Flying with Parachutes

Eric Greenwell wrote on 8/13/2018 7:36 PM:
wrote on 8/13/2018 7:13 PM:
Having a chute needing one not having one

Yeah, yeah. I know. I screwed that one up. Sorry.

Better to have a chute and not need it than to need one and not have it.

I was always better at English than Math. Thank God for free apps.

In 5 minute, I was able to recall 7 pilots I know/knew whose lives were saved
by parachuting from their glider. I can't remember any pilots that were saved
by seat belts in their cars. So, if you know me, please wear a parachute,
because there is a good chance you will need to bail out of a glider, and I
don't want to lose any friends.

Correction: I do know a glider pilot that survived a car crash due to seat belts,
so the score is...

Parachutes: 7
Seat belts: 1

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Dec 2014a" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm

http://soaringsafety.org/prevention/...anes-2014A.pdf

At 16:24 14 August 2018, Eric Greenwell wrote:
Eric Greenwell wrote on 8/13/2018 7:36 PM:
wrote on 8/13/2018 7:13 PM:
Having a chute needing one
Yeah, yeah. I know. I screwed that one up. Sorry.

Better to have a chute and not need it than to need one and not have
it.

I was always better at English than Math. Thank God for free apps.

In 5 minute, I was able to recall 7 pilots I know/knew whose lives were
saved
by parachuting from their glider. I can't remember any pilots that were
saved
by seat belts in their cars. So, if you know me, please wear a
parachute,
because there is a good chance you will need to bail out of a glider,
and
I
don't want to lose any friends.

Correction: I do know a glider pilot that survived a car crash due to
seat
belts,
so the score is...

Parachutes: 7
Seat belts: 1

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email
me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"

https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Dec 2014a" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm

http://soaringsafety.org/prevention/...anes-2014A.pdf

I've had two car accidents where I was wearing a seat belt and got out
without a scratch. (Neither my fault.)
If I hadn't been wearing a belt I don't think that would have happened.
No I wasn't lucky, I'd made the decision to always wear a seat belt long
before.
We don't notice when things just work.

Saved by a seat belt here.. someone ran a light and I t-boned them going about 50. No airbags back then. Also saved by a helmet riding a motorcycle.

I make my own luck. I wear seatbelts, helmets, and parachutes when possible.

On Sunday, August 12, 2018 at 8:35:21 AM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
I've jumped out of a Cessna-182 with a sport rig which is much larger
than an emergency parachute.Â* Of course it had a jump door and no seats,
which made it much easier.

Recently, I ferried a C-182 which had not been flown for a dozen years
and I wore a parachute.Â* It was tight, but by opening the door, and
sliding the seat aft, I was able to rotate my body out the door.Â* Now,
should part of the harness catch on the door latch, the outcome would
not be as nice...

On 8/11/2018 9:29 PM, 2G wrote:
Unless you have an emergency door ejection on your Cessna (I have never seen one with this), you won't be able to get out to use your parachute.

Tom

--
Dan, 5J

Now try having two big guys pushing the door closed while you're trying to exit - that will simulate the air pressure you will encounter at Vne+.

Tom

On Tuesday, August 14, 2018 at 9:24:55 AM UTC-7, Eric Greenwell wrote:
Eric Greenwell wrote on 8/13/2018 7:36 PM:
wrote on 8/13/2018 7:13 PM:
Having a chute needing one not having one

Yeah, yeah. I know. I screwed that one up. Sorry.

Better to have a chute and not need it than to need one and not have it.

I was always better at English than Math. Thank God for free apps.

In 5 minute, I was able to recall 7 pilots I know/knew whose lives were saved
by parachuting from their glider. I can't remember any pilots that were saved
by seat belts in their cars. So, if you know me, please wear a parachute,
because there is a good chance you will need to bail out of a glider, and I
don't want to lose any friends.

Correction: I do know a glider pilot that survived a car crash due to seat belts,
so the score is...

Parachutes: 7
Seat belts: 1

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Dec 2014a" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm

http://soaringsafety.org/prevention/...anes-2014A.pdf

I was in a car crash and was wearing a sear belt. It was pretty dramatic: I slid under a moving semi at high velocity.

Tom

On Tuesday, August 14, 2018 at 9:24:55 AM UTC-7, Eric Greenwell wrote:
Eric Greenwell wrote on 8/13/2018 7:36 PM:
wrote on 8/13/2018 7:13 PM:
Having a chute needing one not having one

Yeah, yeah. I know. I screwed that one up. Sorry.

Better to have a chute and not need it than to need one and not have it.

On Tuesday, 14 August 2018 18:14:39 UTC+3, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
On Tuesday, August 14, 2018 at 3:51:23 AM UTC-7, krasw wrote:
tiistai 14. elokuuta 2018 7.10.18 UTC+3 Jonathan St. Cloud kirjoitti:

I do fly commercial rides at our gliderport were parachutes would not be practical on the scenic flights.

That's an excuse like no other. We do scenic flights all the time, and no passenger has ever said that wearing parachute is inconvenient. But obviously we live in different culture.

With all due respect there is a lot of judgement on this site. Most of my multiple thousands of hours of flight time is without a chute, nor would one have been appropriate or even useful (helicopter; twin). I certainly respect your operation's procedures and I don't disagree. However, many operations conduct commercial rides as a normal course of business without chutes. A part time line pilot is not going to change how an operation has successfully run for over 45 years, with never an incident where a parachute would have been nice.

As I said, we have different culture. I have never seen or heard anyone flying without chute and would ground such pilot on the spot and forever. Anecdotal evidence make extremely bad statistics. I too have never used parachute, though I have witnessed emergency jump after midair.

On Tuesday, August 14, 2018 at 10:58:42 AM UTC-4, Dan Marotta wrote:
That's faulty logic and that CFIG was making a joke.

On 8/14/2018 8:50 AM, Duster wrote:
That said, equally untrue is, as another famous CFIG once said, there's a 50/50 chance of dying each time you fly (i.e., either you live or you die).

--
Dan, 5J

Not only that, but it was a 50/50 chance of a rope break on each flight, not death. He was making a sarcastic point about being ready for such an event.

I am not against parachutes, but the thread initiator is a newbie starting lessons and I felt some exposure to the sport up to the point of a glider license would be in order before purchasing such an expensive piece of insurance. Annnnndddd if he is that scared about leaving sweetie and little Susie behind, perhaps he should purchase a Pipistral with a ballistic parachute to improve the odds even more.
Point is, I don’t want to start a trend of advising or scaring new comers to a dying sport that soaring is more dangerous than driving while eating a Big Mac or mowing the grass with a thunderstorm about, and the only way to survive is to pump out the cost of a parachute.
But, I see I am out voted base on what I’ve read, so Johnny, have at. Welcome to a great little known miracle that many created (not me) for our exclusive use.
As for myself, When I fly off my strip, cross country and all, no chute. Comfy cushions.
I’ll probably hit a cow tomorrow.
Cheers,
R

Mercy sakes, we've beat this topic to death!

As for Krasn "grounding" any pilot who doesn't wear a chute, I guess that is a perfect example of why America is America, namely over here we believe in personal liberty and personal responsibility. If a guy and to wear or not wear a chute, thats his/her business. I am more concerned with his flying practices because thats what can kill me (midair etc) not whether he wears a chute. Thats his bisiness.

And don't give me the dribble about having more soaring fatalities being bad for the overall "image" of soaring. We are and have always been a minute subset of the aviation community. Nobody give a hoot about us or our safety record or lack there of. Fatalities occur and will continue to occur primarily due to **** poor aeronautical decisions aka pilot error.

Wear a chute or don't wear a chute, thats your choice. Personally I wear one while flying my bird solo but for training flights I am more concerned with teaching and practicing situational awareness. That is something thats is way more important imop that having a chute.