Stem at home

Parachutes: Launch your parachute

Launch your parachute

There are different ways to launch your parachute. The videos above were taken indoors using a yard stick to raise the parachute then rapidly taking the stick away to launch the parachute. Ways to test you parachute indoors include:

  1. 1.Spread the canopy with your hands and let it fall.
  2. 2.Hold it with one hand from the center and drop it.
  3. 3.Place a long stick at its middle, lift it high, and pull the stick quickly away.

Which way worked best?

Did the parachute fall fast? Slow? Did it wobble from side to side? Or did it come straight down? These differences can be due to different things, but the main factor is the weight of the load. To begin experimenting, see what happens if you add weight to the load. What happens if you use a lighter load?