On Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:05:46 +0000, Surfer! wrote:

In message , John Smith
writes
In this case parachutes may have helped too.

As I understand, flying gliders without a chute is quite common in the
USA. I'll never understand this.

Me neither, but this time the folks in the glider weren't the ones that
needed a personal parachute. I feel naked in a GA plane without one...

I don't quite know why. It would be near impossible to get out of many GA
aircraft when they are flying.

Think about exiting from the rear seats in almost any Cessna, the rear
seat in a Piper Cub or, for that matter, the right front seat of a Piper
Dakota. The door opens forwards and the one time I flew in one I don't
recall seeing any emergency jettison for the hinge pins.

IMO in any of these situations a parachute is irrelevant unless you're
got quite a few thousand feet between you and the ground.


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martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
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