Main Parachute

1-13 Equipment Functioning. (See Figure 1-6.) a. Main Parachute (1). The parachute system includes a 370 square f(x)l ram air parachute which carry payloads tip to 500 p)units. The ram air main parachute has an airfoil shape that is maintained by air being "rammed" into the nose of the canopy in flight. b. Drogue (2). The parachute system includes a drogue to decelerate and orient the system after deployment so that the payload is suspended below the AGU. The drogue is activated by line stretch upon deployment from the aircraft. c. Airborne Guidance Unit (AGU) (3). The AGU is the airborne steering unit of the cargo-carrying parachute system. It receives RF signals transmitted by a T/C located on the ground in the drop area, or by a T/C carried by a parachutist. The RF signal is decoded into signals which mechanically manipulate the parachute steering lines. This allows the parachute to automatically "home" on the source of RF energy it' it is transmitting on the correct frequency and( with the correct code. 1-21