A parafoil is a nonrigid (

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

)

airfoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine. ...

with an aerodynamic cell structure which is inflated by the wind. Ram-air inflation forces the parafoil into a classic

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

cross-section. Parafoils are most commonly constructed out of

ripstop nylon __NOTOC__ Ripstop fabrics are woven fabrics, often made of nylon, using a reinforcing technique that makes them more resistant to tearing and ripping. During weaving, stronger (and often thicker) reinforcement yarns are interwoven at regular inte ...

. The device was developed in 1964 by Domina Jalbert (1904–1991). Jalbert had a history of designing kites and was involved in the development of hybrid balloon-kite aerial platforms for carrying scientific instruments. He envisaged the parafoil would be used to suspend an aerial platform or for the recovery of space equipment. A patent was granted in 1966. Deployment shock prevented the parafoil's immediate acceptance as a

parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...

. It was not until the addition of a drag canopy on the riser lines (known as a "

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

") which slowed their spread that the parafoil became a suitable parachute. Compared to a simple

round Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere * Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the number ...

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

, a parafoil parachute has greater steerability, will glide further and allows greater control of the rate of descent; the parachute format is mechanically a

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

of the free-flight kite type and such aspects spawned

paraglider Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'po ...

use. The air flow into the parafoil is coming more from below than the flight path might suggest, so the frontmost ropes tow against the airflow. When gliding, the angle of attack is lowered and the airflow meets the parafoil head on. This makes it difficult to achieve an optimum gliding angle without the parafoil deflating. In 1984 Jalbert was awarded the

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...

(FAI) Gold Parachuting Medal for inventing the parafoil. Parafoils see wide use in a variety of

windsport A windsport is any type of sport which involves wind-power, often involving a non-rigid airfoil such as a sail or a power kite. The activities can be land-based, on snow, on ice or on water. Windsport activity may be regulated in some countries ...

s such as

kite flying A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have a bridle and tail to guide the face ...

powered parachute A powered parachute, often abbreviated PPC, and also called a motorized parachute or paraplane, is a type of aircraft that consists of a parafoil with a motor and wheels. The FAA defines a powered parachute as ''a powered aircraft a flexible o ...

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'po ...

kitesurfing Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

speed flying Speed-flying and speed riding are advanced disciplines of paragliding that use a small, high-performance paraglider wing to quickly descend heights such as mountains. Speed flying and speed riding are very similar sports; speed flying is when the ...

wingsuit flying Wingsuit flying (or wingsuiting) is the sport of skydiving using a webbing-sleeved jumpsuit called a wingsuit to add webbed area to the diver's body and generate increased lift, which allows extended air time by gliding flight rather than just ...

and

skydiving Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...

. The world's largest kite is a parafoil-variant. Today, SpaceX uses steerable Parafoils to recover the Fairings of their Falcon 9 Rocket on two ships, GO Ms. Tree and GO Ms. Chief.

Patents

* ''Multi-cell wing type aerial device'', filed October 1964, issued November 1966

References

{{Reflist Aerospace engineering Parachuting Aircraft wing design Parafoils Kites

Patents

See also

References