The facts seem pretty clear

- Bad news: on a per hour basis, soaring is pretty risky

-Good news: the risks are not of the Russian-roulette type, how many barrels are loaded. The risk is primarily that you or I will do something dumb. Gliding is inherently quite safe. No engine = no engine failure, no engine fire, etc. Unforseeable mechanical failures and mid-air collisions outside of competition are really really rare. So what risks you face are entirely a question of how you approach decision-making.

- We all say we're going to make great decisions, but even the apparently safest and most careful pilots are often capable of making bad decisions.

- There is little correlation between the ability to fly fast and to fly safely. And people (like me) who talk a lot about safety on the ground are often just as prone to temptation in the air as others.

It's often expressed awkwardly. Yes, in the back row at every funeral we mutter, "well, I wouldn't do something that dumb." That keeps us going to get back in the air. Perhaps a better attitude is, I would, and probably will, unless I get really really careful and recognize my own susceptibility to temptation.

John Cochrane BB