Drogue Assisted Variable Glide Slope Control

This paper describes a method for glide slope control intended for the “on final” terminal guidance phase of a parafoil aerial delivery system (PADS). The glide slope control is accomplished by a new method of drogue attachment and deployment which reduces the glide ratio and airspeed of a parafoil while not fully arresting the gliding flight. Photographic results of a prototype drogue deployment for a sub-scale parafoil are used to demonstrate the validity of the approach. Results from a six degree of freedom (6DOF) parafoil dynamics model are presented which reflect a proposed add-on to a 2,200 lbs. capable, 3:1 glide ratio PADS. A comparison of simulated terminal miss distance with and without drogue augmentation is presented.