On Nov 20, 7:57*am, vic20owner wrote:
Dumb beginner question follows:

I am just starting out flying gliders.... * Here in the USA it seems
nobody wears a parachute unless they are contest flying or doing
aerobatics. *However, I generally do like knowing that I have a backup
plan and a parachute seems reasonable. *I suppose a history of cave
diving has made me sensitive to accident possibilities. *I realize
flying is very safe but gliders tend to fly in circles near each
other.

Would it be premature to buy and wear a parachute while still taking
lessons, or would I quickly become the club's private joke?

thanks

As most pilots come to injury or grief in the landing phase where a
parachute is not a factor, use during training with an instructor is
generally not a factor. Use during competitions and aerobatics does
reflect on the somewhat increased risk associated with types of
flying. That doesn't mean that the rare event where a parachute made
a difference doesn't occur. As mentioned, use by a single person in a
two-seater is generally bad form unless perhaps strapped to a
lightweight person for ballasting purposes. One club took the
position that all training flights would use parachutes and that
policy was fortuitous for the instructor and student when their glider
was hit by a lightning bolt that struck five miles from the cloud,
causing the glider to 'explode'. However, there have been many more
accidents caused at altitudes below parachute effectiveness through
failure to fly the aircraft when finding the canopy unlatched.
Several injuries and fatals have resulted from spins during training
flights, just to compare risks. A German study once concluded that
survival in an incident requiring parachute use below 600m agl was
very low. That said, some emergency chutes are very effective at low
altitudes with good horizontal speed. Not long ago there was a mid-
air between a glider and a jet, the glider pilot survived using his
chute. Several years ago there was a mid-air in the same region, that
pilot was not wearing a chute, but managed to limp back to the the
airport with a fuselage that was nearly severed by the impact. This
past summer there was a mid-air during a competition in the US where
one of the pilots successfully hit the silk and the other was able to
fly back to a safe landings. Note it was during competition, one of
the increased risk scenarios. Several years ago a pilot with a folded
up wing rode his glider into the trees in Florida. Most of these are
rare happenings.

I normally don't wear a chute in the club two-seaters, but I do wear
one in my own gliders. I'm unlikely to use one unless I know the
primary structure has failed. Even then, I have to consider the
outcomes. I bought one of these while flying in the UK http://tinyurl.com/64btg9
Why? Because it's a comfortable chair type chute and my first choice
was several months backordered http://tinyurl.com/55t3fz and I didn't
wish to wait. At the time they were separate companies. Look at the
performance differences. As I fly in the US west mostly, my current
chute is unlikely to allow a landing without injury over the
elevations where we fly. The EB80 is quite a bit different in pack
and performance and will probably be my choice for a replacement one
of these days. About 30 years ago, a pilot doing a high speed pass in
an Open Cirrus VTC fluttered it to pieces. He departed the glider at
about 100ft at 100kts and landed safely in his EB80. No interest in
the company, but a fondness for this rig. I wore one for three years
of flying an SHK. Other pilots will have an appreciation for chutes
that have served them well. A little history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caterpillar_Club

Frank Whiteley