*First thing I bought was a parachute, *

Good point Tom,
I remember the G-102 flying at Truckee that was hit by a light
aircraft climbing out of the same airport. The prop would have cut the
boom off, only stopped when it came to the steel oxygen bottle! The
whole assend was soooo loose that elevator movement made it wiggle up
and down. But here is the best part of the story, the pilot didn't
have a parachute! Miraculously he was able to plunk it down safely in
the middle of the runway. To those who say, "flying is unsafe, deal
with it", Why not do all we can to improve our odds? Don't you hook
up your seat belt when driving? Don't you slow down when driving in
rain? Don't you announce your intensions when entering the pattern?
Don't you monitor 123.3 when thermalling with others? I do.
JJ