Jumping with a parachute can be dangerous, which is why they come with a reserve parachute called a pilot chute. This kind of auxiliary parachute is connected to the bag that contains the main parachute by a bridle. All base jump gears as well as skydiving parachutes have them. They are also manufactured by the Ordnance Equipment Factory, Hazratpur in India that make parachutes. If you want to know more about the different types of pilot chutes based on how they are deployed, here are the details.

Spring loaded

This kind of chute works with a rip cord. The Pilot chute is compressed inside a container and has a large spring inside it. When the pilot pulls the rip cord the chute is opened. These kinds of chutes are used to deploy reserve parachutes.

Pull-out

In this type of chute, the parachute is packed inside a container. A lanyard is attached to its activation handle, and the lanyard in turn is attached to a closing pin. The base of the pilot chute is also attached to this lanyard and the connection point is the bridle. When the pilot pulls the handle, the closing pin is pulled which in turn opens the container. The pull is continued and the pilot chute is pulled out of the container and into the air. At this point, the chute is deployed which in turn pulls out the main parachute in the container.

Throw-out

This type of pilot chute is packed in a pouch that stays at the bottom of the container. The apex of the chute is connected to the handle. To deploy it, the user has to pull the handle which throws the chute into the airstream. Then the bridle extends, in turn pulling the closing pin which opens the container. The pilot chute continues to deploy in the airstream, extracting the deployment bag that contains the main parachute that was in the container.

Drogue

Drogues are like throw-out pilot chutes, but the only difference is that the bridle is connected to the container with a release system. When it is thrown, the drogue gets inflated, and the bridle gets extended. It is mostly used in tandem-system and deployment of this type of pilot chute slows down the free-fall speed of the tandem pair. When there is the need to open the parachute, a ripcord is pulled which releases the bridle and allows the drogue to open the main parachute container.

So, these are the four types of pilot chutes that are often manufactured in the Ordnance Equipment Factory, Hazratpur in India.