"Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe" The Sea Hawk at wow way d0t com wrote:


Some where the occupants got out but not in time - there was no indicaton
if they took too long to start to get out or had too much trouble getting
out (These were Pitts in spins iirc) . In one, the student made it out,
but the instructor was still belted in (Citabria)

When I was in college I read a number of articles where pilots who bailed
out said they did hesitate a bit because jumping was so new to them...they
had never done it.

I knew that someday I'd be doing aerobatics so I went to a jump school and
took skydiving lessons. Back then (1976) you started out with static line
jumps. I did a few of those and worked up to 15 second free falls. I was
totally comfy with jumping and that was enough for me.

Now that I'm actually taking aerobatic lessons, I'm glad I did it. If I had
to get out, and could get out, I don't believe I'd think twice.