Parachutes & life expectancy

Maybe I don't know, but from more than 60 years of soaring and powered
flight, from my own eyeballs, and numerous written reports I have
concluded that parachutes will alter behavior. How many injury
accidents and fatals have been recorded that have the factor
"Parachute worn" or no "parachute worn".

If I choose to wear a parachute it is because I intend to test the
flight characteristics to the limit in an untested aircraft. Without
the chute I would not make the flight. My behavior is altered.

If I wear a chute in a contest, it may, but I doubt that it would
alter my behavior.

If I do low altitude aerobatic, or high speed...really high speed
passes would I really think a chute would help if things go wrong?

Would I fly closer to other gliders in a thermal because I was wearing
a chute?

Would I buzz a Boy Scout troop on a mountain top if I was not wearing
a chute?

Most of my 30,000 flights in airplanes and gliders were without
chutes. In some of the flights with chute, When I really wanted to use
the chute, I did not dare because I was too low. I had to make the
best of a bad situation and land. I have never made a landing that
caused more than a ding.

Fly safely, keep your mind on the task ahead, don't overload your
mind, don't depend on your chute to save your life when things go
badly or unexpectedly.

Wear a chute when required or when desired. but do not alter your
behavior because you feel safer with it on your back. Fred

On Mar 17, 4:23*am, fredsez wrote:
Maybe I don't know, but from more than 60 years of soaring and powered
flight, from my own eyeballs, and numerous written reports I have
concluded that parachutes will alter behavior. How many injury
accidents and fatals have been recorded that have the factor
"Parachute worn" or no "parachute worn".

If I choose to wear a parachute it is because I intend to test the
flight characteristics to the limit in an untested aircraft. Without
the chute I would not make the flight. My behavior is altered.

If I wear a chute in a contest, it may, but I doubt that it would
alter my behavior.

If I do low altitude aerobatic, or high speed...really high speed
passes would I really think a chute would help if things go wrong?

Would I fly closer to other gliders in a thermal because I was wearing
a chute?

Would I buzz a Boy Scout troop on a mountain top if I was not wearing
a chute?

Most of my 30,000 flights in airplanes *and gliders were without
chutes. In some of the flights with chute, When I really wanted to use
the chute, I did not dare because I was too low. I had to make the
best of a bad situation and land. I have never made a landing that
caused more than a ding.

Fly safely, keep your mind on the task ahead, don't overload your
mind, don't depend on your chute to save your life when things go
badly or unexpectedly.

Wear a chute when required or when desired. but do not alter your
behavior because you feel safer with it on your back. Fred


If I don't wear a parachute my feet won't reach the rudder pedals.
For people that always wear one I doubt they alter behaviour much
because they become something we don't think much about - we keep them
dry,get them repacked from time to time, put them on with care, but
for most of us actually having to use one is one of our nightmares.

I "write here on rec.aviation" only because I wear a parachute....
if I didn't wear a parachute I wouldn't be here to write this....
tim "a certified member of the caterpillar club"
Please visit the Wings & Wheels website at www.wingsandwheels.com

"Cats" wrote in message
...
On Mar 17, 4:23 am, fredsez wrote:
Maybe I don't know, but from more than 60 years of soaring and powered
flight, from my own eyeballs, and numerous written reports I have
concluded that parachutes will alter behavior. How many injury
accidents and fatals have been recorded that have the factor
"Parachute worn" or no "parachute worn".

If I choose to wear a parachute it is because I intend to test the
flight characteristics to the limit in an untested aircraft. Without
the chute I would not make the flight. My behavior is altered.

If I wear a chute in a contest, it may, but I doubt that it would
alter my behavior.

If I do low altitude aerobatic, or high speed...really high speed
passes would I really think a chute would help if things go wrong?

Would I fly closer to other gliders in a thermal because I was wearing
a chute?

Would I buzz a Boy Scout troop on a mountain top if I was not wearing
a chute?

Most of my 30,000 flights in airplanes and gliders were without
chutes. In some of the flights with chute, When I really wanted to use
the chute, I did not dare because I was too low. I had to make the
best of a bad situation and land. I have never made a landing that
caused more than a ding.

Fly safely, keep your mind on the task ahead, don't overload your
mind, don't depend on your chute to save your life when things go
badly or unexpectedly.

Wear a chute when required or when desired. but do not alter your
behavior because you feel safer with it on your back. Fred


If I don't wear a parachute my feet won't reach the rudder pedals.
For people that always wear one I doubt they alter behaviour much
because they become something we don't think much about - we keep them
dry,get them repacked from time to time, put them on with care, but
for most of us actually having to use one is one of our nightmares.

"Cats" wrote in message
...
On Mar 17, 4:23 am, fredsez wrote:
Maybe I don't know, but from more than 60 years of soaring and powered
flight, from my own eyeballs, and numerous written reports I have
concluded that parachutes will alter behavior. How many injury
accidents and fatals have been recorded that have the factor
"Parachute worn" or no "parachute worn".

If I choose to wear a parachute it is because I intend to test the
flight characteristics to the limit in an untested aircraft. Without
the chute I would not make the flight. My behavior is altered.

If I wear a chute in a contest, it may, but I doubt that it would
alter my behavior.

If I do low altitude aerobatic, or high speed...really high speed
passes would I really think a chute would help if things go wrong?

Would I fly closer to other gliders in a thermal because I was wearing
a chute?

Would I buzz a Boy Scout troop on a mountain top if I was not wearing
a chute?

Most of my 30,000 flights in airplanes and gliders were without
chutes. In some of the flights with chute, When I really wanted to use
the chute, I did not dare because I was too low. I had to make the
best of a bad situation and land. I have never made a landing that
caused more than a ding.

Fly safely, keep your mind on the task ahead, don't overload your
mind, don't depend on your chute to save your life when things go
badly or unexpectedly.

Wear a chute when required or when desired. but do not alter your
behavior because you feel safer with it on your back. Fred



Luck is where Opportunity meets Preparation, so far I have been very
lucky.

Al G

I wear one because my glider handbook says it is required or I must
fit some additional cushion in the seat back. Given the choice
between a piece of safety equipment or a piece of foam, I will take
the safety equipment. Remember, the unlucky pilot is one who has run
out of Altitude, Airspeed and, Options. The parachute is just another
option!

If you extend your logic (which I will agree may have some degree of
truth), then I drive my car differently because I wear seat belts and
have airbags. Accidents are accidents and I am quite certain that we
all strive to avoid them, parachute or not.

Although I don't think it generally applies to glider pilots wearing
parachutes, there is a well documented "Airbag Effect" where drivers of big
SUV's with huge crush zones, seat belts and airbags, do tend to drive more
agressively since they have a feeling of invunerability. This behavior has
led to the safety benefits of these devices being statistically less than
was expected.

Speaking from personal experience, if you feel that you are flying more
agressively because you are wearing a parachute, I suggest that you attend a
skydiving school who offeres a course in the use of emergency 'chutes and
make one training jump. That disuaded me from undue reliance on my backpack
since it's an experience I don't want to repeat.

You could also ask anyone who has used an emergency 'chute if they'd like to
repeat the experience

Bill D


"Todd" wrote in message
...
I wear one because my glider handbook says it is required or I must
fit some additional cushion in the seat back. Given the choice
between a piece of safety equipment or a piece of foam, I will take
the safety equipment. Remember, the unlucky pilot is one who has run
out of Altitude, Airspeed and, Options. The parachute is just another
option!

If you extend your logic (which I will agree may have some degree of
truth), then I drive my car differently because I wear seat belts and
have airbags. Accidents are accidents and I am quite certain that we
all strive to avoid them, parachute or not.

On Mon, 17 Mar 2008 09:12:52 -0600, "Bill Daniels"
bildan@comcast-dot-net wrote:
[snip]

You could also ask anyone who has used an emergency 'chute if they'd like to
repeat the experience

Not counting ejections, of course...years ago I saw a TV documentary
of life among a carrier air group. They ran two interviews with one
pilot, one early in the deployment and one just after he'd had an
engine failure off the cat and ejected into the water.

In the first one he was all charged up, loads of gung-ho, your basic
indestructibility complex. In the second, he was wide-eyed,
off-center, and saying "I don't EVER wanna ride that seat again!"

rj

On Mar 17, 8:12 am, "Bill Daniels" bildan@comcast-dot-net wrote:
Although I don't think it generally applies to glider pilots wearing
parachutes, there is a well documented "Airbag Effect" where drivers of big
SUV's with huge crush zones, seat belts and airbags, do tend to drive more
agressively since they have a feeling of invunerability. This behavior has
led to the safety benefits of these devices being statistically less than
was expected.

Speaking from personal experience, if you feel that you are flying more
agressively because you are wearing a parachute, I suggest that you attend a
skydiving school who offeres a course in the use of emergency 'chutes and
make one training jump. That disuaded me from undue reliance on my backpack
since it's an experience I don't want to repeat.

You could also ask anyone who has used an emergency 'chute if they'd like to
repeat the experience

Bill D

"Todd" wrote in message

...

I wear one because my glider handbook says it is required or I must
fit some additional cushion in the seat back. Given the choice
between a piece of safety equipment or a piece of foam, I will take
the safety equipment. Remember, the unlucky pilot is one who has run
out of Altitude, Airspeed and, Options. The parachute is just another
option!

If you extend your logic (which I will agree may have some degree of
truth), then I drive my car differently because I wear seat belts and
have airbags. Accidents are accidents and I am quite certain that we
all strive to avoid them, parachute or not.

Add anti-lock brakes and stability assist to the list of car systems
that drivers think will allow them to defy the laws of physics....

Steve

Todd wrote:
I wear one because my glider handbook says it is required or I must
fit some additional cushion in the seat back. Given the choice
between a piece of safety equipment or a piece of foam, I will take
the safety equipment. Remember, the unlucky pilot is one who has run
out of Altitude, Airspeed and, Options. The parachute is just another
option!

I feel compelled to point out that if you're out of altitude, your
parachute probably won't save you.

If you extend your logic (which I will agree may have some degree of
truth), then I drive my car differently because I wear seat belts and
have airbags. Accidents are accidents and I am quite certain that we
all strive to avoid them, parachute or not.

It's quite likely that you do drive your car differently because of the
seat belts and airbags:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation

I've seen it suggested in a half-joking manner that we ought to replace
the car's airbags with a large spike mounted on the steering wheel pointed
straight at the driver's chest. People will drive more carefully and get
into fewer accidents. Personally I'll be keeping my airbag, though....

I'm not sure how much this would apply to parachutes. It seems to me that
parachutes save you from a lot of accidents that aren't greatly influenced
by your behavior, like mid-air collisions and structural breakups, such
that it's difficult to increase your risk.

--
Michael Ash
Rogue Amoeba Software

"Michael Ash" wrote in message
...
Todd wrote:

I've seen it suggested in a half-joking manner that we ought to replace
the car's airbags with a large spike mounted on the steering wheel pointed
straight at the driver's chest. People will drive more carefully and get
into fewer accidents. Personally I'll be keeping my airbag, though....


After riding motorcycles extensively in my teens and twenties I have
returned to riding as a fuel saving measure. I can tell your that when
riding a motorcycle with none of the safety devices found on automobiles, I
ride EXTREMELY defensively.

BTW, I DO NOT reccomend anyone try to learn motorcycle riding as an adult.
Youngsters learn faster...... and heal faster.

Bill D