Mike wrote:
The one problem I have heard:

As long as there is substanial mass left on the sailplane when the
pilot exits, the chute should open. If there is not enough mass left
on the part of the sailplane the chute is attached to, possibley due
to flutter or a collision, the chute will not open. If I am not
mistaken, this is how Bjorn Stender, the designer of the BS-1 died. It
is probably a rare occurrence though.

You can pull the D-ring yourself if the lanyard fails to pull it. If
you can't pull the D-ring for some reason, not having the lanyard won't
make much difference...

Marc