CENTER OF GRAVITY AND MINIMAL LIFT COEFFICIENT LIMITS OF A GLIDING PARACHUTE

Standard static stability analysis is used to reveal a peculiar nature of longitudinal c.g. limits of a gliding parachute. Specifically, it is shown that the most forward c.g. position of the parachute is limit ed by a loss of longitudinal static stability and by a loss of control power, whereas the most rear c.g. position is limited by a requiremen t of stall-free controls range. It is also shown that a forward c.g. l imit imposes a limit on minimal lift coefficient possibly attainable a t trim. A typical value of this minimal lift coefficient limit predict ed by the present analysis is in a good agreement with the top speed d ata of currently flying designs.