Thread: X-Parachutes
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Old 05-02-2017, 09:26 PM
Mugs914 Mugs914 is offline
Junior Rocketeer
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
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One of the design features of the X-chute was softer opening. As I understand, it was originally designed for high speed deployment without the initial opening shock of a standard chute. It was thought that as airplanes went faster, it would allow the pilot to bail out without becoming six inches taller in the process. Of course ejection seat tech advanced pretty rapidly and was a better solution.

Those features were perfect for a parachute used as a decel device though, and they ended up behind dragsters, etc. The Russians like to use them behind fighters and fast bombers, while the US went with ribbon-type decel chutes.

I use X-chutes quite a bit. I have noticed that they do seem to drift a bit less than standards, but I've never actually done any testing. The qualities listed above do make them a great choice if you aren't sure about that delay time though!
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