios where landing options may not exist. The one scenario I don't want is the self-dialog during going down due to some uncontrollable situation wishing I had gotten BRS.

I know there are folks here or even out in the field that will not reveal they have BRS as its frowned upon, I offer that people should promote this and the side effects are minimal. We are very lucky and thank you CubCrafters and BRS Aerospace for making this option available in some of their products. I'm seeing a trend of more people getting this, I know of a SS owner, EX owner, me, and yet another FX owner to be that is going the route of BRS and I hope this trend continues.

As Mike Patey says in his video, it's just a few more feet. I'm standing here to say "I'm getting it" and I hope Mike Patey with his voice and reach will start a "me too" trend here with BRS.

Fly safe and hope to see you off airport sometime next year!

I've never understood the frowning-upon. It's a tool that mitigates a few very unlikely, very scary risks. The downsides can for the most part be addressed with training. Cost is less than sales tax in a lot of places that have it, if you are buying a $300-$400K airplane and a grumbling about cost.. Sadly I understand not compatible with my x-cub airframe.