Ron Wanttaja wrote:
...
True, but mid-airs are even rarer than structural failure. Nine
homebuilts
involved in midairs in my 1998-2000 database period, five were fatal. In
some of the fatalities, the pilot was probably dead or unconscious after
the collision, so neither a personal nor ballistic parachute would have
been much good.
...

I agree, Ron. However, even though mid-airs are rare they are one of the
causes for catastrophic accidents we have limited control over. By
selecting a (relatively) safe design to build one can get the liklihood of
it falling apart in flight under the chances of getting run over by one of
the blind nuts. For the design I build (BD-4) this is already true: There
was at least one case of a mid-air with jammed control system but no
catastrophic structural failure (great statistical data, ain't it?). BTW,
in the mid-air case the pilot got the elevator control unstuck just in time
to land a plane that had a third or so being ripped off earlier. He walked
away, so I guess that even counts as a good (however not perfect) landing.

Ever since these two military jets came in no time out of nowhere and buzzed
in close proximity under my hang glider over the Largo di Garda in Italy I
do the swivel with some sense of urgency.

- Holger