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June 22, 2005 Mr. Al Longobardi Dear Al, On Saturday June 11, 2005 I was forced to egress from my Pitts Special after entering an inverted spin that I could not recover from. The Softie emergency parachute that you had just repacked worked perfectly. After intentionally entering an inverted flat spin at 5000 feet I was able to recover to a normal inverted spin. The aircraft however would not respond to any control inputs to recover and I was forced to initiate an egress at about 1000 feet. After jettisoning the canopy and releasing my belts I was only able to get about half way out of the cockpit. At this point I elected to pull the “D” ring while still partially in the aircraft. After what seemed to be not more than 2 seconds, the chute opened hard and pulled me free. My head snapped down and I saw the aircraft flash away. I immediately looked up to check my risers and look for the steering lines. As I did so I heard the aircraft impact the ground. I briefly looked to my right and saw what appeared to be my seat cushion falling away. I then looked down and saw the ground rush up to meet me. I was not under canopy for more than 10 seconds. Based on the manufacturers estimate that I was coming down at about 16 feet per second, I opened at between 150 and 200 feet. Al, thank you for your expertise and professionalism. You did nothing less than help save my life that day and I will be forever grateful. Sincerely, Jim McNamara |