Mark Langford wrote: > > Absolutely. And not only that, but structural failures are > incredibly rare in aircraft in general, KRs in particular. Only in > these rare cases will a parachute help, and as Bob says, there's no > guarantee then. Far more likely is fuel starvation, or an engine > problem of some sort, like carb ice, ignition, valve train, or crank > problems. In these cases, I'd try to put it on the ground if at all > possible. I agree that if you're feeling that unlucky, or live in an > area with particularly unfriendly terrain, go for a ballistic chute. > I think there's probably a good reason why you rarely see a pilot get > into a perfectly good airplane wearing a parachute...
I'd still rather get out of a perfectly good airplane wearing a chute than get out of a borked airplane without one ;) (borked= typo that wound up sounding funny and suitable, so it is no longer a typo) The way I see it, $500 for a used chute and another $40 for a repack and inspection is cheap compared to not getting to fly, see my family, make fun of people stuck in Pipers, etc. I'm planning on flying aerobatics (NOT in the KR!!!) in the near future, too, and I'll have to have a chute for that anyway. -- Steve N205FT mystic...@swbell.net He who seeks will find, and he who knocks will be let in.
