2-6.
Operating Procedures - Continued
e.
Operation of ARABS in Delayed Opening Mode - Continued
WARNING
It is highly recommended that free fall bundles he ground
controlled. A parachutist descending below an ARABS in free
fall could possibly risk collision upon deployment of his main
parachute.
Free fall rate of descent is directly related to the size and weight of the
payload. A heavier payload with the same drag area will have a
proportionately higher rate of descent. As an example, a 500 pound
payload with a drag area (bottom surface) of approximately 1.4 square
feet (10 x 20 inches) will descend under the drogue at approximately the
same speed as a free fall parachutist, while a load with the same area and
only 200 pounds in weight or a 500 pound payload with a standard size of
30 x 40 inches (8.33 ft2), will descend at roughly half of that rate. With
larger sized payloads, the rate of descent would be proportionately less.
This is an important consideration if the load is to be accompanied in free
fall by a parachutist, for air control of the load. It would be ultimately
impossible for a jumper to follow a bundle that is only descending at 60
mph.
2-67
