The advantage of this type of parachute used for landings of reentry bodies such as space capsules is that it is more manoeuvrable and therefore increases the accuracy of the autopilot.

A parafoil was tested under real conditions in ONERA's S1 large wind tunnel .

The characteristic dimensions give a better idea of the difficulty of such a test : test section with a diameter of 24 m, parafoil surface area of 70 m², wind speed 55 km/h. The size of a real parafoil suitable for use for future space station reentry vehicles is around 200 m².

These parachutes can also be used for refuelling and accurate air delivery by transport aircraft.