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A EU funded cooperation, Autoflug, Cimsa, Dutch Space, National Aerospace Laboratory NLR, DLR, EADS-CESA, CFDn and the Technion University participated in the FASTWing CL project to investigate the application of a 300m 2 high-glide parafoil for payloads up to 6,000 kg. The project acronym FASTWing CL stands for Folding, Adaptive, Steerable Textile Wing Structure for Capital Loads. The ram-air parachute is flight-tested in the project. The deployment is tested with a pilot chute, though the canopy was originally designed for a deployment with a stabilization chute. A dedicated test vehicle was designed and built for the tests to serve as payload and provide fixation for the autonomous guidance unit. The in-flight performance of the flight unit is determined with remote controlled maneuvers during drop tests. This performance was the input for the design of the autopilot algorithms. The flight tests ended with a fully autonomous drop including a successful flare maneuver which was automatically initiated. In this paper the flight experience with the main high-glide ram-air parachute and the flight unit configuration are described, as well as the results of the flight tests.

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