• 12 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Label the Parts of a Parachute

A sport parachute open, then coming out of its container: twelve numbers, a line for each name, and a key.

Label the Parts of a Parachute

Name Date

Numbered worksheet

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
More options

Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Canopy
  2. Cells
  3. Suspension lines
  4. Slider
  5. Risers
  6. Steering lines
  7. Toggles
  8. Harness
  9. Container
  10. Deployment bag
  11. Bridle
  12. Pilot chute

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step The labeled parachute, one drawing at a time

All 12 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Parachute open 7

  1. Canopy The cloth wing that the jumper hangs under. It is joined to the harness by the suspension lines and risers.
  2. Cells Sections of the canopy between its ribs. Air rushes in at the front and fills them, which gives the wing its shape.
  3. Suspension lines Cords from the underside of the canopy down to the risers. They spread the jumper's weight across the canopy.
  4. Slider It slides down the lines as the canopy opens. That slows the opening. It has a grommet near each corner.
  5. Risers Strips of webbing that join the harness to the lines.
  6. Steering lines They run from the canopy's back to the toggles. Together with the toggles they are the brakes.
  7. Toggles Handles on the steering lines' ends. Pulling one turns the canopy.

Coming out of the container 5

  1. Harness Straps over the shoulders and round the legs that hold the jumper.
  2. Container It closes round the folded canopy, deployment bag and pilot chute. It stays closed until the parachute is opened.
  3. Deployment bag It holds the folded canopy until the lines have pulled out straight. Skydivers call it the D-bag.
  4. Bridle A length of webbing or tape from pilot chute to deployment bag.
  5. Pilot chute A small parachute thrown into the air by hand. It pulls the main parachute out of the container.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it. (1) United States Parachute Association, Skydiver's Information Manual, Glossary, https://www.uspa.org/sim/glossary (canopy, cell, rib, suspension lines, slider, risers, toggles, brakes, steering lines, harness, container, deployment bag, bridle, pilot chute). (2) Wikipedia, text only, Parachute and Parachuting, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachute (canopy, cells, ribs, suspension lines, slider, risers, harness, container, deployment bag, bridle, pilot chute). (3) Federal Aviation Administration, Parachute Rigger Handbook, read as passages returned by the Internet Archive's full-text search, https://archive.org/details/Parachute_Rigger_Handbook (steering toggles, steering lines, risers, suspension lines, pilot chute, bridle, container). (4) Poynter and Turoff, Parachuting: The Skydiver's Handbook, read the same way, https://archive.org/details/parachutingskydi00poyn (toggles, steering lines, slider, risers). Hints and detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Not to scale. Licence: own work

How it works

To label the parts of a parachute, write a name on the line for each number. Seven numbers ring a sport parachute open overhead, and five more ring the same parachute as it comes out of its container.

Read the full guide

Parachute word bank

In alphabetical order, to copy onto the board. Open parachute: canopy, cells, risers, slider, steering lines, suspension lines, toggles. Coming out of the container: bridle, container, deployment bag, harness, pilot chute.

The numbers that get swapped

Three numbers sit on straps. The risers are the two straps above the shoulders in the first drawing; the harness is the webbing round the body in the second. Two sit on bags: the container is the pack on the back, and the deployment bag is the small one lifted out of it. The third strap is the bridle, from that bag to the small round parachute.

  • Rigging lines is another name for suspension lines, and counts as right.
  • The walls between the cells are ribs. They show as the gaps between the openings and have no number.
  • The reserve parachute is packed in the same system and is not drawn.

Questions and answers

How does a parachute work?

It slows a fall through the air by creating drag. A ram-air parachute, the kind on this sheet, also creates lift, so it glides forward as it comes down.

What is a parachute made of?

Nylon cloth, in most cases today. Silk was the usual cloth until World War II cut off its supply; parachute makers then changed to nylon.

What is the difference between a round and a square parachute?

A round parachute has a dome-shaped canopy, most often one layer of triangular panels of cloth called gores, and gives drag only. A square parachute is a ram-air canopy, rectangular, and it can be steered.

What does the word parachute mean?

To shield from a fall. It joins para, to shield, with the French chute, a fall. The word was coined in 1785.

Does the parachute worksheet have an answer key?

Yes. The key prints both drawings with their numbers and lists the twelve names in order, from canopy to pilot chute.

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