Who Used Chute Release for L1, L2, or L3?

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John Beans

Founder, Jolly Logic
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I try to congratulate folks when they get an L-cert and mention it on Facebook or the forum, but now that Chute Release isn't such a new thing anymore sometimes it's hard to tell if it was used in the flight.

If you used Chute Release in your cert flight, could you please holler out your details?

Rocket (with diameter and weight, if you know them)​
Motor​
Altitude (if you know it)​
And of course L1, L2, or L3​

I was prompted to do this when I heard someone L3'd with redundant Chute Releases at LDRS, which may have been a first.
 
Modified Estes Partizon. Weight with out motor was 23oz. Payload bay included a Jolly Logic 2, Mobius camera and Play Mobile Bob. My 9 year old daughters astronaut. Motor was a H128-10. Altitude was 2408ft with a max speed of 425mph. Flight was for my L1 certification. Very windy day when I was up. So I decided to deploy at a low altitude 300ft. I had originally intended to use a guide chute. But a nearby flooded farmers field had already taken a few rockets. Chute release worked perfectly. Ours landed about 80 yards from the launch site on dry ground. Bob and the rocket were recovered with no damage. Great product. Thanks

IMG_1218.jpgIMG_1359.jpgIMG_1454.jpg
 
Flew my L1 Certification flight today with a Wildman Drago (2.1"dia/42oz/41.5"tall) on a H115DM-14A-14 motor. On board were three electronics, a BRB900 GPS tracker, a Altimeter3 and a Chute Release. All worked well for a successful flight to 2213ft with a recovery at 300ft with a 36" parachute.

6C0A3009p.jpg
 
Last week I did my L2 successfully with Chute Release. I flew a slightly modified Madcow Torrent (color and decal scheme based on my sons' heavy metal rock band), which is 54" tall, 4" diameter, and 61 oz (sans motor), on an AT J270-10W to 3000 ft. I used motor ejection to deploy an 18" drogue, then CR to deploy the 45" main at 500 ft, and everything worked great! Sacred Monster Torrent.jpg851A0932.jpg
 
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L1 success with an Estes Argent, pretty much stock out of the box. Used a little extra epoxy on the build. Flew to 2300 feet on a CTI H87 IMAX motor. 6.3cm dia "main" body tube and the stock 24" nylon Estes parachute. Chute Release hit at 400.
[video=youtube;evC-IVM73iM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evC-IVM73iM[/video]
 
Got my L1 Cert May 21, 2016 on an Estes MDRM with a modified nose cone AV bay on an AT H128W with JL Chute Release set at 400' and a JL Alt 3.

Weighed in at 3 lbs with a 36" Chute and OneBadHawk 20' recovery harness.
mdrm
Max altitude1021 ft
Date5/21/2016 10:56 AM
ModeRocket
Duration47 secs
Notes

level 1 flight on a h128w MDRM
[video]https://youtu.be/Jm98liUqzoI[/video]FlightGraph_resized.png
 
Level 2 flight on my HyperLOC 835. 4" diameter, approximately 75oz. Altitude, ~3800 ft on a CTI 54mm-2G-J430 White Thunder. No drogue :)
 
Level 1 5/28/2016
3" kitbash Patriot, 21 ounces dry
H128W-10
Estimated altitude: 2,100', CR set at 300'
Winds were blowing pretty well at this event, without the Chute Release I probably wouldn't have attempted the flight. Even with a 300' deployment, my rocket landed a good 1500' away from the pad, with lots of sage brush between the launch pads and the recovery area.

[video=youtube;g01jw9eRIec]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g01jw9eRIec[/video]
 
L1 Cert. LOC Cyclotron. AT H130W-14 drilled down to 7 sec. ~1200 ft. No drogue. The rocket free fall was not flat, but around 45 degree as the tube fin end was heavy. Chute release at 300 ft. Perfect flight on a windy day.

I also flew an AT Warthog that day with dual 30" ultru light Sperachutes. 200 ft release (again, it was windy). I wrap both chutes with one chute release. I've tried several methods of wrapping 2 chutes with the chute release and have yet to find a method that fails. (not that I'm trying, it's just fun). I almost always set the chute release for 200 ft unless there is no wind. I got into rocketry 6 months ago. As long as I've been flying rockets, I've had a Jolly Logic chute release. I don't know what the rocket world was like before that. I have never flown any of my mid power rockets ( 4 AT, 2 LOC, 2 PSII) without one. For me, the chute release is as essential as the motor.
 
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I wrap both chutes with one chute release. I've tried several methods of wrapping 2 chutes with the chute release and have yet to find a method that fails. (not that I'm trying, it's just fun).

Okay, now you've got me thinking about multiple chutes. On the one hand: recipe for tangling. On the other hand:must look AWESOME coming down on multiple chutes.
 
I used both the JLCR and JL A3 in my Estes Leviathan for an L1 cert at Snow Ranch 4/2/2016.
Rocket: Estes Pro Series II Leviathan
Diameter: 3" OD
Weight with Motor: 26.3 oz.
Motor: Aerotech RMS 29/180 H128W-10​
Altitude: JL A3 showed 2,332 (data file became corrupted on Android Tablet... looking forward to app update!)​
Cert: L1​
 
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Level 1 5/28/2016
3" kitbash Patriot, 21 ounces dry
H128W-10
Estimated altitude: 2,100', CR set at 300'
Winds were blowing pretty well at this event, without the Chute Release I probably wouldn't have attempted the flight. Even with a 300' deployment, my rocket landed a good 1500' away from the pad, with lots of sage brush between the launch pads and the recovery area.
Awesome flight man, enjoyed watching that!
 
Flew my L1 Certification flight today with a Wildman Drago (2.1"dia/42oz/41.5"tall) on a H115DM-14A-14 motor. On board were three electronics, a BRB900 GPS tracker, a Altimeter3 and a Chute Release. All worked well for a successful flight to 2213ft with a recovery at 300ft with a 36" parachute.

View attachment 294467

How difficult was it to get a 36-inch parachute and Chute Release in a 54mm airframe? How long is the parachute bay? Any tips or photos of the setup?
 
How difficult was it to get a 36-inch parachute and Chute Release in a 54mm airframe? How long is the parachute bay? Any tips or photos of the setup?

36" chute, JLCR fit pretty easily in a 54mm airframe. Done it several times, mostly in my WM Interceptor Sport. The Drago has a pretty long BT, so it would be even easier. I just fold the parachute normally, shroud lines tucked into the chute, then JLCR around that, attached to the swivel. Just be sure to do a shake test on your JLCR bundle before loading to be sure it'll hold together.
Drago + JLCR + H399 = awesome sauce
 
How difficult was it to get a 36-inch parachute and Chute Release in a 54mm airframe? How long is the parachute bay? Any tips or photos of the setup?


Fits just fine. As stated the rocket is 41.5" tall, plenty of room. I did put the BRB900 in the niosecone so that helped with the room for the chute.
 
L1 May 2016
RW F75
3600 ft
4.4 lb
H112J
9 inch drouge
48 in main
CR @500 ft.
Eggfinder TRS


L2 June 2016
RW F75
5.8 LB
J350W
9in drouge
48 in main
Eggfinder TRS
6100 ft
CR @ 600
 
Sounds like a great product based on these experiences. Just about to pull the trigger on one. Looking to fly the Estes Pro II's on G, H, I 29's.
 
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