ParaZero Parachute for Phantoms

Is there anything on their site stating the company filed for and obtained a 107.39 waiver? I couldn't find anything here:
Part 107 Waivers Issued

Actually the waiver was issued to North Dakota operator Botlink ParaZero Announces the First Ever FAA Waiver for Flight Over People with a Parachute System - ParaZero the only waiver I found that mentioned a parachute was issued to James OSullivan on 10-24-18 last page #36 107W-2018-16309_James_OSullivan_CoW.pdf

Part 107 Waivers Issued
 
Looking forward to hearing the results, skymonkey.

So after two flights on two different days here are my findings. Initial satellite linking went from about 30 sec with no chute to 1 min with chute mounted, and was a little slower acquiring more satellites with maximum GPS before take off of 15 with no chute and 10 with chute. Warnings received while flying were none for no chute, too Weak GPS signal, Satellite Positioning Off, and audio warning that I was flying in ATTI mode with chute. I’ve flown in ATTI mode several times and know how the wind drifts the aircraft in its direction. At no time while flying with the chute and with audio or screen warnings about GPS lost did I ever felt I was flying in ATTI mode. I took my hands off the sticks several times and the aircraft stopped as you would expect when flying P mode. The inflight average wind speed for first day was 15.8 gusting to 21.7, and second day 7.4 gusting to 11.7. I would say my flying skills in ATTI mode are fair.
I didn’t really notice much if any sluggish stick controls with chute. I only flew in P mode at a maximum speed of 21 mph as I don’t see why I would need to fly faster over people. The max speed rating on the manual has it at 43.5 and a recommendation not to fly in sport mode. The battery did see a decrease of about 4 to 5 minutes of flying time, keep in mind I was moving most of the time vs staying stationary.
I would not fly with the chute on unless I were to fly over people (only if acquired waiver of course). If you want chute for protection from mishap I would tell you get insurance, it is cheaper and you can fly longer times with less work of putting and taking chute off. If you want to try and get waiver then this I hope is a step in that direction.
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IMG_8408.mov
 
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Thanks for the review, skymonkey. I would think if the Phantom is telling you it has no GPS at times, then it must be in ATTI mode. If not, it makes the GPS indication useless to rely upon. Sounds like it does interfere with satellite connection to some degree. Also, how difficult was it to attached it to the Phantom? Do you have to program it? Charge it?
 
Thanks for the review, skymonkey. I would think if the Phantom is telling you it has no GPS at times, then it must be in ATTI mode. If not, it makes the GPS indication useless to rely upon. Sounds like it does interfere with satellite connection to some degree. Also, how difficult was it to attached it to the Phantom? Do you have to program it? Charge it?

After placement of the placement stamp which stays on aircraft permanently, installing the chute should take about a minute. It does require a charge of one hour before first use and a firmware update via a desktop app you have to download. Taking off the battery with the chute on is a little challenging at first.
The system has a sequence of lights that indicates status of chute
IMG_0327.jpg
. I did notice after taking off light turns green indicating system armed then when I landed for minute the light turned blue indicating standby mode. After taking off again I noticed light not changing to green so I landed again powered down motors and cycled the power button on chute then after sequence of lights and take off again light turned green. So I’m thinking every time it senses that it has landed the power button has to be cycled before it will arm again. It does state first thing to do when aircraft lands is to power down chute.
 
So after two flights on two different days here are my findings. Initial satellite linking went from about 30 sec with no chute to 1 min with chute mounted, and was a little slower acquiring more satellites with maximum GPS before take off of 15 with no chute and 10 with chute. Warnings received while flying were none for no chute, too Weak GPS signal, Satellite Positioning Off, and audio warning that I was flying in ATTI mode with chute. I’ve flown in ATTI mode several times and know how the wind drifts the aircraft in its direction. At no time while flying with the chute and with audio or screen warnings about GPS lost did I ever felt I was flying in ATTI mode. I took my hands off the sticks several times and the aircraft stopped as you would expect when flying P mode. The inflight average wind speed for first day was 15.8 gusting to 21.7, and second day 7.4 gusting to 11.7. I would say my flying skills in ATTI mode are fair.
I didn’t really notice much if any sluggish stick controls with chute. I only flew in P mode at a maximum speed of 21 mph as I don’t see why I would need to fly faster over people. The max speed rating on the manual has it at 43.5 and a recommendation not to fly in sport mode. The battery did see a decrease of about 4 to 5 minutes of flying time, keep in mind I was moving most of the time vs staying stationary.
I would not fly with the chute on unless I were to fly over people (only if acquired waiver of course). If you want chute for protection from mishap I would tell you get insurance, it is cheaper and you can fly longer times with less work of putting and taking chute off. If you want to try and get waiver then this I hope is a step in that direction.
View attachment 107309
IMG_8408.mov
Thanks.
 
I'm curious what the "ratchet string"'s purpose is. Is it just a safety backup in case the chute pod pulls free from the top mount? Seems a bit of a hassle with all of the strings as I watch the installment and repacking video. And regarding the two parts that fly off when the chute is deployed... can you purchase those parts separately? Seems you would want THOSE attached with a short string as it looks like they could easily be lost.
 
I'm curious what the "ratchet string"'s purpose is. Is it just a safety backup in case the chute pod pulls free from the top mount? Seems a bit of a hassle with all of the strings as I watch the installment and repacking video. And regarding the two parts that fly off when the chute is deployed... can you purchase those parts separately? Seems you would want THOSE attached with a short string as it looks like they could easily be lost.

After watching their videos the whole contraption looks more like a Rube Goldberg job. I am definitely going to purchase one and the add-on package mentioned earlier, once I get my hands on an approved 107.39 waiver application using ParaZero (I'm betting it will happen this year) and if I ever get a job that needs flying over people.
 
I'm curious what the "ratchet string"'s purpose is. Is it just a safety backup in case the chute pod pulls free from the top mount? Seems a bit of a hassle with all of the strings as I watch the installment and repacking video. And regarding the two parts that fly off when the chute is deployed... can you purchase those parts separately? Seems you would want THOSE attached with a short string as it looks like they could easily be lost.

The cord is used to secure the chute to the aircraft
IMG_0328.jpg
by turning the tension ratchet clockwise and locking it in place on teeth of tension ratchet
IMG_0329.jpg
afterward check by picking up drone by chute and swing gently to make sure it is not loose
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If you plan on getting this to apply for waiver don’t worry about the repacking. You will have to send to ParaZero or certified entity by ParaZero to get it repacked.
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I couldn’t tell you if those pieces will be sold separately but my guess is that they probably will. Hopefully with proper maintenance and not flying your bird as if it were a fighter jet the chances of it deployment will be greatly reduced.
 
I see. Personally, I wish the design required one to drill a couple of small holes into the top shell where those side string hooks would instead be a couple of clips that could temporarily attached to the shell. Anyway... I'm being picky. It looks like the FAA may require you to use ParaZero or an authorized packer to pack the chute in order to be able to fly over people. That's not a problem if it already comes packed by them. But don't know how anyone could tell who packed it anyway.

I agree odds of deployment happening is probably pretty low, especially when you only use it during rare times over people. Good luck with it and I hope you never have to count on it.
 
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I see. Personally, I wish the design required one to drill a couple of small holes into the top shell where those side string hooks would instead be a couple of clips that could temporarily attached to the shell. Anyway... I'm being picky. It looks like the FAA may require you to use ParaZero or an authorized packer to pack the chute in order to be able to fly over people. That's not a problem if it already comes packed by them. But don't know how anyone could tell who packed it anyway.

I agree odds of deployment happening is probably pretty low, especially when you only use it during rare times over people. Good luck with it and I hope you never have to count on it.

Drilling holes would compromise the integrity of the shell and the system would probably fail as the body of the chute has to rotate about 45 degrees in order to stop the props. The system has a black box which could tell if chute ever deployed and I would think that if it ever did you would need some type of certificate from ParaZero for repacking compliance.
IMG_0332.jpg


Thanks
 
After watching their videos the whole contraption looks more like a Rube Goldberg job. I am definitely going to purchase one and the add-on package mentioned earlier, once I get my hands on an approved 107.39 waiver application using ParaZero (I'm betting it will happen this year) and if I ever get a job that needs flying over people.

FYI the ASTM add-on package is $1500.00......OUCH!
 
FYI the ASTM add-on package is $1500.00......OUCH!

Thanks for the info. Way too overpriced for my taste....perhaps if the price goes down. Perhaps Mars Parachutes will wake up, get the lead out, and makes a serious attempt at taking a slice of the future 107.39 market.
 
For anyone who is interested, we have the Parazero Phantom parachute in stock.

ParaZero SafeAir Phantom

And, this week we intend to do two separate intentional deployments of it and document the results of the parachute opening and the amount of impact and / or damage it incurs when it hits the ground.

If anyone in FL or visiting FL would like to witness the testing, please let us know and we will make arrangements for you to observe everything.

We did the same thing with the Matrice 210 parachute as well.

Thanks!
 
For anyone who is interested, we have the Parazero Phantom parachute in stock.

ParaZero SafeAir Phantom

And, this week we intend to do two separate intentional deployments of it and document the results of the parachute opening and the amount of impact and / or damage it incurs when it hits the ground.

If anyone in FL or visiting FL would like to witness the testing, please let us know and we will make arrangements for you to observe everything.

We did the same thing with the Matrice 210 parachute as well.

Thanks!

I’m a 3 hour drive from you guys, but provided the tests go well and I get a waiver soon, I’ll drive up to your shop.
 

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