Sneak Peak: Jolly Logic's Easy Dual Deployment

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Ok, now that this looks like it's close to release, and the form factor is "locked in".....

Without trying to find the answer in the last 9 pages of posts,
--- What is the smallest diameter airframe this will fit in? Not just the unit itself, but taking into account a bundled up chute and protector?

I think from earlier in discussion I understood that this will NOT be useful for 38mm and smaller airframes - is this still true?

looking forward to the commercial release either way,
s6
 
BEC's flight report includes launches in a Big Bertha (1.6"). I think that's slightly larger (42mm?) than a 38mm.

I do plan to test it in a MadCow 38mm. I'll post a flight, maybe this weekend.

Right now I would say 38mm is definitely the smallest. But you might want to wait until you see some 38mm flight reports. I'm optimistic.
 
Cool John, I'll look forward to hearing your report.
For me, 38mm is THE place I could see myself using this most often, as I've got a few 38mm "whoosh-pop" rockets that this would be perfect for. Lots of others too (which is why I'll be buying one either way), but 38mm would be the sweet spot for me.

Good luck on your flights,
s6
 
I think you could use it in a 1.5 inch (38mm) tube with a little care in how you wrap the whole package. It is snug in BT-55 (which is just under 33 mm ID) such that I wouldn't try it. It was pretty easy to do it in BT-60 which is 40.5 mm ID.
 
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the applicability to TARC flights. It will be interesting to see how reproducible the deployment is. TARC teams could let their rocket descend a few hundred feet from apogee and then let this thing deploy a very large parachute for egg protection purposes while still maintaining the required duration. It would have to work well however, as good TARC teams can already get pretty close to begin with. But if this works reliably then it's a game-changer for TARC.

We have a small parachute company, so our kids tried over 30 different variations of parachutes last year. They were able to get into 4th place after the first round in TARC with a nearly perfect duration, but a bad reload blew the second flight.
 
The other TARC problem this helps address is the *@#$%&^ thermals in the second flight on a sunny Manassas afternoon. The more the rocket can get clear of those, the better. Last year, there were rockets going *up* for a fraction of their flight. What little I've read on thermals says that the velocities are higher at higher altitude, so a repeatable "get close to the ground" recovery would help a lot.
 
The other TARC problem this helps address is the *@#$%&^ thermals in the second flight on a sunny Manassas afternoon.
Click to expand...

Thermal avoidance is a big part of our kid's techniques. You really have to start tracking the weather as soon as you get to the site. You'll start to see some patterns, especially as the winds blow through the small valley by the parking lot. John's product should help with that because parachutes can then be deployed at a lower altitude.
 
I was extremely excited about this product. It fits a very good spot for mid and low power rockets. The size being restrictive to BT-60 is a hurting point. By the time you hit BT-60, your large enough for a DD altimeter.

Chute Release + Altimeter Two is $200 plus shipping. That's what it would take to equal or surpass a standard a/v bay. And you still need motor eject and have to calculate delay charges.

I can build an a/v bay for about $12 and swap my StratoLoggerCF around. I can buy 4 StratoLoggerCF altimeters for that price. And using a rechargeable lipo battery, get it into a BT-55. I've even heard of that in a BT-50, but that seems pushing it to me.

No more than it actually does, $129 is just way way too high for me. If it also had the capabilities of an Altimeter Two, I'd consider it. I just can't justify that price.

Just as the first deployment altimeter eventually got copied/emulated/etc by other companies, someone will eventually make a similar product at a more affordable cost. I like Jolly Logic products, and I like the idea of supporting a company that is brining innovations, but when you fly on a budget, you just have to wait for a cost effective solution to come along.

Sorry John.
 
Kruegon,

Very good points all. But some people don't want to add an AV bay to a rocket that was designed not to have one. And the Chute Release is easily swapped from rocket to rocket, regardless of diameter. And can be launched over and over again the same day. So there are some advantages. But no, it is not a substitute for a true DD, and yes, you are still dependent on motor ejection and delay calculation.

For me, it will allow me to launch rockets like my MDRM a lot higher w/out having to build an AV bay, add a coupler, etc. But to each his own.
 
All this price talk. Some almost seem upset about it. It is what it is, and I think it's quite fair considering it's a brand new and highly innovative product. Plus once sales start rolling in, we may see a price decrease. You never know. I too fly on a budget to some degree--hell, right now I fly very rarely--but I will no doubt be buying one of these as I've already said!

Edit: good point about the av bay thing, John. This totally eliminates needing one, so long as you use motor eject. No parts to buy, no wires, no charges to prep. Money is saved there. And the convenience of easily switching from rocket to rocket plus super easy prep are worth the extra cost IMO.
 
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Kruegon said:
I was extremely excited about this product. It fits a very good spot for mid and low power rockets. The size being restrictive to BT-60 is a hurting point. By the time you hit BT-60, your large enough for a DD altimeter.

Chute Release + Altimeter Two is $200 plus shipping. That's what it would take to equal or surpass a standard a/v bay. And you still need motor eject and have to calculate delay charges.

I can build an a/v bay for about $12 and swap my StratoLoggerCF around. I can buy 4 StratoLoggerCF altimeters for that price. And using a rechargeable lipo battery, get it into a BT-55. I've even heard of that in a BT-50, but that seems pushing it to me.

No more than it actually does, $129 is just way way too high for me. If it also had the capabilities of an Altimeter Two, I'd consider it. I just can't justify that price.

Just as the first deployment altimeter eventually got copied/emulated/etc by other companies, someone will eventually make a similar product at a more affordable cost. I like Jolly Logic products, and I like the idea of supporting a company that is brining innovations, but when you fly on a budget, you just have to wait for a cost effective solution to come along.

Sorry John.
Click to expand...

I will second your points. If building from scratch, a purpose built DD is more cost effective. But like I've pointed out, if one already has some favorite rockets that would require a lot of work to convert, it's easier to use this device. I have a few rockets that use MAD (Magnetic Anomaly Detection: https://www.aeroconsystems.com/electronics/mad.htm or the mother of them all MAD unit:https://www.zeptobit.com/zeptomag/ ) for apogee only and I don't care how high they go. I run a sim to get an ideal Been a PITA to recover from an H motor. Plop John's device in and I have the potential of an easier recovery. $129.00 is harder to swallow than a $60.00 device but is the price I'll have to
pay if I want to go that route. I do think the price will drop the number of people down who had a potential interest. Kurt Savegnago
 
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Hello Mr. Beans-

You sir...have made for us a grand new rocketry item. After today, I will say this...I will not fly without a Chute Release.

Okay, today I was able to do three test flights. I went out to a local field where I have permission from the farmer. Anyway, I had an Estes Pro-Series II Ventris and another scratch build based on the Ventris.

The motors were all G40-7W single use. The rockets are light and they all went very high. What I did was test ways of folding and packing the chutes. I basically did the fold where you put the shroud lines INSIDE the folded chute, then I did two and three over-end folds before I put it on the CR. With two folds the CR did well and I had more room to put everything in the airframe. The three fold also fit well. The release was also set to 300 feet this time.

What I found out that the more tension on the rubber band the better the chute “popped” off the CR and it looked like the chute opened a tad faster. I would suggest that you mention to folks that they have enough tension on that band so the chute not only stays put. but things “pop” apart with a little gusto. So I found that the three fold on a 30” chute really is the sweet spot (this represents a lot of mid power set ups and all the Estes Pro-Series II rockets). ALSO! today I did everything WITHOUT a fire blanket. As long as I used a good amount of wadding everything stayed protected. Also, the rockets did NOT have vent holes. I also have not needed to even charge this unit and it still reads a full charge. Unfortunately, I wiped it off with a wet wipe and discovered that the sticker on the outside was not moisture resistant. So I have rubbed off the numbers on the front.....sorry! But, it still works perfectly. Sadly, I forgot my camera today.....

This unit has worked every time and I am going to actively promote this unit to every one I see at a launch. Thanks for letting me test it. If you want anymore specific tests, please outline them for me and I will try and get to them ASAP.

Thanks!
Andrew K
 
Andrew,
Cool.
I'm looking forward to hearing more tips on how folks use Chute Release in various configurations.
The production cases should be a big improvement on the cases you and others have used for testing, which were 3D-printed with stuck-on paper labels. We epoxy-print the altitude numbers on the production units. I'm frankly surprised the "homemade" cases have held up so well, and the production cases will be crazy-strong polycarbonate.
 
Current news about Chute Release has been somewhat quiet lately, and I'm wondering if John might be able to tell us what the present plan is to have the device available for purchase? I've got two rockets waiting for it - one built especially for it. :clap:
 
wighty44 said:
Current news about Chute Release has been somewhat quiet lately, and I'm wondering if John might be able to tell us what the present plan is to have the device available for purchase? I've got two rockets waiting for it - one built especially for it. :clap:
Click to expand...

Ditto!
 
No news is good news. I'm crazy busy overseeing production and coordinating all of the pieces that need to come together for (knock knock) a December release. There are literally a lot of moving parts.

Stay tuned.

ChuteReleaseBoxLabel.png
 
John Beans said:
...I'm crazy busy overseeing production and coordinating all of the pieces that need to come together for (knock knock) a December release. There are literally a lot of moving parts.
Click to expand...
I suspected as much, and I'm confident it will be just as hectic once Chute Release goes out for sale... ;)

Nonetheless, thanks for the reply!
 
I was interested back in Sept. with all the speculation about the price. Most expressed a price expectation of around $50 to $70. Now that it's expected to sell for double that so that leaves me out. Serves me right for counting on speculations and expectations.
 
bill2654 said:
I was interested back in Sept. with all the speculation about the price. Most expressed a price expectation of around $50 to $70. Now that it's expected to sell for double that so that leaves me out. Serves me right for counting on speculations and expectations.
Click to expand...

FWIW, I was also one of those that was guessing at price range a bit less than what the actual MSRP will be. As such, I confess to being a little disappointed by the final price. However, it still offers functionality that I can't touch for that price, especially considering the easy of fitting to a whole crap-ton of rockets that I otherwise wouldn't even consider any form of DD for. Frankly, like several other commenters above, I have several rockets that I'm just waiting for this device to really fly the way they deserve, and have already integrated the Chute Release's existence into my design process. We've been talking about it on the flight line as long as John has been teasing us about it. So, I'm still buying one - in fact, I have an Amazon gift card (that I got by cashing in Holiday Inn points for) set aside for it. But I probably won't buy two, which I would've considered if the price was lower.
 
I wonder how many of the forum price speculators have professional experience with retail pricing, not to mention pricing a highly specialized new design in a niche market ? Full disclosure, *** NOT ME *** !

Kudos to Jolly Logic and I hope they have great success with this product.
 
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Ahhhhhh,

The way to look at it is buy one and make your harnesses amenable to the devices rapid removal and transfer. If you really like it, save up for a second one. Development costs and having somebody custom manufacture costs $$$$$. We're all getting used to $20.00 entry level dual deploy altimeters and $120.00 GPS tracking setups.
I consider how much time effort and money it would take me to convert a couple of already built rockets to DD and I can swallow the asking price. Will be fun to try in the spring here.
Kurt Savegnago
 
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I'm buying one as soon as I can. After I have that one, I'll probably buy a spare, "just in case."

This really seems like a revolutionary product, in many respects. Being able to fly (I hope) a light 38mm bird, and then being able to have it land close by? Fantastic!
 
Doing some more testing of the chute release at QCRS this weekend. I'm going to do everything I can to punish it and see if we can't find a limit... We'll start off nice and easy and work our way up to faster, higher and larger rockets...
 

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