On Friday, August 10, 2018 at 8:22:54 PM UTC-4, John Huthmaker wrote:
I'm just starting out with soaring. Simple question for you guys. How many of you fly with an emergency parachute? It looks like they cost around $2000 online. Pretty steep price; although the cost is insignificant if it saves your life. Is this something I should be looking to purchase?

When I started taking lessons, I asked about parachutes and the general consensus was that doing lessons involved a lot of getting in and out of the glider, and parachutes made it time consuming adjusting belts, sizing chutes, hard on the instructor, etc. it was just too much hassle. Considering most power pilots do no wear chutes, I told myself I'd be ok.

Once I soloed, I purchased my own parachute and handheld radio before I finally purchased my own glider. I had several incidents leading up to this decision:

1) We had a pilot with a brand new PIK having a grand old time doing wingovers in his new glider. He came fairly close to me on one of them, pulling up right in front of us coming the opposite direction causing us to make a sudden turn to avoid him. Close enough that it startled both myself AND the instructor. When you hear the instructor say OH **** you know it's close.

2) I had another pilot cut me off entering downwind... he must have been above and slightly behind me because neither of us saw each other until he sped up and descended right in front of me... about 75' ahead. I now make a few S turns before getting on the 45 to enter downwind.

3) I was on tow, just flying straight ahead and level at about 1500' when a Cesna flew right past us in the opposite direction, same altitude, about 40' off my wing tip. THAT one really startled me.. neither of us had radios so there was no warning.

4) Scratching in a weak thermal way downwind during my last leg of a silver badge attempt, desperately trying to get upwind to a better cloud... saw a twin prop heading very fast right at me. Decided I'd better bail from my thermal just in case he was flying IFR. He was, he flew right through where I was circling... and I was forced to land out. Not scary since I saw it coming, and the outlanding was fun for a new pilot in a 1-26.

But, I then made up my mind that I was always have a radio and a parachute even if I did not own a glider.