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Abstract

A ram air parachute has a crescent planform shape. A plurality of longitudinal ram air cells (14) are formed by spaced ribs (16) extending longitudinally between and connecting the upper surface (2) and lower surface (4) and have openings at the forward ends thereof adjacent the leading edge 8 to allow ram air to enter the cells when the parachute is deployed in use. A plurality of shroud lines (16) are connected to the loewr surface at spaced positions thereon. The leading edge has a shape substantially in the form of half the perimeter of a first ellipse and the trailing edge has a shape substantially in the form of half the perimeter of a second ellipse having the same major axis as the first ellipse but a shorter minor axis. The spacing between the ribs gradually decreases from the central to the outer regions of the canopy and the spacing between adjacent ribs is a function of the cosine of the sweep angle of the leading edge between adjacent ribs. The crescent shaped planform of the parachute canopy provides a reduction in induced drag and a large improvement in positive stability.

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First Claim