Zulu Alpha,
Ah, but there's the rub... deciding to use them. In the military, an "abandonment height" is calculated before they even start the spinning. This is to be strictly adhered to - no "one more turn it'll come out", just: 3500' (or whatever) OUT!
A simple question: how many pilots (of the amateur category, like me) work this out beforehand?
This could be embarrassing if I'm the only one, but before I had the opportunity to fly with one of the RAF instructors (where the rules were spelled out in the briefing), I pulled on the parachute for aerobatics without really knowing at what stage I would use it.
Thoughts, folks?