I was reading the NTSB accident reports as I periodically do, and noted that there were two Cirrus chute deployments that ended up with non-fatal accidents. One was spatial disorientation related, and the other was loss of engine power likely due to a fractured crank, but it was nice to see the good outcomes in both situations.

Would anyone on here consider adding a CAPS system to their Bonanza if it was available? How about it was a $25K investment?

Here are the NTSB reports:
1) Spatial disorientation accident
2) Engine loss accident

Barons are already equipped with a chute-like substitute, also referred to as a second engine.

Nope. No interest what so ever. Not only would they stick you with a ridiculous cost to install it costs like $10 grand on the Cirrus to get it recertified every so often.

I agree with Scott. No interest at all. They add cost, complexity and weight. In fact, the weight of a retrofit would probably be prohibitive because of the structure that would have to be added to the fuselage to deal with the vertical loads. And then all of the recertification costs ...

Plus, for every "save" that the chute claims, ya gotta wonder how many pilots ventured into conditions that they otherwise wouldn't have because of the chute. In the net, have the chutes really done any good?

I don't know why there's so much resistance to something that is for extra safety
Ok, so weight and cost, I can see some argument there, but this seems like the old seatbelt argument to me.
Remember when cars didn't have seat belts and airbags and nobody wanted them?

If I could have the extra safety, at reasonable cost and weight, sure, why would I not?
Maybe I wouldn't be a real pilot?
Well I'd rather be alive and ridiculed than a dead hero.

I am not convinced they are safer.

If you land in water (2/3 of the World is covered in water) with the chute deployed the gear can't absorb the impact. You may live but probably spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair. The fixed gear is an important part of the system. Not sure how retractable gear would work.

Deployment below a certain altitude is worse than not having a chute.

I would much rather have a second engine than a chute unless I was doing aerobatics

It's called choice. Where does it end? You gotta have a 530 because it is safer. You gotta have a second vacuum pump because it's safer. You gotta have an autopilot because it's safer. May as well put a set of wings on an Abrams tank. That's gotta be safer, right? I too don't believe the parachute adds to safety. It adds to the illusion of safety.

A parachute **may** add to safety if you're flying a single engine airplane at night or over mountainous or otherwise inhospitable terrain.

At least that was the illusion I had when I did that...

When you say it like that, basically, "you're not against safety, are you?", then of course we're all for it. Who isn't against safety? However the real issue is whether the chute really adds safety. Remember the accident in the Sierra Nevada range in which a Cirrus pilot ventured into icing conditions, didn't inform ATC of his dilemma for something like 10 minutes, and when he finally deployed his chute, he had probably suffered an accelerated stall and was descending like crazy? The chute cords tore apart, and they showed a "broomstraw" appearance when the chute was recovered some distance from the wreckage. Scott's question is therefore germain: does the chute create an over-confidence that causes you to venture into danger that you would otherwise avoid?

Pilots have been killing airplanes for many years, regardless of whether the plane had a parachute or not.

Judgement can be good or bad, regardless of how the airplane is equipped.

I would not install a parachute in my Bonanza is someone gave it to me. I don't believe it would add any additional safety to my flying.

the chute is an excellent selling point for the oversized clorox bottle it comes in.
as for adding it to a bonanza...like asking a cirrus owner to add rivets to the wing.

I dont believe it adds any major margin of safety... key word is major.

as for me, no chute... this is why

click this and get ready. all 4 inside died!!! chute saved the day!!! LOL

[youtube]http://youtu.be/j86kyoogPvM[/youtube]
[youtube]http://youtu.be/j86kyoogPvM[/youtube]

Are there any cases where a Cirrus parachute made a crash worse? I'm unaware of any, unless you count the one I saw falling out of the sky last year in which case the occupants got to burn while it drifted to the ground. I would bet there are many cases where poor judgement was employed due to overconfidence in the parachute. Ignoring weight and cost, I would personally rather have the options that come with the chute.

My wife thinks my airplane DOES have a chute!

-MO

I got floatation devices instead of a chute.