How dangerous is soaring?

a. In the UK where I fly, gliding fatalities are
on average around 2.5 per annum out of 5,000 pilots,
so my 'statistical' risk is around 1 in 2,000 of dying
through gliding each year.

Lifetable analysis suggests that your risk of dying
from any cause is between 2-10/10,000 per year between
ages 15-40; is between 1/1000 - 1/100 per year between
ages 40-60; is between 1/100 - 1/10 per year between
ages 60-80 years.

So a risk of 1/2,000 may double your (small) risk of
dying if you are aged under 40 years, but is likely
to have minimal overall impact on your risk of dying
if you are aged over 40 years. (assuming adherence
to safe gliding practices).

Smoking cigarettes or being obese tend to shorten life
expectancy by 5-20 years, which are each equivalent
to more than doubling one's risk of dying. So if you
dont smoke and can fit in your glider, you probably
have a significantly longer life expectancy than the
non-gliding, fat smoker.

If you are a glider pilot who smokes, then it may be
better to give up smoking rather than gliding.

Rory

ps: If you lose too much weight, put some lead in the
nose.