Dynamic pressure is one of the most important forces affecting a parachute during deployment:

Image credit - USPA All users of any RSL should be taught and should practice the following: After confirmation of a good canopy over your head Disconnect the RSL! This prepares the jumper for high ground winds and a cutaway after landing without activating the reserve. Additionally, this procedure prepares the jumper for in flight canopy involvement with other canopies, as well as for dealing with the two canopy out scenario. If, in the event both canopies deploy, the follow

How far does your gliding parachute really glide? “I don’t know but it goes really fast!” might be the response you get from some canopy pilots. What is the difference between speed and glide? Is there a difference? (Yes.) How can we tell? Does it matter? These are some of the questions we will tackle here.

3/10/1997 It is the intent of this paper to describe and define the history and design considerations relating to development of the common sport main risers. The development of the 3 Ring Release, which is a subject for another paper, is not included. Risers are the interface used on parachute assemblies to connect the links holding the lines of the canopy to the harness of the store, or load. The end which attaches to the harness is quick releasable. As are most of the sub

The Racer is proof that you can build a harness/container system that is secure in all body positions, at all speeds, without having to compromise reserve bag extractability.

To begin that process, we must first understand all about opening shock. When we talk about hard openings, we must delineate between types. There are openings which merely deflate your lungs, and there are openings which do serious physical damage to you and/or your gear.

twisted risers We read in a recent APF News-Sheet of yet another hard cutaway experienced by an Australian skydiver. It prompted me to dig out a still very relevant article from the archives. Several years ago, there occurred a rash of hard/impossible pulls on cutaway systems, prompting John Sherman to conduct a series of experiments in May 2003 to accurately define the problem. John has written several definitive papers on riser construction and 3-Ring technology. In one of

In simplest terms, there are two forces involved. The drag force capability of the pilot chute and the force required to extract the bag. Certainly, the ability of the pilot chute must be greater than the retention of the container. This demands that we know the capability of the pilot chute. To know this requires testing with instrumentation. However, we can calculate the size requirement of the pilot chute and measure the bag extraction force without doing sophisticated tes

The purpose of this article is to illuminate on the facts necessary for jumpers to make an informed decision