Parafoil

A typical representative of parafoils is a modern wing parachute

Parafoil ( English parafoil ) - a soft tissue shell wing, inflated through the air intakes by an incoming stream of air. The lifting force is created due to the flow around the wing profile with an oncoming air stream. This term is often referred to as a frameless type of kite .

Parafoil consists of upper and lower shells, ribs , stabilizers. Ribs define the wing profile and divide the wing into sections.

The first parafoils appeared as a result of experiments with the “Rogallo wing” and “NASA kite” in 1965.

Patent US 3285546 "Multisectional device type wing", filed in October 1964, patent granted in November 1966.