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A Skydiver Must Understand How a Parachute Works to Make a Safe Landing
from: Maxx Sports GuidesA person free falling with a parachute can suffer serious consequences if the parachute fails to deploy at the right moment - the person can fall to his death.
Fortunately, parachutes have gone through extensive development, tests and trials throughout the decades, making landings much safer today.
The principle behind a parachute is easy to understand. But if you're using a parachute you must also understand how the parachute works. If you know the correct sequence of deployment (how to operate them) you can be confident you'll make it to the ground safely.
Parachutes are packed by the owners themselves or by riggers. They must be packed properly so that they will deploy correctly. Much effort goes into packing a parachute. Modern designs have zero porosity, which means the air can't pass through the fabric, making it harder to fold.
A reserve chute is also packed along with the main parachute in case something goes wrong. The reserve chute is also packed by a rigger. The parachutes is taken out and repacked every couple of months so that it won't get stiff.
Deployment Sequence
In a normal situation the deployment sequence follows specific steps. The skydiver starts the sequence by pulling out the drogue chute. This chute is inside a little pouch at the bottom of the container or knapsack. When the drogue inflates it pulls the bridle.
The bridle is a nylon webbing which is ten to twenty feet long. This in turn pulls the closing pin, which holds the canopy. The pin gives out a small pop when it's pulled.
The other end of the bridle is connected to the deployment bag. The deployment bag contains the lines placed in a zig zag pattern underneath the bag and the parachute.
As the drogue and the bridle continue to pull upward, all the lines will unfold and stretch out. In turn, the line pulls out the risers as it continues to unfold.
The risers have nylon straps that connect the lines and the parachute to the container which the skydiver carries.
The parachute is pulled out of the deployment bag by the tension in the lines. The wind then inflates the canopy. Modern designs called Ram-air parachutes have sliders, which hold the lines together and prevent the canopy from opening too quickly. Opening too fast can cause a tear in the canopy and/or hurt the skydiver.
When the parachute is completely out of the bag and opened the skydiver can grab the toggles to steer the parachute towards the landing site. Unfortunately, something can still go wrong. A part of the main canopy may not inflate entirely or at all; it may get tangled in the lines; it may rip or fail to come out of the deployment bag.
If any of this happens the skydiver can deploy the reserve chute.
But first the skydiver must cut away the main canopy. A release handle can be pulled out of the shoulder straps to cut away the main canopy.
After that, the reserve chute deploys automatically due to the reserve static line. On other designs the skydiver has to pull out a second handle to release the reserve chute.
Let's hope in both of these cases the reserve chute deploys correctly.
Raeford Skydiving News