Besides jumping out of an airplane with them, what else can I do with two, outdated MC-4 Parachute Canopy units?

Sell them on eBay.

Donate them to a local museum…tax write off!!!

Make a really cool tree house with these as canopies, seats could be swings.
Giant group hammocks?
Cool new low porosity nylon fabric matching outfits for the family?
A huge shaded canopy somewhere in the yard? Or shade on elderly folks patio who may not have a cover?
Donate to arts and crafts at your local senior center? (Reusable shopping bags, etc…)

Parachutes were my favorite thing about lower-school PE class. They had a couple of silk (!) parachutes someone had donated, and we’d all hold the chute from the edge and pull it out to form a circle, then lift our arms and it would rise up high, then we’d all run together into the middle and kneel down and be inside a giant floating ball of silk for a while!

I wonder how well that works with nylon ones? Oh, I guess yours aren’t round. Still could be fun to play with.

So, you could see if there are any fun PE or camp or daycare teachers that might be able to use them. Or artists. I imagine they could be cool tent material too. Or maybe sail patch material for sailors?

@Zaku We loved ours in school, too. In elementary we spread them out, put a kid every couple feet and put a ball on top and played popcorn. Couldn’t let the ball off the parachute. So much fun!

These are GREAT ideas! I have an old apple orchard with trees spaced 20ft apart. Quick math tells me the diagonal will be 28 ft.- perfect for a ground hammock!
The material (F-111 nylon) is slippery and slides like silk. I can see making something out of it. It is slightly breathable so it should not get hot.
Hmm…. I wonder if they can be used as home air filters .

I like these ideas. Keep ‘em coming!

Sunshade for greenhouse cover.

I would donate at least one. I do remember playing/frolicking in a few parachutes, as a young child. Such moments are priceless. As a hippie doctor once told me “it’d be really good for your karma man.”....

My kids played with the round colorful parachutes decades ago.
These are olive drab, ducted, ram air filled, 370 sq ft, rectangular chutes designed for US Army Special Forces dropping from up to 30,000 ft.
I do think they’d make dandy shading devices.

@MrGrimm888 Careful! I might donate one of them to you! ;-)

Yeah, that’d be cool too.

I used to go to parties at this guy’s house, years ago, and he had a barn that was two stories, and had an old like navy/side of a ship net hung out from the barn window and tied in multiple surrounding trees. It sprawled about 40×50 feet, and could have been spread farther. I spent many nights laying in it and listening to local bands play, or just looking at the stars.

I guess I’m saying that old military stuff is awesome…

Ha! A parachute. I’d probably kill myself being stupid. Lol…

@KNOWITALL Oh yeah! We played that game too! Keep the ball on the parachute! Also there was a hole in the center, so it had to keep moving around. Really fun!

this
& this

@ARE_you_kidding_me Oh my! I do not have the nerve to even come close.

I like this guy’s description of his craft – Dream Machine.

Use the material to sew your own clothes.Years ago a soft material which turned out to be parachute material was used by a designer to create sports pants. They were light and cool to wear on hot days.
Sell to a designer of clothes to create cool clothing.

Play Survivor Man and use them for a shelter. In a real survival situation you’re unlikely to hike 2 miles to the Interstate and hitch a ride with a Vegas showgirl. Likely be stuck out for awhile.

My dad made our camping tent out of WWII parachutes that my uncle had after the war.

My uncle was a parachute packer. Both my dad and uncle learned how to sew sails as kids, because they, and all their friends built sail boats, and made their own sails when they were young teenagers before (and after) the war. So my dad and uncle, and most of their friends knew how to sew.

We still have that tent : )