Author : R. T. Kendall
Publisher :
Page : 31 pages
File Size : 23,63 MB
Release : 1964
Category : Airdrop
ISBN :
Douglas Aircraft Company, Inc., has recently investigated the suitability of a high-drag device to replace the parachute. Called the Paracone, the device is an open cone of gas-expanded material that envelopes the man or payload. Stability is achieved due to the proper relationship between the center of gravity and the center of pressure; its shape and descent are much like that of a badminton shuttlecock. When the Paracone strikes the surface, the impact forces are absorbed by compression of the gases within the cone's point and by the air mattress onto which the reclining man is harnessed. In impact on water, the paracone will eliminate immersion and will serve as a life raft; on land it can be used as a temporary shelter. This is in contrast to the parachute's operation in which payload is fully exposed during descent and receives the full shock at impact.