This paper discusses two approaches for the analysis of the inflation of ram air inflated gliding parachutes. In one method the point mass equations of motion are solved with time-varying lift and drag areas. This approach requires experimental data in order to construct the appropriate lift and drag area curves. The approach appears useful in analyzing parachute systems which are similar to systems for which data are available. On the other hand, the predictive accuracy of this approach is questionable for parachute systems which differ significantly from those for which data are available.
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