System Description - Cirrus SR20 Pilot Operating Handbook

Section 7
Airplane and Systems Description
Cirrus Airframe Parachute System
The airplane is equipped with a Cirrus Airframe Parachute System
(CAPS) designed to bring the airplane and its occupants to the ground
in the event of a life-threatening emergency. The system is intended to
save the lives of the occupants but will most likely destroy the airplane
and may, in adverse circumstances, cause serious injury or death to
the occupants. Because of this it is important to carefully read Section
3 - Emergency Procedures,
10 - Safety Information,
consider when and how you would use the system.
The parachute system can be activated at any time. The solid-
propellant rocket flight path is upward from the parachute
cover. Stay clear of parachute canister area when airplane is
occupied. Do not allow children in the airplane unattended.

System Description

The CAPS consists of a parachute, a solid-propellant rocket to deploy
the parachute, a rocket activation handle, and a harness imbedded
within the fuselage structure.
A composite box containing the parachute and solid-propellant rocket
is mounted to the airplane structure immediately aft of the baggage
compartment bulkhead. The box is covered and protected from the
elements by a thin composite cover.
The parachute is enclosed within a deployment bag that stages the
deployment and inflation sequence. The deployment bag creates an
orderly deployment process by allowing the canopy to inflate only after
the rocket motor has pulled the parachute lines taut.
The parachute itself is a 2400-square-foot round canopy equipped
with a slider, an annular-shaped fabric panel with a diameter
significantly less than the open diameter of the canopy. The slider has
grommets spaced around its perimeter. The canopy suspension lines
are routed through these grommets so that the slider is free to move
along the suspension lines. Since the slider is positioned at the top of
the suspension lines near the canopy, at the beginning of the
deployment sequence the slider limits the initial diameter of the
parachute and the rate at which the parachute inflates. As the slider
moves down the suspension lines the canopy inflates.
7-104
CAPS Deployment
Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS)
• WARNING •
Cirrus Design
Checklist and Section
P/N 21399-004
Revision A1
SR20
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