How does the airplane descend? What altitude?
A. In a very short time, the aircraft will cease any swinging and stabilize under the now fully opened canopy at zero-forward airspeed. Once stabilized, the aircraft will descend in a flight level attitude with the nose slightly lower than the tail. On reaching the ground, the nosewheel generally will touch down first. At 5,000 foot MSL, the descent rate is 25 fps. To give you a better idea, descending at 21 fps (7.5 meters/sec) is approximately like jumping from a seven-foot height. In the Symphony and Cessna the gear and seats will absorb most of the force.
