The only thing I worry about in the use of the BRS is
pilots relying greatly on it which COULD instill the
pilot with a false sense of security, in turn making him
sloppy. This could grow to a point where pilots will be
punching out if the engine burps....

Don Forsman wrote:

I almost always fly with a ballistic chute.  Never had to use it.  Ride
my motorcycle with a helmet (got used once).  If you have it and don't
need it, so what!  If you need it and don't have it . . . . .


Don.

  A good point was made regarding pilots maybe pushing their luck because
they know the BRS is there to bail them out. Same is true of adding IFR
instrumentation to an airplane that is intended as a VFR only airplane.
I've known non-IFR rated pilots who were willing to push their luck with
the weather cause they have the instrumentation to bail them out.

  When I was hang gliding I always carried a hand deployed chute. Could
never force myself to splurge for the BRS. I weighed the risks and figured
the hand deployed chute was a good compromise that provided sufficient
insurance for the type of flying I did. I've known a couple of folks who
had to deploy parachutes while hang gliding. Two of those deployments were
BRS chutes that could only be termed partial successes. In those two cases
the chute got tangled in the failed structure and never inflated. In both
cases there was enough fabric flailing around (both collapsed chute and
failed hanglider wing) to slow the descent rate enough that the pilots
survived with minor bruises.

  The motorcycle helmet isnt a good comparison. I always wear one when I
ride too. But in addition to its value in a crash it cuts down noise, keeps
the wind out of my eyes, keeps my head warm in cold weather, and here in
California keeps me legal since we have a helmet law. Its negative impact
on performance (due to added weight) is probably not measurable, and
relative to the cost of a good bike a DOT/Snell rated helmet can be had
pretty cheap.

  A BRS on your homebuilt eats into your gross weight considerably so there
is a performance penalty associated with carrying it around. If your on a
budget it also eats into your finances considerably. So you have to
consider the risks and potential downsides as well as the positives. But a
BRS is definitely not cheap insurance.

Mike Wills

 
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