dont forget, under that chute, your coming down at 1600 ft/min. or more, i would go the conventional landing option with a touchdown at 100 or less ft/min anyday over the cute option while in a 100% controllable aircraft/glider. over mountainous tiger country, different story, but out there, in my mind the chute would not have even been considered.
every summer, hundreds of glider pilots survive outlandings in just such paddocks...
after just doing an aero rating and AAC course at Red baron, forced landings are nothing to fear... every spin resulted in the engine stopping.. so forced landing practice, through to touchdown, is done regularly just in case the engine doesnt start again.
with proper training, a forced landing is no more a drama than steep turns, or stalling and recovering with less then 10ft height loss... inverted even..
on the plus side, the pilot lived, just decided to use another method of getting the aircraft down...
but the thought that the cirrus is certified with a spin recovery procedure that dictates the use of the chute is simply scary.
