snip My position is there is no evidence the untrained glider pilot
will be
better off, and some chance the pilot might actually be worse off. /
snip

Eric,

There is no such thing as an untrained glider pilot (one with a
license, of course) -- a ram-air parachute *is* a glider. Emergency
ram-air chutes are extremely docile and easy to use. Pull the left
handle to go left. Pull the right to go right. Pull both gently when
approaching the ground if you want to flare it (which is not mandatory
for a safe touchdown).

I fly mostly in the southwest, where the landscape can be most
unfriendly to someone under a round parachute instead of a square.
(The first is a passenger, the latter a pilot.) I don't want to
survive a mid-air or glider breakup only to land in trees, canyons,
power lines or water.

Definitely consider a square emergency chute if you are ever in the
market for a new one. And if you live near a skydiving center, go make
a tandem jump and see just how easy it is.

~ted/2NO