well, yes, you don't need to put the soldier in flying mode though
If you want greater control over the initial height of the parachute, use the line in the init field of the parachute:
this setpos[(getpos this select 0), (getpos this select 1), #]
where #= height in meters.
If you want more than a couple of parachuters, I suggest using a HALO script (check Editors depot), and just tweak the setting to let them open immediately (usually there's an option on what height to initiate, and what height to open the chutes, just make these the same and the chute opens right away)
Good luck!
Wolfrug out.