Some good news

At 07:30 25 October 2015, Chris Rollings wrote:

I believe that the "don't unbuckle the 'chute and leave it in the
aircraft
when you get out" advice, is based on one incident with a Spitfire in WWI
in which the pilot was believed to have done just that when abandoning th
aircraft. It seems a very small sample on which to base considerable
inconvenience for tens of thousands of pilots over a period of 75 years.

whether the parachute was unclipped in the cockpit or the pilot go in
with
his chute not secure, I suspect the latter is the more likely.


I also think this advice dates back to the days when parachutes had a "turn
and press" quick release dropped all the straps. A modern chute normally
needs you to undo 3 buckles, none of which are similar to the cockpit
straps, so the risk is less.

However I still leave the chute on and struggle out of the cockpit! I also
snug up the leg straps once seated in the cockpit (before the seat straps),
which does check they are done up on getting in.