whole aircraft parachute

[montanapilot]

Has anybody had a whole aircraft chute installed aftermarket? If so, where was it installed and what was the cost?

Shannon discouraged me from installing a chute when I bought the airplane (new) , the rationale being (1) it increases an already problematic empty weight, and (2) the airplane can be landed at 35 kts, so why the need for a chute? I felt, and still feel, that those answers had more to do with the additional hassle for Tecnam, but I'd like to hear anybody else's ideas. I've had some engine problems, I do a lot of mountain flying, and I'm reconsidering.

[ChiMike]

If you had a P2008 I’d have no hesitation with advocating installing a BRS. To Shannon’s point—dealing with the 1320 max gross weight is an issue with the Astore as that is both the legal max weight and the design weight.

The difference with the P2008 is that, while it is a LSA with the US 1,320 weight limit—it’s design and legal rating in the rest of the world is 1,450 lbs: the BRS isn’t going to impact either performance or design max load.

To your point—a nice soft place to land isn’t as easily found in Montana: if you’re able to give up the 35 lbs and still be no greater than 1,320 for your mission then go for it. My wife would not have been as interested in our plane as she was if it had not had a ‘chute. I’m always glad it’s there.

[montanapilot]

Thanks for that, ChiMike. As an aside, it was represented to me both by somebody at Tecnam who shall be unnamed and by one of the principals of the dealer from whom I purchased the airplane (nobody who's been on the forum) that the gross weight in Europe is higher, 150 pounds according to one and 200 pounds according to another. After I continued to ask the Tecnam person to show me some documentation (and while he continued to claim the GW increase in Europe) without success, I did my own research and found, as you say, that the P2008's gross is higher in several parts of the world, but there is no place where the Astore's is greater than 1320 pounds.

[LSA Flyer]

If you plan on keeping the plane I'd put in the chute. It's fine to advise leaving it out if all your flying is over farm land or open flats. Half the year I fly over Northern New England and it's 100 foot trees with occasional small clearings. Hitting the tree tops at 35 MPH is fine, the subsequent 100 foot crash to the ground is a killer. The weight of my chute certainly makes a technical difference on paper but I'm satisfied it makes no significant difference in real world performance. The whole point of these planes is to have an enjoyable experience. A chute enhances that experience for many of my passengers and one day just might improve my odds.

Tecnam should be able to quote you a price for installation or a trade in for an equipped plane.

[DavidOber]

I am currently having a chute installed on a P2008 at Sportair USA in Little Rock...it is costing me around $7.5k. However, my plane was "pre-bridled" for a chute so they didnt have to remove the wings. Sportair is the US importer for the Galaxy chute that are installed in Tecnams. I chose them because they were closer and have been to Europe for training and have installed a vew Tecnams. However, since I started this project, Josh Noel at Tecnam has overseen 2 installs in Sebring...both places have been good to work with. Although we have different planes...I would be glad to answer any questions.

David