On Wednesday, March 18, 2015 at 10:00:05 PM UTC+13, Justin Craig wrote:
Surely it is safer to wear a chute than not? Is it not flawed logic to fly
one glider with a chute and another without?

It is even safer to stay on the ground.

But marginal increases in safety do not automatically trump all other factors such as convenience, cost, excitement, and the satisfaction of mastering skills. They have to be weighed up carefully, bearing in mind that no matter how careful we are we won't be here more than about 80 years on average .... and never more than about 110.

I've been a member of the same gliding club for 29 years now. It has generally had 80 - 100 members. During that time no one has died flying a glider. I'm pretty sure no one has used their parachute either. Several gliders have been written off, and one guy broke his ankle or lower leg. About 10 - 15 of our members regularly take part in competition flying, and a number of them have been national champion in various classes or undertaken record attempts (some of them with Steve Fossett, who also didn't die in a glider).

Certainly there is danger, but it's not like, say, motorcycling or bicycling. I've lost a number of friends in both those.