prcastro 0 #1 September 11, 2006 Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if "RAM", as in "RAM parachute" is an acronym for something, or does it just mean something obvious like "RAM-MING air into an airfoil?" "Treat your relationships like a canopy - have fun with it, but if it starts to get squirrley on you, cut away!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Travman 6 #2 September 11, 2006 Ram-air refers to any system that uses motion to increase air pressure. In the case of the Ram-air parachute, the suspended weight allows the cells to pressurise thus providing the aero foil shape. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #3 September 11, 2006 QuoteJust out of curiosity, does anyone know if "RAM", as in "RAM parachute" is an acronym for something, or does it just mean something obvious like "RAM-MING air into an airfoil?" If you're talking computers, it means "random access memory". But for parachutes it doesn't stand for anything, except the word itself. It should be called "ram-air", actually. And that means exactly what you thought: the dive angle of the parachute causes it to scoop up air, or in other words, air is rammed into the open nose of the parachute, and that is what pressurizes it and gives it its shape. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
