The reserve parachute

On every high flight a second canopy rides under your seat. You hope never to need it, and you check it every day anyway.

The Swiss federation’s safety campaign says that, in Swiss and European statistics, the reserve was not thrown, or was thrown too late, in more than 90% of fatal accidents, while more than 99% of pilots survive a successful opening¹. A reserve helps only if it comes out when you pull and opens quickly. This lesson covers the equipment; when and how to throw it are in Priorities and the reserve.

Three kinds of reserve

A round reserve with a pulled-down apex (PDA) has a central line that holds the top of the canopy down. It is cheaper, simpler to pack and drifts little sideways, but it cannot be steered, is heavier and bulkier, and tends to open more slowly, swing more and often sink faster².

A square reserve (cruciform) vents air at its corners. It opens faster, swings less and reaches its certified sink rate with a lighter, smaller pack. It cannot be steered either; some drift sideways, and light modern designs tend to glide forward, which can encourage a down-plane if your paraglider is still flying³.

A steerable reserve (Rogallo type) opens fast, hardly swings and sinks least. Because it glides, your paraglider must be fully disabled or released, or the two can fly against each other; it is harder to pack and needs an active, trained pilot⁴.

Figure: Round, square and steerable reserves, with the trade-offs the sources list for each.

What the EN 12491 numbers mean

Reserves are tested to EN 12491. The packed reserve is released from a paraglider flying straight, the paraglider is cut away as the reserve opens, and after at least 125 m415 ft of descent the sink is measured⁵.

The test drops the reserve; a real throw is timed differently⁸. Germany’s LTF route allows up to 6.8 m/s1,320 ft/min⁶. Certified reserves can sit close to the limit: one square reserve sank at 5.22 m/s1,020 ft/min and 5.48 m/s1,080 ft/min in its two test drops⁵.

How hard is 5.5 m/s1,080 ft/min? Sources compare it with jumping off a wall but disagree on the height: about 1.5 m5 ft (BHPA, DHV) or 1.8 m6 ft (Supair, NZHGPA)⁹. Either way you land with a PLF (parachute landing fall), never trying to stand¹⁰.

Real descents can be harder than the test. A paraglider that is not disabled fights the reserve: Supair cites similar deployments landing at 5.2 m/s1,020 ft/min with the wing disabled and 9 m/s1,780 ft/min without. Thinner air at altitude also speeds the descent, and impact energy grows with the square of the speed¹¹.

Sizing: leave a margin

Choose a reserve whose certified load range covers your weight, and never use it outside that range¹². Sources advise staying about 20% below the maximum, that is about 80% of it (one source gives this for round reserves)¹²; the DHV has advised 20–30% below¹³. A lighter loading means a slower descent and less chance that your paraglider re-inflates and flies against the reserve¹².

What counts as load is defined two ways. The BHPA sizes for everything that would hang under the reserve, including your paraglider; EN test reports define the load without it¹⁴. Including the paraglider is the cautious choice. With 90 kg198 lb in total, wing included, flying at 80% of the maximum means a reserve rated to at least 113 kg250 lb.

The chain: handle, pins, container, bridle

Your reserve container sits under the seat, often with a handle on the side, behind your back or at the front¹⁵. Inside it, the folded reserve and its lines are packed in an inner container, the only one the reserve is certified with¹⁵. The deployment handle is joined to the inner container by a short strap, and closing pins linked to the handle hold the container’s flaps shut.

When you pull, the order matters. First the pins slide out of their loops and the flaps open; then the strap tightens and brings the inner container out. So the strap must be long enough to free the pins before it pulls on the container, but not so long that it hampers the throw¹⁶. A short link also allows the strong throw that opens a reserve fastest⁸.

The bridle joins the reserve to both reinforced shoulder points of the harness through a Y-bridle, with rated stainless maillons or approved soft links, tightened and secured¹⁷.

Figure: The chain from the handle to your shoulders. Follow the numbered notes; pins first, then the inner container, then the throw.

Compatibility and the hang test

Harness and reserve work as one system. The harness maker states the container’s volume range and the reserve maker the packed volume; a reserve that is too bulky can be hard or even impossible to pull out. Every new combination is checked by a qualified person, with you hanging in a simulator and test-pulling, and the check is repeated after every repack¹⁵.

Keeping it ready

Check the reserve in every pre-flight check: container closed, pins seated and free to pull, handle secure and reachable, no bridle hanging out. Open and re-close Velcro closures now and then, as your harness or reserve manual shows or at the repack, because bedded-in Velcro can make deployment much harder²¹²². Reserves also come out by accident, mostly because of poor checks and maintenance; in 2024 two fell out of German pilots’ harnesses in flight²³.

How often to repack is disputed²⁴²⁵:

So follow your reserve’s manual, never go beyond 12 months, and repack sooner after damp, sand, salt or heat²⁴. A trained, qualified packer should repack and inspect it and log each repack; the BHPA suggests learning to repack your own under a licensed packer’s eye²⁶.

A wet reserve comes out to dry, opened and out of direct sun, rinsed first after salt water. After any deployment it is inspected²⁷. Most makers give a life of about 10 years, some longer with inspections; the DHV found some unused reserves over 10 years old had only about half their strength²⁸.

Practise

Touch the handle regularly in flight to build the reflex¹⁸.

Common mistakes