Shortly after the war, there was an effort to combine the best aspects of then current parachute designs.
He had adapted the parachute design to produce a homemade hang-glider.
As part of his skydiving career, Sutton also researched improvements in parachute design in the 1970s.
But it wasn't until the invention of lightweight strong fabrics and better parachute designs that the dream became a common reality.
This is known as a ram-air wing (similar to the smaller parachute design).
An active skydiver, he began writing about parachute design and use.
These equations are also suggesting new kinds of parachute designs.
The rectangular parachute designs tend to look like square, inflatable air mattresses with open front ends.
In the early 2000s they also produced their own powered parachute design, the Scout, but the aircraft is now out of production.
The air bags were strengthened with fabric, and the parachute design was tweaked.