> the test period that follows. She figures that if anything
> happens, it's most likely to happen then.
>
Not that statistics convince everyone nor both genders equally, :-), but
checking
my Excel data of U.S. homebuilt accidents 1998-2002, 0-40 airframe hours: No
structural or control failures or in-flight fire have occurred in any of the
popular kitplanes, resulting in serious/fatal injury; one (below) resulted in
lesser injury. Such failures in other design were rare. For reference also,
annual homebuilt "commissionings" here run around 1,000.
The only accident marginally on-point in this 5-yr period involved the 1st
flight
of a Velocity which lost one of its winglet/rudders, due to builder error.
Controllability on this design would be and was very poor, but the pilot
sustained
minor injury only after nose-over following a forced landing. Granted this
could have turned out worse, but the question is whether a pilot w/o jumping
experience would have parachuted out in the same circumstances.
Don't wish to start a debate, as it's a personal thing essentially, but merely
to enter the actual stats "into the record."
Regards,
Fred F.
|