But I would never pull it above flat country.
That is an interesting question; one I have thought about a fair bit.
I like opinions based on facts but I dont know the facts. I wonder how many forced landings on flat terrain are successful. By successful I dont simply mean the pilot and crew survived but survived and escaped with few if any injury.
I suspect we all would like to think we would make a good job of a forced landing in a reasonable field. In reality I wonder how many do? In high performance aircraft I have heard of a good few people who have suffered some pretty bad injuries and obvioulsy many stories of those who have suffered none.
In contrast so far as chute pulls go the success rate has been astonishingly good. I know there will be those quick to point out the spinal compression suffered by one pilot amoung the cases that could be cited but equally there are others who will mention that the POH was incorrectly followed.
Statistically therefore I wonder whether the outcome is likely to be better if you come down under chute rather than attempt a forced landing.
I am mindful that the problem with forced landings is that however good we think we are there is always the risk we collide with something we couldnt see until committed or, particularly at this time of year, the nose digs in, the aircraft flips, followed by a fire. At least with the chute the configuration in which the aircraft lands and the energy it will be carrying is pretty much pre-determined.