A ballistic parachute, ballistic reserve parachute, or emergency ballistic reserve parachute, is a

parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...

ejected from its casing by a small explosion, much like that used in an

ejection seat In aircraft, an ejection seat or ejector seat is a system designed to rescue the aircraft pilot, pilot or other aircrew, crew of an aircraft (usually military) in an emergency. In most designs, the seat is propelled out of the aircraft by an ex ...

. The advantage of the ballistic parachute over a conventional parachute is that it ejects the parachute canopy (oftentimes via a small rocket), causing it to open rapidly, this makes it ideal for attaching to

light aircraft A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. Light aircraft are used as utility aircraft c ...

hang glider Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...

s and

microlight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with aile ...

s, where an emergency may occur in close proximity to the ground. In such a situation, a conventional parachute would not open quickly enough. In 1982,

Comco Ikarus Comco Ikarus GmbH is a German aircraft manufacturer. The company produced hang gliders through the late 1970s, followed by ultralight aircraft, Flight Rescue System (FRS)-branded ballistic parachutes, and light aircraft A light aircraft i ...

developed the FRS rocket-launched parachute system for its ultralight and hanglider aircraft. In 1998, Cirrus Aircraft (then known as Cirrus Design) provided the first ballistic parachutes as standard equipment on their line of type-certified aircraft, the

Cirrus SR20 The Cirrus SR20 is an American piston-engined, four- or five-seat composite material, composite monoplane built since 1999 by Cirrus Aircraft of Duluth, Minnesota. The aircraft is the company's earliest type certificate, type-certified model, earni ...

; and in 2016, the company delivered the

Cirrus Vision SF50 The Cirrus Vision SF50, also known as the Vision Jet, is a single-engine very light jet designed and produced by Cirrus Aircraft of Duluth, Minnesota, United States. After receiving deposits starting in 2006, Cirrus unveiled an aircraft mock ...

, the first jet aircraft with a ballistic parachute. Some

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

s are also fitted with a ballistic parachute.Head, Elan
"How Curti put a parachute on its Zefhir helicopter."
''verticalmag.com'', 15 April 2019.

Notes and references

Parachuting Safety equipment {{Aviation-stub

See also

Notes and references