Cirrus Chute Replacement

I am in the market for an older SR20 but have since changed my mind
to a DA40 after hearing how much annuals cost and the fact that the
chute/rocket is only certified for 10 years. I was told there will
be significant costs involved in replacing the chute. There will be
some serious depreciation of the older models very soon as we near
the magic 2009 for the first replacement chutes. Anyone have an
idea of how much cost is involved? I couldn't get a firm number
from any Service Centers except for the word "significant"!

-- Daniel Wolanski, March 11, 2008

Answers

The BRS parachute for the Cessna 182 retails for around $17,000, according to a quick Google search. There is a captive audience for Cirrus (i.e., we must pay for a new parachute or the plane becomes unairworthy (since the parachute is the only demonstrated method of spin recovery)), so probably it is wise to budget $20,000.

Is that a lot? Not by Cirrus standards. Remember that most owners are coughing up approximately $2,000 per year to pay for Avidyne software updates. Then there are the Mandatory Service Bulletins and the ADs, probably adding another $3,000 per year spread around the airplane. Then there are the usual costs of maintenance and the extra overhaul reserve for a six cylinder engine compared to a four-cylinder.

Being more comfortable in cruising flight is apparently expensive!

-- Philip Greenspun, March 11, 2008

To the question below about Avidyne/dual Garmin... I think you're talking about $1000/year for Avidyne and two Garmin 430s (not including XM weather).

-- Philip Greenspun, March 11, 2008

Is there any difference between the annual expense of getting your G1000 or GNS430/530 databases updated vs. Avidyne ?

-- Florian Weilke, March 11, 2008

I am not sure what Avidyne costs, but G1000 for my 182 costs $325 for navigation and about another $325 for FliteCharts and Safe taxi plus another $600 per year for XM weather so about $1,300 total.

-- Fred Rohlfing, March 11, 2008

The kit from Cirrus Lists at $9385 Plus 30 hours labor plus Materials to install the fiberglass panel that the rocket deploys through. Note: There will be hazardous materials shipping charges involved.

-- bob james, April 19, 2010

Leading Edge Aviation in Tampa Florida is a Cirrus service center and is one of the trained Caps replacement locations. We can accomplish the Chute repack and 10 year certification for $12,400. In your original question you stated that you could not get a firm cost for the work. I just wanted to give you the answer. Steve Miller is the director of maintenance here and can be reached at 813-695-3304 if you have further questions. Addressing the chute and why it is beneficial to have is defiantly a good question. To sum it up we can look at other things we do for safety. In the cars we now drive we all look for airbags and anti locking brakes. We all put our seat belts on before we put the car in drive and pull out on the road. The reason we do is because it has been proven to be the safest way to drive a car. If you would decide to drive a car with out your children and yourself buckled in the seat then it is the same as deciding to fly a plane without a Parachute and airbags. If you have not bought a plane yet then please consider this. It is very cost effective to buy a used cirrus and build into the financing the cost of Chute replacement. I would not just decide to forgo having the chute if the only reason is the cost. Flying should be fun and more people are enjoying owning a plane because their family is more confident about the safety of the plane they are flying in. Our Aircraft sales department just took a Stinson on trade for a SR20 and we included a chute replacement to be accomplished a year from now. We included the cost in the financing. I can help you with arranging a similar deal 813-477-9096. Ask for David Moberg http://www.leadingedgeaviation.com/

-- David Moberg, October 5, 2010

Buy the Cirrus! The safety features of the Cirrus are well worth a few extra dollars. Annuals are not as expensive as you might think, and there are some great buys on early SR20's because of the chute replacement. Some owners didn't set aside a reserve, and now are selling at a discount. Take advantage and get yourself a far better plane than a DA40! The chute replacement costs less than $12,000 and some buyers have dropped prices by $20K.

Check the chute replacement process on the Platinum Aviation Blog found at www.flyplatinum.com

-- Glenn Juber, January 31, 2011

We have new photos of the completed chute replacement on the Platinum blog today! And check back on Saturday for the final photos of this 2001 Cirrus SR20 with all new graphics!

-- Glenn Juber, February 3, 2011

The final installment of our blog is up! All the photos and details of a Cirrus chute replacement can be found at http://www.flyplatinum.com/blog/

First generation Cirrus SR20's, up to serial number 1422, and SR22's up to serial number 820, will require bodywork as shown.

Later Cirrus aircraft have a larger access panel in the baggage, so the chute comes out with no paint work required. The costs will be lower, less than $10K for the later models.

Look for a full article on this replacement in the upcoming Cirrus Pilot magazine!

-- Glenn Juber, February 8, 2011

Several years have passed since our last post on this topic. In that time we have completed over 127 CAPS repacks. Along with the passing time have come significant changes to the CAPS repack process. I receive calls every day from Cirrus owners or future Cirrus owners looking for answers regarding cost and details about the current CAPS repack process. I have found there is an abundance of misinformation and large variance in the time requirements and costs to complete this work. If you have questions on this topic or anything else having to do with your Cirrus feel free to contact me.

Steve@leadingedgeaviation.com

-Steve Miller Leading Edge Aviation Tampa FL

-- Steve Miller, March 26, 2015