CAPS™ - Live With It.

The Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS™), standard equipment on every Cirrus aircraft, is indicative of the visionary commitment to general aviation safety. The parachute system is designed to protect occupants in the event of an emergency by lowering the aircraft to the ground after deployment. CAPS™ revolutionised general aviation safety by providing an additional measure of safety to occupants, similar in theory to the role of airbags in automobiles. No other certified general aviation aircraft manufacturer in the world provides this safety feature as standard equipment.

In the event of an in-flight emergency, pulling the red CAPS™ handle on the ceiling inside the cockpit deploys a solid-fuel rocket out a hatch that covers the concealed compartment where the parachute is stored. As the rocket carries the parachute rearward from the back of the airplane, the embedded CAPS™ airplane harness straps release from the fuselage. Within seconds, the 55' diameter canopy will unfurl, controlling the aircraft rate of descent. The final landing is absorbed by the specialised landing gear, a roll cage and Cirrus Energy Absorbing Technology (CEAT™) seats.

Perspective ESP

Cirrus Aircraft have announced the availability of Perspective ESP, a revolutionary safety and flight stability augmentation system by Garmin that will be available on Cirrus SR-Series Aircraft for new orders scheduled for Fall 2010 delivery. The key feature for Perspective ESP is that the system operates when the Garmin GFC 700 autopilot has been disengaged, that is when hand-flying. Perspective ESP operates in the background and if the pilot becomes incapacitated, disoriented or distracted, the system uses the digital autopilot servos and sensors to detect and help correct unsafe flight conditions. After it senses things are back to normal, it goes back into the background. Similar systems of this sophistication and capability were previously available only the world’s most advanced and most expensive ‘fly-by-wire’ business and military jets.

Key components and features of the Perspective ESP system are:

- Enhances safety by providing electronic stability and protection for aircraft being hand-flown
- Activates whenever the airplane exceeds one or more flight parameters
- Uses autopilot servos and sensors, yet operates when the autopilot is turned off
- Helps correct excessive pitch attitude, roll attitude, or airspeed
- ESP augments pilot vigilance: Assists, but does not take control
- Can be overridden by the pilot at any time
- Increases corrective pressure as exceedances move beyond safe limits
- Gently returns the aircraft to stable, straight-and-level flight
- Operates unobtrusively and simulates aircraft’s natural flight stability
- Can be temporarily turned off for training or flights where extreme maneuvering is anticipated.