I considered posting this thread in the "unusual attitudes" segment of this forum but figured it would fit here in Hangar Talk as well.

I know of a few people that perform mild aerobatics. Some with the required parachute and some without. I was speaking with one of the guys that has a chute and I asked him if he has ever skydived as a way to acclimate himself if he should ever need to exit his plane and use his chute to save his skin. He advised he had not.

I believe most pilots, if not all, will try to fly the plane all the way to the crash site. Even if a major component is missing and the plane is falling, versus flying. I just wonder how many people have elected to impact the ground with the plane due to fear of exiting the plane and no experience in deploying a parachute? Or the fear of free falling outweighed the crashing of the plane?