April 10, 2004 at 8:23 pm
i have just had another crasy idea!:D
some of u might have noticed the strange device that was fixed to the rear of the F22 prototypes (and F18Es) during the latter stages of flight tests. those were ‘spinchuts’, parachuts that could be delopyed during a spin to help the pilot regain control.
having seen that, i was just wondering if it is possible to modify a normal fighter’s landingchuts to perform a similar function.
if deployed, this would put great stress on the airframe, but after modifying the airframe to handle the extra stress, i cant see why it cant be done.
while with modern FBW, a/c rarely go into spins, and pilots are taught how to recover from a spin. but wouldnt having this extra safety feature help to futher reduce the risks so that pilots could now be allowed to safely push their a/c’s performance evilopes further out in training so that they can be better propaired for war?
also, i cant see why this cant be used in combat situations. surely deploying a chut can help a pilot recover from a spin faster then having to do the serices of complicated manovers they were taught in flight school.
any ideas as to why this cant be done or why it hasnt been done?