The methods to be described in this paper were developed during the analysis of trajectory data for the G-12E family of airdrop systms. They formed the basis for determining the minimum altitude above ground level (AGL) at fwhich aircraft may deliver cargo using G-12E parachutes without the cargo suffering impact damage. This was motivated by the U.S. Air Force's desire to minimize the risk of hostile fore by flying as low to the ground as possible during airdrop operations. The application of these methods are not limited to the "minimum altitude" problem; they can also be used to determine the quality of airdrop systems and components.
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