General Rocketry Discussion!

Hey, let's talk about parachutes. I've been wanting to open this can of worms for a while and since there's some experienced people here I'd like to get some opinions/ideas.

So, are the plastic chutes that come with Estes kits any good at all? It's been my experience that they don't readily open and are easily shrunk or welded together by the ejection charge if any sneaks past the wadding.

I've made my own chutes from a mylar space blanket but I've yet to launch any yet. I've got 2 or 3 rockets with home made parachutes just waiting for better weather.

What do yinz think?
 
I have bought some nylon fabric similar to real parachute material and cut out my own. I believe I sealed the edges with glue. Worked better than plastic. It did not melt quite as easily.
Robert
 
Yea I found this place online that sells really really light fabric...

ripstopbytheroll.com

Ultralight Nylon Fabric

Our ultralight nylon collection has a wide selection. With 13 different fabrics and each with its own unique characteristics and qualities, you can find the perfect fit for your project. All of the fabrics in this collection are under 1.5 oz per square yard. Nylon fabrics are known for their...
ripstopbytheroll.com ripstopbytheroll.com

or

3/4 oz. Ripstop Nylon — Fly Market Kitemaking Supply

www.flymarketkites.com www.flymarketkites.com

Are fabric chutes relegated to larger and higher powered rockets? Any point in a fabric chute in a low powered (A,B,C,or D motor) vehicle?
 
Hey what about Tyvek for a parachute?

That kite website above it selling it as a kite making material. It's pretty light and very tear resistant. Not much for high visibility though.
 
Rip stop nylon is great for chutes and you can get premade small chutes made from it that work well in larger model rockets. For the really thin tubes they can be tricky to pack though. Even the thin plastic can be a bit of a challenge. The nylon also costs more, which is why kits generally don't include them.

A couple of tips for the plastic chutes.

A light dusting of talcum powder before you pack them helps a lot. NOT cornstarch. Starch can burn when atomized, talc doesn't.

Switch from paper wadding to cellulose insulation. You can get it from the home stores in bales for blown insulation. It's cheap, fireproof, and biodegradable. And a single pack will be nearly a lifetime supply. Just loosely pack it in the tube. It blocks the heat and flame better, preventing scorched recovery gear. The club guys call it "dog barf". Great stuff. Don't use fiberglass here, it doesn't work as well and livestock will try to eat it and harm themselves. If nothing else, that makes landowners angry, causing us to lose places to fly.

I haven't tried tyvek and don't know of it being used. In larger rockets it's common to use Kevlar and other fire resistant blankets to protect nylon and silk chutes. As well as for recovery harnesses.

For smaller rockets, don't ignore streamers. Really long streamers from mylar and similar pack up very tightly and usually deploy easily.
 
Nice idea about the talc! I'll try that out.

As far as wadding, you mentioned cellulose. Man, we just did a job at work where we threw away probably 16 contractor bags full of the stuff! I'm kicking myself now! I'll definitely keep an eye out for it though whenever we do any demolition and grab myself a bag full!

I've made a chute protector or two a few months ago and had pretty good success with it. I bought a yard of Nomex fabric from ebay, I think 7oz and cut it into a 11" square and hemmed the edges. I then sewed a small button hole in two corners and attached it to the shock cord via key chain rings. I tied a few overhand loops in the shock cord such that when the shock cord is extended upon ejection it pulls the opposite corners of the chute protector, thus unfolding it.

It worked well one time on an Estes Mercury/Redstone kit. The second launch didn't see deployment before smashing into a tree. I think the idea is sound though. I have a few more iterations of chute protector to try out when the weather breaks.
 
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Check this thing out!

My dad was leafing through the Estes catalog and saw the Altitrak. I guess inspiration struck and here's the result:

EM520383.JPGEM520387.JPG

It's actually pretty effective. He used it to determine the height of the tree in our front yard. It may not be perfect but it's sure as heck better than guessing!
 
Weldo said:
My dad was leafing through the Estes catalog and saw the Altitrak. I guess inspiration struck and here's the result:
Click to expand...

It is great that something so simple can still be considered rocket science!
-brino
 
Haha yea! He surprised me with this! That's why two heads are better than one I guess. I would've never thought of something like that.
 
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