Highly reflective streamer

I am looking for a highly reflective streamer to lieu of a drogue for a rocket that will net out around 8lbs once the propellant is exhausted. Ideally I would like something that is silver or gold, something that really catches the sunlight as I have a hard time tracking my launches and this one is simmed to hit 20K. Yes I have trackers but I like to try to follow it on it's decent visually and I find that if I see something reflecting I can spot it much easier than just another object in the sky.

I am not sure about sizing, the drogue I would normally use would be either a 12" or 15" which puts me around 90-95fps on the drogue decent. Packing is also a consideration as this is a 54mm MD with limited payload.

Recommendations?

Rolls of Mylar can be had at places selling greenhouse products , example https://www.sea-of-green.com/mylar.html
It can be reinforced if need with strapping tape.

M

Cheep and effective - 12'x6" Mylar "Happy Birthday" banner from the party store.

I've used "Happy Birthday" streamers with success in the past (including my L2 cert flight to 12,000'). However, they do NOT last - it's very common for them to come apart after just two or three flights. Not only does this mean that you would have to replace them often, but it also means that you are potentially littering the area with big long pieces of shiny mylar - not good.

What I ended up doing is purchasing a tougher piece of mylar "ribbon" (about 4" wide and 25' long), and some black ripstop "tape" (also 4" wide). I applied the tape to the backside of the mylar and voila! - I've got a long lasting streamer that is highly reflective on one side, and dark on the other. This shows up against bright skies AND sparkles in the sun. The mylar ribbon is also patterned for even more "sparkle". Works great.

Both of these items can be found and purchased relatively cheaply on E(vil)bay.

s6

While doing a Google for Mylar ribbon, this showed up https://www.twirlplanet.com/products/Metallic-Dance-Streamer-Ribbon.html...I wonder if it would work well and hold up. Does anyone have a sister into this where you can steal her streamer for a test flight :wink:

Mylar is going to be too wimpy for an 8lb rocket. You need to call Top Flight Recovery. They have some great gold reflective fabric. They do a black/gold combo on a wide streamer and he'll even put a pocket in the end (not shown on his website). Really great solution for a high flyer descent and highly visible.

dixontj93060 said:

Mylar is going to be too wimpy for an 8lb rocket. You need to call Top Flight Recovery. They have some great gold reflective fabric. They do a black/gold combo on a wide streamer and he'll even put a pocket in the end (not shown on his website). Really great solution for a high flyer descent and highly visible.

Click to expand...

I have already reached out to top flight in two separate emails over the the last 2 months but unfortunately I have not received a reply.

dixontj93060 said:

Mylar is going to be too wimpy for an 8lb rocket. You need to call Top Flight Recovery. They have some great gold reflective fabric. They do a black/gold combo on a wide streamer and he'll even put a pocket in the end (not shown on his website). Really great solution for a high flyer descent and highly visible.

Click to expand...

I looked at the streamers on their website, but gold was not one of the color options in the drop-down.

mpitfield said:

I am looking for a highly reflective streamer to lieu of a drogue for a rocket that will net out around 8lbs once the propellant is exhausted. Ideally I would like something that is silver or gold, something that really catches the sunlight as I have a hard time tracking my launches and this one is simmed to hit 20K. Yes I have trackers but I like to try to follow it on it's decent visually and I find that if I see something reflecting I can spot it much easier than just another object in the sky.

I am not sure about sizing, the drogue I would normally use would be either a 12" or 15" which puts me around 90-95fps on the drogue decent. Packing is also a consideration as this is a 54mm MD with limited payload.

Recommendations?

Click to expand...

After a lot of searching years ago, I found this place had the best deals:

24 inches x 50 ft. 0.8 mil rolls $9.00

https://mygirlfriendshouse.com/classic_mylar_wrap.asp

I bought a roll of red/silver. Very tough stuff. Holds an accordion pleat well.

I found another thread https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?121016-streamer-drogue&highlight=lame discussing reflective streamers but it didn't result in a source. They mentioned Top Flight and questioned the material lame but no one confirmed it was a good material to use. Ideally I am looking for something that is already sewn, has the highly reflective qualities, as Stealth6 mentioned will not create litter, and holds up under the load. I found this source for one made out of lame, which looks like it could almost be used off the shelf https://www.worldtwirling.com/html/streamers___rods.html.

Go to your local bike shop. Ask them if it would be ok if you removed the reflective strip from the sidewalls of old tires that they are tossing. The strip can be peeled off from the sidewall (usually in a single strip). It won't be enough to slow the rocket down in decent, but it can help you see the rocket's decent. Added bonus, if the rocket isn't found in daylight, you can use a light to sweep the area and look for the AWOL rocket.

Another source for this could be Hi Viz construction vests, which might be wide enough to work as a streamer

Does anyone know how to accurately simulate a 3.5" x 12" streamer in RockSim?

See PM.

mpitfield said:

I have already reached out to top flight in two separate emails over the the last 2 months but unfortunately I have not received a reply.

Click to expand...

Wanted to update that Gary AKA crossfire reached out to me from Top Flight Recovery

mpitfield said:

Wanted to update that Gary AKA crossfire reached out to me from Top Flight Recovery

Click to expand...

Did say if he carries reflective streamers?

jeff2space said:

Did say if he carries reflective streamers?

Click to expand...

Here is a quote from Gary "We do have a small amount of black/gold fabric left. what size streamers are you looking for?" Here is a link to his profile https://www.rocketryforum.com/member.php?6027-crossfire

Mike-- here's what we had talked about. The serged edge example probably isn't strong enough for multiple flights. But the folded over hem seems pretty sturdy. That also puts a small amount of Mylar on the back side which will help with visibility.

Please ignore the sloppiness with these samples. I didn't have time to put on the proper attachment on my double needle machine. But this should give you a pretty good idea of what we can provide. The sample is 6" long and roll ups to about 3/8" in diameter. Anything more robust like a reflective fabric won't roll up as tightly as this.

Your streamer got shipped today. It will be super reflective for you. The rolled up size is right around 2". You'll have to use some talc to make it slide easier and perhaps make it a little shorter if it seems too tight.

Pat_B said:

Your streamer got shipped today. It will be super reflective for you. The rolled up size is right around 2". You'll have to use some talc to make it slide easier and perhaps make it a little shorter if it seems too tight.

Click to expand...

Very nice Pat. I've used the reflective mylar but quickly discovered it has to be cut "cleanly" or micro transverse fractures will occur. One then will likely see two or more pieces of streamer fluttering down much higher than the now rapidly descending rocket
with the much shorter steamer attached. I tried to get around it by using something like scotch tape on both edges to reinforce and prevent ripping but that is a real pain to do. The serged edge looks more elegant than the hacked tape job I could achieve.
BTW, I like your 36" chute. I hand sewed a kevlar loop at the apex so I could attach a drogue/pilot chute to it so I could have the drogue/pilot pull the Dino chute out of the chute protector after the Archtype Rocketry cutter fires. Kurt

Let me know next time you order and we can provide the chute with a loop already sewn in.

Yeah, the Mylar tears easily once a small tear gets started. We use a pretty long stitch length to keep it from perforating, but there's only so much you can do to keep the Mylar protected. As long as the deployment event is pretty smooth then it'll be just fine.