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Parachutes

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Flying High

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At the last contest I went to, out of the 31 competitors, about 3 of us wore parachutes. There is no legal or club requirement in Australia to wear parachutes for aerobatics so most don't, until recently I hadn't thought too much about it, but having 2 children in quick succession has lowered my risk tolerance.

I was surprised when a very experienced aerobatic pilot at that same contest expressed that parachutes were a waste of time because from 2,000 or 3,000ft, there is little chance of getting out of a broken or flaming aeroplane in time. Obviously I disagree, having bought one and attended an Alan Silver bail out course, I'm a parachute wearing convert. I'm not too cool to look silly lugging a chute around.

To that end I also wear a helmet and nomex flight suit. I probably look like a Top Gun wannabe walking out to fly a sportsman sequence dressed like a F-15 pilot, but I can cope with the embarrassment for the sake of giving myself those extra safety margins.

For me a parachute is extra inconvenient because I rent a Pitts so I have to lug my chute around with me as opposed to leaving it in the aircraft. I also have to pull all the seat cushions out before the flight and put it all back for the next renter. Having said that, pulling all the cushions out forces me to do a really good FOD check around the seat and down the tail. If I have a fire or some other disaster and I wished I could bail out but was sitting on foam and not my chute, the inconvenience factor of a parachute would seem a lot less significant all of a sudden. Same if I hit my head on the way out and were knocked out cold because my helmet was too much of a pain to bother wearing that day.

I'm often bemused when I see guys jumping in their hot aerobatic mount in shorts, no chute and a Clarity Aloft headset to go and pull 10 and push -6 with a fuel tank between their legs.

I don't want this to become a rant so I'll get to the point.

I don't know of anyone flying aerobatics in Australia who's successfully bailed out, mainly because few wear chutes. I'm really keen to hear from anyone here who bailed out so I can collate a series of success stories to perhaps influence the thinking of some of my friends down under. The more detail the better.

Thanks in advance.
 

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