What is your opinion of the disposable parachutes ?

2015-07-02T14:13:20-04:00

I have heard the army is considering purchasing disposable parachutes that can be left or destroyed on the Drop Zone. This is in effort to reduce cost. What say you?

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Jul 2 at 2015 2:15 PM

2015-07-02T14:15:17-04:00

As long as it doesn't dispose of itself while you are falling through the sky then what could go wrong? ;)

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2015 2:15 PM

2015-07-02T14:15:22-04:00

As long as they're not lesser quality and are still just as safe, I can't see a problem with it. Best test em good though.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2015 2:16 PM

2015-07-02T14:16:53-04:00

Haven't heard of this one yet? You have a link? I think I prefer it to carrying my chute off the DZ, but then again that's not my problem anymore haha. As long as they are reliable and perform well, I'd jump it. Better than hearing the rigger say "it should be fine", which I've heard more times than I care to remember.

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2015 2:17 PM

2015-07-02T14:17:38-04:00

I fail to see how a disposable parachute would reduce cost? It would increase cost because you would have to purchase more parachutes for the ones destroyed.

Response by LTC Stephen C. made Jul 2 at 2015 2:27 PM

2015-07-02T14:27:48-04:00

SFC Private RallyPoint Member, I would think a great deal of testing would need to be done. I was never an Army rigger, but I did get my FAA Senior Rigger ticket, and from those experiences, I think the list would go on and on.

Response by MSG Brad Sand made Jul 2 at 2015 2:35 PM

2015-07-02T14:35:02-04:00

I think this is for an actual combat jump into enemy territory...but I could be wrong, it has been a long time since I was pushed out of an aircraft.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2015 2:41 PM

2015-07-02T14:41:31-04:00

Thats all fine and dandy, but the bigger question will be..."How much better will those things get me to the ground without snapping my leg or spine?"

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jul 2 at 2015 2:43 PM

2015-07-02T14:43:18-04:00

And people wondered why I never had the urge to jump out of perfectly good aircraft. :-) Not sure about whether "disposable" and "parachute" being in the same sentence is a good thing. To appease all the tree huggers said parachutes would have to be biodegradable would they not? Don't think I would want that word in the same sentence either.

Response by LTC Paul Labrador made Jul 2 at 2015 3:02 PM

2015-07-02T15:02:00-04:00

I think for true "real world" ops like combat jumps, there would be some utility to this. But this would be wasteful for training usage.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2015 3:19 PM

2015-07-02T15:19:07-04:00

Can you post a link or any mention of this. I have never heard of this. It sounds like a horrible idea. Would it be a one time use or a five time? It would really defeat the purpose of leaving no signature that you were ever there by just leaving a chute out there.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Jul 2 at 2015 6:21 PM

2015-07-02T18:21:39-04:00

Most of the air items in Afghanistan were recovered improperly and became disposable anyway. I am in favor of disposable items for cargo, not so much for people. We used T10s that were washed out for people, for LCLA with no problems. The truly disposable ones (Stalker parachutes) worked really well.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jul 2 at 2015 8:08 PM

2015-07-02T20:08:13-04:00

I'm not a parachutist, but I would think that "non-disposable" parachutes would actually be more cost effective, since they can be reused how many times(?), repaired, and used more.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2015 9:42 PM

2015-07-02T21:42:50-04:00

When I jump out of a "perfectly good airplane", I prefer a "perfectly good chute"

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 3 at 2015 2:22 AM

2015-07-03T02:22:26-04:00

As a rigger I have dealt with these during our mobilizations. The LCADS or Low Cost Aerial Delivery System is a great tool for theater operations when ground forces need to retreive supplies quickly without recovering a traditional silk canopy and have to then worry about having another piece of equipment to lug around or get back to supply hubs. I haven't heard (and doubt they will ever go to a disposable unit for personnel due to risk of failure and no accountability. I am headed to 92R ALC (rigger) and will report back if I learn of anything.

http://asc.army.mil/docs/pubs/alt/2010/3_JulAugSep/articles/53_Low-Cost_Aerial_Delivery_Systems_(LCADS)_Provide_Soldiers_With_Critical_Supplies_201003.pdf

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 3 at 2015 8:56 AM

2015-07-03T08:56:54-04:00

Hmm, I've logged more than a fair share of jumps and I have to say, the idea of skimming costs for 'chutes is disconcerting. If it's equipment chutes fine, you can replace that. But personnel? No thanks. Stick with what works and find other ways to save money.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 3 at 2015 9:17 AM

2015-07-03T09:17:18-04:00

Where did you hear this? Are we talking about parachutes for personnel? I find that hard to believe considering the Army spent something like 10+ years developing the T-11. It's a solid chute that meets the Army goals they wanted in a new chute. I know it's not everyone's favorite chute, but the Army still thinks it's pretty wonderful.
I don't see the Army making disposable chutes since it was already incredibly expensive to make a parachute that met their current guidelines.

Response by SSG Todd Lysfjord made Jul 3 at 2015 9:22 AM

2015-07-03T09:22:10-04:00

I would seriously be suspect of the integrity of the product supposed to carry me safely to the Earth if it's disposable and more "cost effective"

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 3 at 2015 9:39 AM

2015-07-03T09:39:01-04:00

I found an article about disposable parachutes: http://kitup.military.com/2015/06/army-touts-disposable-parachutes.html

Seems like they're talking about cargo drops.

It sounds like a good idea to me, but I wonder if the Army will take flak from the tree-hugging crowd because they are polluting the planet with parachutes?

US Army Touts Disposable Parachutes

The U.S. Army Special Operations Command is apparently pleased with its cheap new disposable cargo parachutes. The chutes, some of which are made from the plasticpolypropylene rather than cotton a...

Response by SSG John Erny made Jul 3 at 2015 9:47 AM

2015-07-03T09:47:07-04:00

As a rigger I say the Idea sucks! Who is going to pack the thing, how long will it sit on a shelf be before it is used? How much waste will it produce with all the traning jumps conducted every year. A parachute and be used many times over before it needs to be replaced. For caro drops in remote places I can see that it has its place.

Most of the parachutes used in Operation Just Cause were brought back to Bragg and put back in service, minus a few I had to Red Tag that spent a week in the water.

Response by COL Charles Williams made Jul 4 at 2015 1:19 AM

2015-07-04T01:19:46-04:00

SFC Private RallyPoint Member If they work as a good or better than current system, and would be cheaper, that makes sense... It especially makes sense for actual combat jumps... Not so sure about training and its cost effectiveness. I am beating my boots...

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 4 at 2015 2:22 PM

2015-07-04T14:22:57-04:00

If you're referring to the article in Army Times a few days, that was about LCADS (Low Cost Aerial Delivery System) which has been in the inventory for a few years and is strictly for cargo. It's a great system for resupply isolated locations; we don't have to worry about back hauling air items or write of the much more expensive durable items.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 4 at 2015 4:15 PM

2015-07-04T16:15:18-04:00

I have not heard about them and I hope they are for equipment as some of you have said, otherwise that's when I stop jumping. I am no spring chicken and my knees are not made of titanium.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jul 4 at 2015 4:19 PM

2015-07-04T16:19:16-04:00

SFC Private RallyPoint Member, technically a parachute only has to work once, right? :>)

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 5 at 2015 12:38 PM

2015-07-05T12:38:56-04:00

There is really no need for this. Isn't any parachute technically disposable if you don't mind the cost of replacing it? The number of operations where airborne insertion is used is very, very slim. The need to destroy parachutes on the DZ even more so. If the real-world mission did ever come where it was necessary to leave/destroy the parachute on the dropzone, what is the issue with just leaving or destroying the parachutes we are currently using?

Response by LTC Erik Price made Jul 5 at 2015 6:34 PM

2015-07-05T18:34:33-04:00

First question, are they safe?

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 6 at 2015 8:05 AM

2015-07-06T08:05:27-04:00

I kinda feel like we'd be paying for more chutes instead to re packing use able chutes. Doesn't sound like it would save any money. Plus chutes aren't exactly hard to destroy, I don't think I would want to jump with a chute that is supposed to be destroyed on the field.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 11 at 2015 4:50 PM

2015-07-11T16:50:01-04:00

We called in several aerial resupply especially in oef, they call it an LCLA, Low Cost Low Altitude. The parachute is some sort of nylon plastic, worked well for its purpose and we burned it there instead of trying to hump out a T-10 in a cargo bag. If you have a choice of delivery vehicle I recommend the ch47 as it was closer to the PI.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 27 at 2019 7:47 AM

2019-10-27T07:47:32-04:00

I should be able to witness an airdrop of LCLAs(Low-cost, Low-altitude) chutes soon. Will follow up.