I'm just getting back into the sport after a long hiatus. I've seen that a lot of glider pilots fly with parachutes (ones they wear) and I have seen Ballistic Recovery System parachutes in planes as well. From my layman's view, it appears that getting out of a plane using a traditional chute after a mid-air collision seems exceedingly difficult and time-consuming. On the other hand, BRS chutes seem to deploy very fast and can be deployed very close to the ground. They can lower the entire plane safely to the ground in almost any terrain, and a few bruises to your bird or your body seems a lot better than certain death if you can't get out of a plane after a mid-air. So if this is true, and I am happy to say I am no expert, then why isn't everyone using these things? I think they should be mandatory in every new glider built. Thoughts?
Spark