On Mar 17, 8:18*am, Eric Greenwell wrote:
Are there pilots with no parachute training that bailed out of a glider,
then made some practice jumps afterwards so they'd be better prepared if
it happened again?

Are there pilots that did have parachuting training before they bailed
out of a glider in an emergency, and were damn glad they had the training?

I don't fit either category since I never jumped out of an aircraft in
an emergency. I do have several hundred hours flying jump planes and
have made about 50 jumps.

Point 1 - Almost all sport jumping is done with ram air parachutes
that can be steered and flared. I doubt that any canopy experience
with these has much benefit for an emergncy landing under a round.

Point 2 - Almost all glider emergency parachutes are rounds. I know
of a few pilots, one with no jump experience at all, that use ram air
emergency chutes. I also know of a least one very experienced jumper
who would never consider using a ram air emergency chute in a glider.

Point 3 - The biggest advantages of jump experience may be less fear
exiting the aircraft and more stable position on opening. I watched
lots of first time jumpers exit my aircraft. The thing that impressed
me most was that I never saw a malfunction despite the horrible
positions sometimes adopted after leaving the strut.

So my priorities would be:

1.Familairity with my own emergency chute particularly what I have to
do to turn it into the wind.

2.Getting ground training in parachute landing fall technique.

3. Getting an actual jump, but just because it's fun (until you break
something)

I know one pilot that baled out over Arizona. He was so calm and
collected he spent most of the descent trying to get nice and stable
and nearly hit the ground before he pulled. There are no style points
for the jump, get it open.

Andy