Safety of the ultralight gliders compared to the certified gliders
Having no airworthiness certificate, is an ultralight glider more dangerous than a certified glider?
No, and for relevant reasons:
- It is easier to fly
- Lighter and slower, should it crash, there is less energy involved, consequently the exposure of the pilot to traumas is significantly reduced.
- The certified glider’s pilot has an individual parachute, to save his life, he first has to evacuate the cockpit, then, established in free fall and separated from the aircraft, find the handle to command the deployment, pull it, and then after a short delay, he will eventually descend at a survivable speed; to be efficient, this procedure has to be started at least 400 to 500m above ground. In contrast, the parachute of an ultralight glider is tied to its structure and has an instantaneous pyrotechnic deployment system: should a severe incident occur, the pilot has not to evacuate, he stays into his glider which will slowly descend hung to the parachute; this emergency procedure will be successfull even at low altitude: all the pilot has to do is to pull the handle of the parachute’s deployment system, and one second later he is saved.
- The approach speed of an ultra-light glider is half that of a certified glider, should an accident happen on the final, the consequences would be closer to those of a moped accident.
- the landing distance is less than one fourth of that of a certified glider; depending on the area overflown, the number of available fields for landing out is multiplied by 10 to hundreds.
