Patent ID: 8096509

Claim:
A parachute inlet control system for facilitating controlled inflation of a main parachute, the parachute inlet control system comprising: a parachute component comprising an inlet parachute, wherein the inlet parachute is configured to cause the perpendicular component of airflow around the inlet parachute and between the inlet parachute and the main parachute to force the skirt of the main parachute into an opened shape; a reefing component comprising a plurality of lacing loops coupled to the inlet parachute, the plurality of lacing loops configured to couple the inlet parachute to a main parachute by threading through reefing rings on the main parachute; and a release component comprising a reefing cutter configured to separate the inlet parachute from the main parachute, wherein each of the plurality of lacing loops is configured with an end loop, and wherein at least one of the plurality of lacing loops is threaded through the end loop of another of the plurality of lacing loops.