(Mark James Boyd) wrote in message news:4026791b$1@darkstar...

I think it would be absurd to require parachutes for EVERY flight in
a 2-33 (a glider I've only flown ONCE above 3000 feet). 30 extra pounds
on every flight in a glider with no fatalities in 30 years, hardly
enough elevator to stall in any legal CG, and flown mostly below
3000 feet? Silly, in my opinion.

People have died because their parachutes failed to open.

Parachutes have been found damaged - sufficient to prevent them
opening - on inspection.

If, as seems likely, the probability of parachute damage increases
with each use, wearing them for winch circuits may well increase the
overall danger of a gliding operation.

Fun stuff, safety statistics.

Ian