Before you pass judgement on someone else's low save comfort level, we also have to ascertain how many times he opted not to try a low save because, in his judgement, it wasn't worth it or safe enough to try. Let's be careful not to assume he always goes for the low thermal just because it worked previously. The real story is more likely a lot more dynamic than that.

Few of us pilots have absolute limits set. We have safe margins that we plan to adhere to that we have to modify based on realtime data and expected outcomes. I couldn't count the times I've made the best plans possible only to have to throw them out the window when weather changed or my personal comfort level dictated I take a different course of action that would keep me/us safe.

In the end, if we want to be 100% safe, we'd have to never takeoff in the first place. Your comfort level and experience dictates your personal safety margins. For most, that means sticking with the numbers arbitrarily agreed upon by the community. For others - Bob Hoover comes to mind - they are comfortable and just as safe with their lower margins because they have considered all of the mitigating factors.

Of course, there are a minority of Darwin-affirming chuckleheads out there that skew the statistics and make us all look bad.

Paul A.
Jupiter, FL