Remember the "ejection seat" developed by DG several years back? It
involved a bladder which was quickly inflated by a CO2 cartridge and
lifts the pilot high enough to simply roll out in an emergency. I don't
see why a less energetic version could not be developed. Something
inflated much more slowly by a battery powered pump run off of the
ship's battery. With something like this, one wouldn't have to wait for
a hoist or crane to be rolled out.
I find I can still get out of my ship by pulling a foot back and getting
a firm plant on the cockpit floor but, eventually, I might have to start
unstrapping my parachute to climb out.
Dan Marotta