Parts of a Parachute – Canopy, Lines, Risers, Slider

All 12 parts on the diagram

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Parachute open 7

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

Coming out of the container 5

Harness Straps over the shoulders and round the legs that hold the jumper.
Container It closes round the folded canopy, deployment bag and pilot chute. It stays closed until the parachute is opened.
Deployment bag It holds the folded canopy until the lines have pulled out straight. Skydivers call it the D-bag.
Bridle A length of webbing or tape from pilot chute to deployment bag.
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

The parts of a parachute on a modern sport parachute. Seven show when it is open, from the canopy down to the toggles. Five more show as it comes out of the container. This page names parts only.

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From the pack to the open wing

The jumper wears the harness, with the container on the back. The pilot chute goes out first and, by the bridle, pulls the deployment bag from the container. The canopy comes out of the bag and its cells fill with air. Suspension lines run from the canopy through the slider to the risers. Steering lines end in the toggles.

Suspension lines hold the jumper up; the two steering lines, which end in the toggles, turn the canopy.
Pilot chute and canopy are both parachutes: the pilot chute is the small round one.

Questions and answers

What are the strings on a parachute called?

Suspension lines. They run from the underside of the canopy down to the risers, the straps above the jumper's shoulders. Two more cords, the steering lines, end in the toggles.

What is the slider on a parachute?

A rectangle of cloth with a grommet near each corner, threaded on the lines. It slides down from the canopy to the top of the risers as the canopy inflates, which slows the opening.

What is the small parachute that comes out first?

The pilot chute. It catches the air and pulls the deployment bag, with the folded canopy inside, out of the container. The strap between the pilot chute and the bag is the bridle.

What are the cells of a parachute?

A ram-air canopy has a top and a bottom layer of cloth joined by ribs. The spaces between the ribs are the cells. Air enters through openings along the front edge and fills them.