007Heli
I would argue that without an engine in a SEP you have in effect lost control of the aircraft and if you are lucky and very skilled will be able to land it in a random field that is reasonably good terrain.
I cannot agree with the above statement in any form if that was the case then every glider pilot would be deemed to have lost control.
An aircraft which flies has airflow which creates lift that makes it fly. To get that airflow without getting into too much detail you require an energy source! You have two to play with the energy source available from the engine and the energy source available from the airframe.
In still air the glider only has the one source from the airframe so the glider is loosing height to maintain flying speed.
How on earth have you lost control by loosing the one energy source ie the engine? You still have as much control as you would have with the engine albeit you will be trading altitude to maintain that control.
By the time you land you will be near the stall speed. Most light singles dont need Heathrow to land on.
Taking out a hedge probably will not kill you! Stalling will as will other poor decision making or lack of skills.
As soon as you pull that chute the aircraft enters a state of NOT flying and you no longer have control.
Remember too that the descent rate and vertical impact with the ground is high and not to be taken lightly.
I too can see situations mainly pilot incapacitation and structural failure where the chute should be used but thats about it!
Under the chute with a high descent rate you in the lap of the Gods as to where you come down and as stated you could get severe back problems from the impact.
The negative side of having a chute is that pilots will push their luck with a false sense of security flying into conditions which neither they or the aircraft are up too.
Like Pilot Dar I think pilots are better placed honing their flying skills.
Get away from this modern mentality of creating aircraft drivers and back to creating pilots again?
Training pilots to handle and experience all sorts of situations! The very tragic crash of the PC12 where the aircraft broke up in a very high speed dive worries me that we do not do enough with basic flying skills in and out of the envelope and spend too much time on avoidance.
As with a twin which has an extra engine that extra engine gives you more options. With more options comes more choices! With more choices comes the option to make more wrong choices the same with the chute!
Pace