# How a Parachute Works: From Canopy to Safe Landing - Original post: https://www.twitter.com/i/status/2121539477717815359 - Source account: [@BetsyGain](https://x.com/BetsyGain) - Source language: English - Duration: 2:52 - Published: 2026-11-14 - Canonical URL: https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing ## Transcript [0:00](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing) If you fall out of an airplane with a backpack, in no time, you're already dropping at nearly 200 kilometers per hour. [0:06](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=6) So, you pull out a bedsheet to block the air, but the force of the wind makes you lose your grip, the sheet flies away, and you keep falling. [0:14](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=14) So, you tie the sheet with ropes to webbing that wraps around your body. [0:17](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=17) These are the suspension lines. Now you won't let it slip away anymore. [0:21](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=21) But the sheet takes such a heavy hit from the air that it rips apart, and you start falling all over again. [0:27](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=27) So, you replace the sheet with a durable circular fabric made of ripstop nylon that can withstand the wind's force. [0:33](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=33) This is the canopy. Now your fall slows down significantly, but the air doesn't push against the fabric evenly. [0:40](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=40) One second it pushes more on one side, then on the other, and the parachute begins to swing violently until you're about to hit the ground headfirst. [0:48](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=48) So, you leave an opening at the top. Now the fabric still blocks the air, but part of the air escapes through that hole, stopping the swing. [0:55](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=55) This is the apex vent. But now you have no way to steer where you're going, and the wind carries you straight into a tree. [1:02](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=62) So, you swap out the round shape for two layers of fabric divided into cells. [1:06](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=66) Air rushes in through the front, inflates the cells, and the fabric turns into a wing. [1:11](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=71) Instead of just falling straight down, you glide forward. [1:14](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=74) This is the ram-air wing parachute. Next, you add toggles on both sides. [1:18](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=78) If you pull the right toggle down, it creates more drag on the right side, and you steer right. [1:23](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=83) If you pull the left one, you steer left. [1:25](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=85) And if you pull both sides down together, you break your forward momentum. [1:29](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=89) These are the steering toggles. Now you can steer clear of the trees. [1:33](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=93) Except one day, this whole tangle of fabric and cords gets tangled up and fails to deploy properly out of your backpack. [1:40](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=100) So, you fold everything neatly into a deployment bag inside the pack and throw a much smaller mini parachute first, which pulls your main parachute out into the airstream. [1:49](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=109) This is the pilot chute. But if it snaps open all at once, you take a violent jolt because the parachute decelerates way too fast. [1:56](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=116) So, you add a small square piece of fabric that slides down as the wing inflates, damping the shock of the opening. [2:02](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=122) This is the slider. But what if your parachute has a manufacturing defect? [2:07](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=127) You won't even have time to complain to whoever sold it to you. [2:10](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=130) So, you pack a second parachute into your rig. [2:12](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=132) You cut away the malfunctioning main chute and deploy the other one. [2:16](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=136) This is the reserve parachute. But what if you pass out? [2:20](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=140) There's simply no way for you to pull the cord yourself. [2:23](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=143) So, you install a device in the backpack that monitors your altitude and rate of descent. [2:28](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=148) When you're falling too fast and get too low, it automatically fires the reserve container open and saves your life. [2:34](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=154) This is the automatic activation device. [2:37](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=157) Now, as you approach the landing target, you pull both steering toggles down to flare, slowing down your forward speed and sink rate so you don't slam into the ground on touchdown. [2:46](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=166) Congratulations, you just engineered a parachute. [2:49](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/1eWxdbSwdmOi/en/how-a-parachute-works-from-canopy-to-safe-landing?t=169) If you enjoyed this, subscribe.