On Sunday, December 14, 2014 6:50:19 AM UTC-8, GM wrote:
I don't agree with the notion that the drogue chute is unreliable! I used it on just about every landing just for fun. The key is to keep it dry, aired out and packed correctly. It WILL deploy. I saw one Cirrus that had its chute not deployed since it thermaled last with Pterodactyls. It was all stuck together, wadded up and came out in one chunk. It is an operator's/owner's error if they fail to deploy!

Assuming it's the Cirrus I think it is (the one with the single piece canopy), I know the guy who restored it, and it no longer has a drogue chute nor the deployment mechanism. I tried, in vain, to talk him out that choice several times, it's otherwise a beautiful piece of work. To me, half the fun of owning a glider like this is the occasional chute assisted landing. Lacking the chute is not a problem, unless you really need to get into a short field someday.

Marc