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DIY BRS

Has anyone here done an installation themselves? I know you can get kits for some RVs and of course all microlights have an option

It doesn’t look too difficult, but I for sure would design it so the aircraft hits the ground vertically, nose down to get the best use of the seat harness, instead of the Cirrus way risking spinal injury.



The elephant is the circulation
ENVA ENOP ENMO, Norway

Perhaps a forty five degree landing would split the load between the belt and the seat or seat back.

Last Edited by flybymike at 06 Nov 10:34
Egnm, United Kingdom

There is at least one Europa PH-GOO flying with a DIY-BRS. Don’t know yet, if it works

EDLE

europaxs wrote:

Don’t know yet, if it works

Yes, that’s a big uncertainty. You won’t know if it actually works until the moment you need it. But even so, a 50/50 chance of successful deployment (or less) is better than zero. But is it better than a true and trusted ordinary parachute?

The elephant is the circulation
ENVA ENOP ENMO, Norway

Sometimes yes, sometimes no, I think it depends on the situation. For example with fire at high altitude I would always prefer the chute on my back. It will still open at 80m AGL and I guess you can be sure it does >95%. OTOH it will be sometimes difficult to bail out….

Last Edited by europaxs at 06 Nov 11:22
EDLE

flybymike wrote:

Perhaps a forty five degree landing would split the load between the belt and the seat or seat back.

I’m not sure. By canting it, a large percentage of the rest impact will be translated to rotational energy with unknown consequences. Only going straight down will all the rest impact energy be absorbed by the belts, and the crumbling engine compartment. A canted impact will also be different between tail wheel and nose gear aircraft. I guess this is another one of those things you only will find out when it happens

The elephant is the circulation
ENVA ENOP ENMO, Norway

If somebody is interested in installing a ballistic chute in an RV7 (or RV9), please see pictures of what I did with mine. I know BRS offers a kit for the RV7, but I didn’t like the design because of heavy external aerodynamic modifications and CG imbalance, and so I designed one of my own, with the help of Galaxy CEO who flew in to assist with the installation. I now flew 80h (including many 6g aerobatics) and no pb so far. Of course I never tested it in practice (I hope never) but Galaxy has a good track record of first time deployments in many different types.


United Kingdom

I recall Aero Friedrichshafen was full of BRS chutes for non-certified types.

What is that black cable on the underside?

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

They are wrapped steel cables connecting to the rear spars. They are the only external difference from any other rv7a, and very discrete being close to the belly and just 30cm. I decided to install steel cables to better cope with engine fire. 4 steel cables in total, two connected to the engine mount, and two to the rear spars. They all connect to one steel ring and the ring is also connected to a single standard kevlar rope to the parachute. Ideally it should deploy like this:


United Kingdom

That’s seriously impressive. Probably weighs less than a full tank of TKS

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom
64 Posts
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