"Oh sh*t the wing has fallen off!
I'm outta here! Seeya mate!
Enjoy the ride down!"
FTDK, yeah something like that! Often the parachute is only warn for comfort/padding in the cockpit. When you learn to glide in Aus, you generally go up without parachutes - madness hey! I own my own parachute these days, so on all gliding flights it comes with me
Here's a picture of my old mans glider, about to launch @ Kingaroy. It's a Schempp-Hirth Ventus 2cxM. The engine is a 52hp Solo engine, and at MTOW of 565kg it'll easily climb out at over 500fpm (early day self-launchers always struggled to get this). Once at around 2000AGL, the prop is lined up vertically and retracted back into the fuselarge. This transforms the glider into a more traditional 'pure sailplane'..
http://bp3.blogger.com/_s1aKFuHusZQ/...0206W30075.JPG
Dad's flown 988km in this bird, and fastest speed around a task of 144km/hr!
W3