Low Level Reserve Parachute (LLRP)

Deployment

The deployment is controlled for a successful opening either alongside a working main parachute, with a partial malfunction or in a high speed ‘total malfunction’ scenario. The pack has been designed with a low profile to make equipment control easier in the aircraft and to improve visibility and body position for landing.

Parameters

The primary usage parameters have been chosen to cope with air speeds and drop altitudes encountered with modern aircraft and to enable the all up weight and rate of descent required for useful operational troop parachuting.

Canopy

The (LLRP) canopy is a 20 gore, block constructed aeroconical parachute with a flying diameter of 6.2 m. Four integral assister pockets on the apex of the canopy help align the parachute during inflation. A kicker spring is used to aid the initial deployment. A drogue with a frangible attachment to the canopy facilitates extraction at low speed deployments.

At high speed, where the rapid extraction might be detrimental, the frangible attachment breaks leaving assister pockets to align the canopy. The apex vent of the canopy is closed by a break tie. This prevents loss of pressure during early stages of a low airspeed inflation whilst allowing the vent to open when needed. Skirt assist lines are fitted around the peripheral hem of the canopy. They attach each rigging line to a point inside the canopy so that the rigging points at the peripheral hem are not under tension until the canopy is partially inflated. This has the effect of promoting initial canopy inflation to reduce height loss on deployment.

Stability is achieved by a combination of apex vent and the incorporation of four other mesh covered vents equally spaced around the canopy. The combination of riser and line lengths ensures that the LLRP will fly below the hem of most main parachutes.

This gives the parachute space to deploy and fly without interference from the main parachute.

LLRP pack

The pack has a low profile to help equipment handling in the aircraft and on exit. Visibility of the ground under canopy is also possible. A curved pack frame maintains the profile and also provides a positive launching base for the kicker spring to react against. The position of the attachment hooks eliminates the requirement for a tie down strap. The ripcord handle is positioned central to the top of the pack which enables the reserve to be pulled by either hand.