Warbird Information Exchange

Ok, I have been tasked to find out the best parachutes to use in our T-6.

Should I go with a seat pack that you sit on?

or

Backpack type and keep our current seat bottom cushion?

Also suggestions of recommended brands will be appreciated.

Thanks,

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John Cotter

Call Strong, ask for Candace. They're the best by far. Here's the number. (407) 859-9317

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T-6F, N81857
warbirdridesusa@gmail.com

I have a Strong Para 303 backpack for sale, in excellent condition, if you decide to use that kind. Looks like new, never jumped, stored in my closet since I sold my T-34 some years back. Good up to 254 lbs. PM if interested.

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Bill Greenwood
Spitfire N308WK

Personally, I'd prefer a back pack. But I have a bit of parachuting experience and know I could fly better with one if I had to exit. Whatever you do, make sure you follow STRICT, GOOD pre-flight inspections of your rig; there are too many people who don't.

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REMEMBER THE SERGEANT PILOTS!

I am a FAA licensed Senior Parachute Rigger with 1600 sport jumps and experience packing many seat and back systems, but I have been out of the loop for a few years. Strong makes a good general aviation emergency system and they are very comfortable. My personal preference is for the Butler Systems rigs because they are certified to a higher airspeed and gross weight. However, their website is out of date and they may be out of business. If you can find one that is less than 5-6 years old, I would go with the Butler rig. If you are exiting an aircraft that has become a lawn dart, the higher certified opening airspeed may make all of the difference. I packed one for a glider pilot that exited his high performance glider in a verticle dive after shedding his wings. He was probably going in excess of 180 knots straight down and the Butler rig suffered no damage.

seat pack, that is what the plane was designed for. The back pack chutes I have worn in the past pushed me too far forward.

I agree with Matt 100%. A backpack may be a better chute to jump with, but it just doesn't work well in a T-6.

Gary

I've always used back packs. In the Mustang I had a custom foam insert I used to fill the bucket. Never liked the seat packs; uncomfortable, banged my legs to jelly in the hot sun and generally got in the way climbing in and out of the airplane.
Your T6 could be set up the same way if you went this path.
Don't know your weight, but if I remember right, most of the seat packs were 28 foot canopies.
Some pilots find the seat packs push them too far forward in the seat. I never found this to be an issue but I was fairly slender and in good shape (at the time at least ).

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Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship

Tell her you remember her from the days when she worked at Stallion51..

Lynn

we've got bucket-bottom Butler chutes in ours

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Taylor Stevenson

Butler is by far the MOST comfortable one. I have flown and sat in the others mentioned and would never buy anything except the butler warbird seatpack. I have them in the T-28 and the SNJ, have flown with different manufactures in several warbirds and spent 10 flying hours in the T-28 in a single day. Ears hurt more than the butt, and thats with an ANR hemet!
Butler builds the seatpack for the exact metal seat your using. They just do it right. Period.
Chuck Wahl

What is the difference?

I'd go with the seat pack. It works best when you set it in the seat pan, and just keep the seat cushion in the baggage compartment. The seat pack, in my opinion, is more comfortable, and I've sat in one with a small cushion in the lower back, for a little lumbar support, and much more comfortable on longer flights.

Also, depending on how tall you are, you may want the backpack. When I was little, and couldn't use my short little legs for the full throw of the rudder, the backpack pushed me forward so I could get more control.

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"There are two types of people here; airshow whores and airshow prostitutes. The whores, like you and I, do airshow stuff for free, whereas the prostitutes are paid" - Reg Urschler

To kind of answer Randy's question, there is alot of difference in the canopies. Sport Chutes are a flying wing style with alot of control, same as the Golden Knights use.

And to who said he could fly better with a backpack chute, the canopy used in a emergency chute is not the same as used in a sport chute. The canopies used in emergency chutes are round, with very limited control,