Lift is the aerodynamic force that helps a parachute fly instead of simply falling straight down. In skydiving, lift is created when a canopy moves through the air at an angle and deflects air downward, producing an upward reaction force.
Sounds nerdy. Is nerdy. But don’t worry – we’ve got Professor Julien Peelman (our Brain Child) here to make parachute aerodynamics less painful and a lot more fun. Get your lab coats, safety goggles, and pens at the ready because it’s time for some science sh%t! Because let’s be honest: not all of us are engineers. We just want to understand why our wings fly the way they do. This first lesson is all about lift. And despite what people think, lift really isn’t rocket science.
This is Lesson 1 in our Aerodynamics for Dummies series: breaking down lift, drag, glide ratio, canopy performance, and the science behind modern parachute flight for skydivers.
Ep. 1: Lift
Ep. 2: Drag
Ep. 3: Glide Ratio
Ep. 4: More Glide Ratio
Lesson 1 Key Points
- What Is Lift?
- How Parachutes Create Lift
- Common Myths About Lift
- Newton’s Third Law and Parachute Flight
- Why Lift Matters for Skydivers
- Still curious? Let’s get nerdier
A parachute isn’t just slowing you down. It’s flying—and lift is the reason why.
What Is Lift?
As you probably noticed, parachutes are now much more than a piece of fabric slowing you down on the way to Earth to save your ass. Well, it is still mainly a piece of fabric and it is still saving your ass. But what’s super cool is that it truly is flying. The difference comes from a force which is perpendicular to the trajectory and this force is called lift.
How Parachutes Create Lift
How lift is created is a complex topic. Despite a century of research and millions of wings flying in the sky, posting anything on this topic is an extreme sport. It’s not unusual to receive hundreds of comments and anonymous threats to your family. So let’s keep it simple (and for the threats, please contact threats@nzaerosports.com)…
Common Myths About Lift
Forget about the romantic story of the two particles who are together at the front of the airfoil, separate and then magically meet again at the tail, like a pair of star-crossed lovers. And that would be some serious voodoo magic since they were both travelling at different speeds. Along different lengths. Particles just don’t give a f*** about each other and don’t bother about meeting again. Penguins, they are not.
And you should definitely forget about the piece of paper on the top of which you blow to make it move upward. This is due to viscosity which lift has nothing to do with. And between us, do you think moving a piece of paper (0.005kg, 1sqft) is really the same story as lifting Cedric Veiga Rios (110kg, 80sqft)?
Newton’s Third Law and Parachute Flight
Things are actually much simpler than Bernoulli’s theorem, the Coanda effect or the conservation of flow… The real key is Newton’s 3rd law: “To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction”.
The canopy is pushed upward by the relative wind only because it is moving a huge amount of air downward. Very much like a fan blade is pushing air to create some air flow. This is due to the fact that the wing is travelling through the air at an angle called angle of attack and deflects the flow. Everything else you can read or hear about lift is either bullsh%t or going more into details of how to move more air downward without wasting too much energy. But we will talk about that in a later lesson.
Why Lift Matters for Skydivers
Lift is what turns a parachute from a giant piece of fabric into an actual wing. Once your canopy is flying, lift helps convert vertical speed into forward movement, giving you control, glide, and the ability to flare for a softer landing instead of eating dirt at full speed.
Aerodynamics gets way more fun once you stop treating it like school science and start seeing it under the canopy. Understanding lift is the first step toward understanding how modern parachutes actually perform in the sky.
For now, that’s it from our professor!
Get ready for lesson 2: Drag: The Force Slowing You Down
Want to know more about the genius behind our wings?
Have a listen to Julien chat with Dean Ricci in an episode from The Lunatic Fringe podcast. He also got together with the guys in our R&D department to talk about prototype stuffs. Listen to them chat together here.
While you’re at it, check out Juliens presentation from the 2026 European Skydiving Symposium – Inside Canopy Design: The JYRO Tech POV.
Still curious? Let’s get nerdier:
Aerodynamics for Dummies: The Drag
Aerodynamics for Dummies: Glide Ratio
Aerodynamics for Dummies: More Glide Ratio
Research & Development: Tales from the NZA Testies
NZ Aerosports Test Jumpers: An Introduction