What if the pilot announces that the engines have stopped working, and everyone will have to evacuate mid-flight! What would you do?

You would have probably answered this question with a parachute. Right?

What is a parachute?

A parachute is an aeronautical device that cleverly uses the principle of drag, or air resistance, to slow the movement of objects moving through the atmosphere.

Every parachute will have a payload that has to be brought down safely. In some cases, we will have a rocket part that has to be brought down safely; it could also be a person who is skydiving or a space capsule where astronauts come back to Earth from Space. These payloads are attached to a parachute using a cord, so the gravitational force pulling the payload down to earth rapidly is overcome by the drag created by the parachute.

A parachute is a canopy generally made of treated nylon. The canopy is usually dome-shaped, but some are rectangles, inverted domes, and other shapes. The canopy is attached to the payload by suspension lines, which are also generally made of nylon making them very strong.

Now that we know all about parachutes, let’s make our own!

Got a kit in your hand? let’s see what it consists of.

Steps to be followed for making your own Parachute.

Step 1: Take the nylon cloth and cut it into a square shape, as shown in the figure.

Step 2: Fold the square shaped cloth diagonally once, as shown in the figure.

Step 3: Fold the cloth diagonally twice again, as shown in the figure.

Step 4: Fold the cloth diagonally twice again, as shown in the figure.

Step 5: After cutting the remaining portion our nylon cloth will have a shape of an octagon, as shown in the figure.

Step 6: Cut eight pieces of woolen thread in a way that it has a length of 1.5 times the diagonal measurement of an octagon, as shown in the figure.

Step 7: Make 8 tiny holes in all the ends of an octagon, as shown in the figure.

Step 8: Tie the woolen thread in all the holes made as shown in the figure.

Step 9: Add clay in the plastic capsule as much as required and put a hook on the top, as shown in the figure.

Step 10: Tie all the knots in the hook provided in the capsule as shown in the figure.

Experimenting with our new Parachute!

Firstly, record the time taken by the parachute to fall down, from 3 floors.

Then, reduce the amount of clay in the payload module, and record the time taken for it to fall from the same height.

Then, increase the amount of clay in the payload module, and record the time taken for it to fall from the same height.