How to Land a Square Parachute

A square parachute, more commonly referred to as a ram-air parachute, was invented in the early 1960s. By the 1970s, ram-air parachutes became the standard equipment in the sport of skydiving. Unlike its predecessor, the round parachute, pilots are able to steer square parachutes to precisely choose a landing zone. Square chutes are also designed to absorb the force of terminal velocity openings; allowing skydivers to wait up to a minute before deploying. Square parachutes have revolutionized the world of skydiving, and changed it into a relatively safe sport.

Instructions

    • 1

      Locate the landing area. Generally, skydiving centers have predetermined landing zones. Skydiving instructors will point out these areas in aerial photographs. Once you are under a steerable parachute, look around and locate the landing area. If you are unable to find it, look for a clear area away from roads, trees and power lines.

    • 2

      Unstow your toggles. The toggles are attached to the steering lines; they are how you control the parachute. Square parachutes are packed in half brakes, meaning the parachute opens flying at half of its speed. This helps in making the openings softer. To unstow your toggles, grab each toggle above your head and pull both down until you feel a response from the parachute. This means that you have cleared the half break setting, and are now able to let up on the toggles to allow the parachute to fly in full flight.

    • 3

      Practice flaring above 2000 feet. Flaring is the process of slowing down the parachute, making it safe to land. If you flare your parachute too much, it will lose the lift it has generated, causing it to stall. To land safely, you want to touch down before the parachute starts to stall. Pull down both of your toggles at the same time to practice flaring. This takes a lot of practice to get perfect and should always be practiced above 2000 feet.

    • 4

      Land the parachute. Once you reach approximately 100 feet, allow the parachute to fly at full speed; this means keeping the toggles all the way up. When you reach approximately 15 feet, pull both toggles down evenly until your parachutes almost stalls.

    • 5

      Do a parachute landing fall. This is a way to distribute the force of the landing by creating 5 points of contact between you and the ground. The parts of your body in order of contact are feet, knees, hip, shoulder, and back.