GB827307A - Improvements in or relating to parachutes - Google Patents

Abstract

827,307. Parachutes. MINISTER OF SUPPLY. Nov. 15, 1957 [Nov. 15, 1956], No. 34930/56. Class 4. A parachute canopy has attached to its peripheral margin a skirt of net or other open material whose resistance to the passage of air is small compared with that of the conopy. Fig. 2 shows part of the peripheral portion of a flat canopy 21, to which are attached by folded, webbing reinforced seams 23, a series of net panels 22, each extending between two adjacent rigging lines 26. Each rigging line has the edges of the adjacent panels wound round it, and is covered by webbing 25. A tape 30 extends around each rigging line, and is stitched to a webbing reinforced hem 24 on the panels 22. Cross stitching 29 secures the rigging lines to webbing 25 and tapes 30. The circumferential length of hem 24 may be approximately equal to, or less than that of seam 23, and each panel 22 may taper in the direction away from the crown. The canopy gores and panels 22 may be cut on the bias. Fig. 3 shows a further flat canopy in which each gore is composed of panels 31, 32 and a small panel 33, the canopy proper thus having a sawtooth shaped periphery. The net panels 34 are shaped to correspond. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of a further canopy periphery. The skirt is formed from two panels of net 51, 52 stitched to the canopy 53 and to a webbing reinforcement 54. The two panels are also seamed and stitched to two wide webbing tapes 55, 56, and the depths of the panels are such that during deployment, the tapes 55, 56 assume a tilted position as shown, and possess axodynamic properties assisting correct inflation. The material of one panel may stretch more readily than that of the other, at least in the direction of the crown.