Any reason NOT to get thin-mil parachutes?

A few winter launches here in Michigan have convinced me I need to upgrade at least some of my plastic parachutes in my fleet of (mostly A-B-C powered) LPR rockets. I was all set to order about ten "thin-mil" parachutes from Top Flight but then I thought, "why would anyone get anything else?"

Is there some downside that I'm not aware of to the thin mil chutes compared to the standard thickness? Other than a dollar or two in price, that is. I'm looking at sizes ranging from 9" to maybe a 24" chute. I don't care about color (thin mil are only available in orange).

Thin-mil are 1.1oz nylon, "normal" Top Flight chutes are 1.7oz nylon.

For your small rockets I think your choice of thin-mil is fine. Kurt

Thin mill chutes tend to be very elastic and the material "expands" very vigorously. That would be great for cold launch conditions. I have never had a thin mill chute not open up.

The only downside I can see is less durability - they seem like they would burn through easier than a thicker parachute.

The only real down side to thin-mil chutes is the price. Man rated chutes are made of the 1.1 oz or in some cases 0.75 oz rip stop nylon. Since the weight advantage and smaller packing size doesn't provide any real advantage for most rockets, most rocketeers won't pay the higher price so most commercial chutes for rockets are made of the heavier and less expensive 1.7 oz nylon.

Guys the TM fabric we use is tough and strong. We make TM chutes for a Co. that is in the drone/UAV recovery systems they buy 36" 45" 58" and 120" all made from TM fabric. plus we have used the same TM fabric for 20 years. No matter how thick the fabric is if not protected well they will get burn makes form ejection charges. Flyers have had nothing but good to say about the fabric. In this post its the first time I have heard any kind negative feedback on the TM line of chutes. Give them a try.

I prefer using thin mill. Lighter and easier to pack. And most important, they work great.

there is one problem with the color...here in Wisconsin in late summer we get plants that have the same color flowers....
Rex

I love thin mill, and they are my preferred chute to use if the size is available. They are lighter, and pack small. Properly protected, they will last and last.

Greg

Color has never been a problem. Other than a neon colors other colors would have some kind of color match to something.

For my LPR scratch builds (and as replacements for some Estes kits) I've been buying the thin-mill. They pack so easily, I find them to be a pleasure to work with. I don't have enough experience with them yet to assess durability, but my plastic Estes 'chutes usually last me a very long time so I don't see why these would be a problem.

ive been building up my supply of different size thin mill chutes as my fleet increases. i cant personally say ive found a downside to them, other than it would be nice if the suspension/ shroud lines were pre tied with a loop for a swivel. i have a hard time getting the lines to cooperate with me to get em all the same length. but that's one me, not the chutes really.
one thing that would be nice, and maybe there out there, is some thin mill with dump holes in them. i have a few rockets that get pretty good altitude that i cut dump holes in the plastic chutes to speed up the decent rate but have it less than a streamer, but id prefer to have thin mill chutes with dump holes for them. they are definitely easier to pack in a rocket,too.
or maybe i should try the x form chutes?

Are the 70" thin mil rated for the same rocket weights as the standard 70"?

BigBlueDart said:

Are the 70" thin mil rated for the same rocket weights as the standard 70"?

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It would be a safe assumption to say "Yes", since they do make a distinction between the standard and x-form chutes (different chute geometry) descent rates.

https://topflightrecoveryllc.homestead.com/descent_rates.html

Greg

dshmel said:

Thin mill chutes tend to be very elastic and the material "expands" very vigorously. That would be great for cold launch conditions. I have never had a thin mill chute not open up.

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les said:

I prefer using thin mill. Lighter and easier to pack. And most important, they work great.

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GregGleason said:

I love thin mill, and they are my preferred chute to use if the size is available. They are lighter, and pack small. Properly protected, they will last and last.

Click to expand...

neil_w said:

For my LPR scratch builds (and as replacements for some Estes kits) I've been buying the thin-mill. They pack so easily, I find them to be a pleasure to work with.

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tomsteve said:

ive been building up my supply of different size thin mill chutes as my fleet increases. i cant personally say ive found a downside to them

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Thank you to all for replying. You've confirmed that this is the way to go for LPR, especially in cold weather. I just placed an order (with Sirius, if it matters) for a couple thin-mil Top Flight 'chutes in every size 9" through 24"

+1! Have been using and recommending for over 10 years!.
Great company and service.
Ken

ayryq said:

Thank you to all for replying. You've confirmed that this is the way to go for LPR, especially in cold weather. I just placed an order (with Sirius, if it matters) for a couple thin-mil Top Flight 'chutes in every size 9" through 24"

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Once you try them you'll never use plastic again, they are great!

OK I know Top Flight has some nice TM chutes as I have one. I also have another thin mill in my chute stash but I don't know who the maker is/was. It's a yellow 36" with a 6" spill hole. It's very sheer and packs easily in a 54mm airframe. Who else sells thin mill chutes in the 30" to 48" range besides Top Flight? When I google it I see Sunward has a yellow 36"r but it doesn't have a spill hole.

bill2654 said:

OK I know Top Flight has some nice TM chutes as I have one. I also have another thin mill in my chute stash but I don't know who the maker is/was. It's a yellow 36" with a 6" spill hole. It's very sheer and packs easily in a 54mm airframe. Who else sells thin mill chutes in the 30" to 48" range besides Top Flight? When I google it I see Sunward has a yellow 36"r but it doesn't have a spill hole.

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Aerotech, sounds like my see-through Mustang chute.

Top Flight thin mil chutes are by far my favorite 'chutes for "small" rockets out there. For the big guys, either Top Flight standards or Crossfire.

Name a fancy expensive chute out there, and I guarantee I've killed it well before a Top Flight Chute. Experience has made me biased.

-Eric-

well...at 1st you get a good feeling about that 9" chute and all is good, pretty soon your wanting/needing bigger and bigger chutes...
Rex

Just exactly what is "thin-mil" chutes? how thin are we talking here? whats the weight of the rip stop nylon? 0.5? 0.75? 1.1? what is the denier? how can one tell?

shockie said:

Just exactly what is "thin-mil" chutes? how thin are we talking here? whats the weight of the rip stop nylon? 0.5? 0.75? 1.1? what is the denier? how can one tell?

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At a guess, 0.6 or so.

Rex R said:

there is one problem with the color...here in Wisconsin in late summer we get plants that have the same color flowers....
Rex

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I just got 1 yard each of 1.1 oz ripstop in white, blaze orange, yellow, red, brilliant blue and black. I hope to use then in various combinations: blue/white for my granddaughter's "crayon" rocket (her first!); red, yellow, & black for my brother-in-law's V2; orange and black for my son's rocket of the same colors; red and white for my Mercury-Redstone, and blast it all I forgot to order the green for the alien's parachute on my Venus Probe! I KNEW I needed one more... Was gonna use a sharpie to draw the alien face on the canopy!

We get a lot of goldenrod around here in the fall, but I hope the wide swath of colors will aid visual following! What's your color of concern?