First off, I'm not intending to put anyone on the spot for regulatory guidance here, just an opinion of what to expect:
My L39 has cold seats, but the seatback chutes are in place and form the primary restraint interface to the jet. When we ferried the jet to SoCal a few years ago the chutes were way out of date. We briefed that we'd only jump if the jet was on fire, and take our chances that the chutes would open as a "last chance" option.
As an Experimental, I have the option of abandoning the cold seats and chutes entirely, but I'm just wondering what I should expect WRT the existing chutes, packed for probably 20 years without seeing the light of day. Anyone have any actual experience with Soviet era chutes and what kind of condition they are likely to be in after decades sitting in a seatback? Should I even bother opening them up, or is there a chance they just need an inspection and repack?
My L39 has cold seats, but the seatback chutes are in place and form the primary restraint interface to the jet. When we ferried the jet to SoCal a few years ago the chutes were way out of date. We briefed that we'd only jump if the jet was on fire, and take our chances that the chutes would open as a "last chance" option.
As an Experimental, I have the option of abandoning the cold seats and chutes entirely, but I'm just wondering what I should expect WRT the existing chutes, packed for probably 20 years without seeing the light of day. Anyone have any actual experience with Soviet era chutes and what kind of condition they are likely to be in after decades sitting in a seatback? Should I even bother opening them up, or is there a chance they just need an inspection and repack?