Survival chances a damn sight better than landing on a scree slope or any of the granite flats with there layered rock strata.
And in there in general isn't much wave action in scottish lochs and the wind tends to be channeled along them so into wind you would have next to nothing ground speed and if you could drop it next to the shore and keep your phone dry it would be better than rock landing. Also stalling it into the pine trees is also discussed extensively as another method.
The water temp would be a significant factor but then anywhere in the scottish mountains the crash is only the first thing to survive.
And actually I have never taken pax across the cairngorms unless in a twin. I have taken other pilots who know the risks but not some clueless punter. Same with water crossings to the islands.
But in general in the highlands its not the locals who crash and its not engine failures and the like its usually pilot error and CFIT in IMC.
Which is what this comes down to the chute lets you survive a pilot error which is far the most likely thing to cause an accident. The most likely time for that is on approach and landing.
And if you had actually walked the hills and flown over them you would know where I was coming from with the likely outcome of a forced landing in them. Those of us that do fly them have our points dotted about that we think we could get in, the rest of it you have to accept your dead unless luck gives you a joker. If your not will to accept that you shouldn't be flying in the area.
We actually have quite a good safety record up north, there is alot more GA flying than you might think. Very active microlight communities and loads of gliding and spam cans as well. I would like to think that the safety record is more to do with the average standard of pilot and there ability to say sod it when the risk factor gets to high. If there was a industry wide beasting of pilot standards and PIC standards it would reap far more improvement in fatalitys than sticking 85lbs of dead mass in the aircraft.
All the chute does is treat the symptom it doesn't cure the desease.
And the two ltr bottle of diet coke can be used to either replace fluids or remove them thus either stopping dehydration or removing the distraction of bursting for a pee on approach/landing which is where most accidents happen.
you would think so but the pic doesn;t show what the normal relief is. Its either strata granite which has weathured cracks which then rut and you have steps every 2 meters or so. There is also loads of mostly scandanavian grantie lumps which have been dropped out when the ice melted. Then you get the peat areas which again have muliple steps and for ever changing water runs so even the bottom of the U shapes arn't that good.
Unless you have actually walked them it looks pretty decent from the air but lower down its pretty bloody horrible to be honest unless your in a helicopter and they don't land very often and winch instead.
Last edited by mad_jock; 21st Oct 2012 at 11:19.