2 ms·

AFAIK traditional (WWII) and most military type of "round" parachutes come down "fast", much faster that what you may be used seeing in modern videos with "spor

by jaclaz 7y ago

AFAIK traditional (WWII) and most military type of "round" parachutes come down "fast", much faster that what you may be used seeing in modern videos with "sport" rectangular/directional parachutes, where they can "brake" and practically land while practically at a standstill. Paratroopers have some intensive training, and the standard is to land with a sort of somersault, see this (British Army) video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu2f1u928xk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu2f1u928xk exactly to minimise the risk of fractures, see also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachute_landing_fall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachute_landing_fall Probably pilots (that may have additional issues with the G suit and the seat) cannot in many case do the same. And also many "normal" users may fail at making a "good" landing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachuting#Most_common_injuries https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachuting#Most_common_injuri...

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
KineticLensman 7y ago
I was a civilian student sport parachutist in the late 80’s before square canopies were in widespread use. We used Vietnam-vintage ejector-seat round parachutes that were modified to include a ‘double-L’ hole on the rear panels [0]. This created forward motion and gave some steerability, albeit at the cost of increasing the sink rate. We always landed with a parachute landing fall because the downward speed was a potential ankle-breaker. Basically you kept your feet and legs together, and as you came in the inevitable lateral motion automatically dragged you over sideways, and you could roll back on to your feet. I landed about 70 jumps, and by the time I stopped I could achieve good accuracy in low wind conditions (landing within a yard or two of a target after deploying at 2500 feet). [0] http://www.parachutehistory.com/round/combo.html http://www.parachutehistory.com/round/combo.html

by jaclaz 7y ago

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

KineticLensman 7y ago

I was a civilian student sport parachutist in the late 80’s before square canopies were in widespread use. We used Vietnam-vintage ejector-seat round parachutes that were modified to include a ‘double-L’ hole on the rear panels [0]. This created forward motion and gave some steerability, albeit at the cost of increasing the sink rate. We always landed with a parachute landing fall because the downward speed was a potential ankle-breaker. Basically you kept your feet and legs together, and as you came in the inevitable lateral motion automatically dragged you over sideways, and you could roll back on to your feet. I landed about 70 jumps, and by the time I stopped I could achieve good accuracy in low wind conditions (landing within a yard or two of a target after deploying at 2500 feet). [0] http://www.parachutehistory.com/round/combo.html http://www.parachutehistory.com/round/combo.html