Alan King wrote: > My software opens chutes a little early or late. The 1 in 1000 guy >gets down and finds out his fail-safe wasn't working. He feels lucky >and sings my praises that even when the software was intentionally >screwed up and the fail-safe malfunctioned, he got down ok, if not as >planned. If your software opens the parachute a little early, you may kill someone. When a skydiver falling at 120 MPH hits somebody's canopy, it's like slamming into a brick wall. Bones (including necks and backs) get broken and lives get ended. Standard procedure is to make sure nobody's above you when you open your canopy and to keep an eagle eye on anybody below you in case they don't see you and open anyway. It's even worse if your software opens a reserve chute INSIDE the airplane. When this happens, the canopy often gets sucked out through the gap where the door doesn't quite meet the door frame. It then inflates and instantly stops moving. Meanwhile, the airplane is still traveling through the air at 100 MPH or faster. And you are inside the moving airplane, attached to the non-moving canopy with straps that are strong enough to lift a truck. What HAS HAPPENED in this situation is that the straps cut through the door frame and the side of the airplane (and anybody who's in the way) and then you get pulled right through the aluminum side of the plane. As our instructor said, "At that point, all your problems are over." Usually, the problems are over for everybody on the plane within a minute or two. We were shown pictures of one plane that managed to land after one of these incidents and you could see right where the guy got pulled through the metal wall of the airplane. It was a surprisingly small hole. I vote for a loud "BEEP!" when something malfunctions. Dave Mullenix