Neilw
Simulates with KSP
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2014
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*Disclaimer: not GLR's fault*
This summer, I flew to try to get my L3 (Canadian L3). The going up part of the flight was good, but coming down, the main parachute got stuck in the body. Anyways, the rocket was undamaged but the failure to deploy lost me the L3. In the end, only my pride was hurt. Here's a video of the launch just for fun:
[video]https://www.facebook.com/neil.woodcock.5/videos/10210966164736116/[/video]
The main parachute had been a bit of a snug fit on the ground, but I was able to pull it out easily enough to make me confident it would work in flight. The main in this case is a 48 inch nylon parachute. Post flight, I noticed 2 things:
Based on these observations I have come up with some possible solutions. Of course, I'm looking for feedback from the experienced people on this very forum.
Any help is appreciated!
This summer, I flew to try to get my L3 (Canadian L3). The going up part of the flight was good, but coming down, the main parachute got stuck in the body. Anyways, the rocket was undamaged but the failure to deploy lost me the L3. In the end, only my pride was hurt. Here's a video of the launch just for fun:
[video]https://www.facebook.com/neil.woodcock.5/videos/10210966164736116/[/video]
The main parachute had been a bit of a snug fit on the ground, but I was able to pull it out easily enough to make me confident it would work in flight. The main in this case is a 48 inch nylon parachute. Post flight, I noticed 2 things:
- The folded parachute had rolled on its side and had become jammed at the mouth of the body tube
- The kevlar parachute protector, which was already full of pyrodex residue from previous tests, felt sticky to the touch and had a pretty high friction coefficient with the FG body tube
Based on these observations I have come up with some possible solutions. Of course, I'm looking for feedback from the experienced people on this very forum.
- Try a new folding technique. Preferrably one that folds the parachute into a longer, slimmer package. As well, the shockcord may need to be folded better, as it looks like it had a role in jamming the parachute in the tube
- Get a smaller parachute. If it landed fine with only a drogue, who says it needs a parachute as big as 48 inches?
- Clean the kevlar parachute protector between flights. I've already done this
- Maybe wrap the parachute and protector in a sabot of some kind. Cardstock might work.
Any help is appreciated!
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