Jolly Logic Chute Release suggestions....!

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Bill Gibson

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005.jpgIve been "practicing" loading my rocket with my JL chute release, going thru the motions as to set up and such.....ive watched every video there is and there are still a coupla of things im not 100% sure of so I posted pics of my Big Daddy mocked up with it ready load into the rocket......PLEASE FEEL FREE to chime in with critique, input, and advice....! you wont hurt my feelings ONE BIT if this looks WRONG:):)!!004.jpg Many Thanks!
 
the question you should be asking yourself is, will it fit inside the tube with the nose seated AND wadding included? there isn't much room inside a BD for the recovery system.
Rex
*edit*
I would be inclined to attach the chute to the shock cord, not the nose, that bit of plastic tends to break at inconvenient times :).
 
Thanks so much for the reply Rex! That's the part that's confusing me with the videos.....they say not to "load" the chute release via the shock cord, so Im wondering if im supposed to add another piece of cord independent of the shock cord to attach the tether for the chute release? It seems that though its recommended to attach the tether to one of the parachute lines, there are a number of people who don't recommend it because of the possibility of damaging the 'chute.....again thanks for the input. Always appreciate it!
 
I would point out that the Big Daddy has a history of lawn darts. That "ramp" seems to encourage the ejection charge to vent instead of popping the nosecone free and clear. A lot of people mod the nosecone to eliminate the ramp. Many of those mods give you a little more room for the laundry.
 
Its not to late to cut off the NC step. You can epoxy a kevlar loop inside the nosecone for your harness connection, or cut a ply bulk plate as I did in this photo. This adds a lot more room for laundry and will greatly diminish lawn dart tendencies associated with the stepped NC shoulder. Tie a loop in your harness about a foot down from the nosecone attachment point. Your chute and chute release will attach to that loop. That is a MPR/HPR set up that can be applied to LPR. I have flown many times with this configuration in HPR. Trust that is not a rubber band harness?

IMG_6036.jpg
 
On my Big Daddy I tied a loop in the elastic for the parachute about 3" from the nose cone where. I attached my Chute Release there. This was the first rocket that I used the Chute Release with as well. I've still got the ramp on the nose cone, we've launched it over 30 times for a science fair project and it's not lawn darted yet. I did have a splash down in a pond, the Cute Release survived the water as well.
 
I probably need to find a way to explain the “shock cord loading” advice a little better. What I mean by that is that you don’t want your Chute Release to get yanked off your chute because of the way that it’s tethered. When ejection occurs, the nose cone in many rockets gets thrown out pretty quickly and the shock cord can stretch tight. So if the Chute Release happens to be tethered away from the Chute, the tether can tug on Chute Release. But your setup looks fine.

In general mounting your chute near near the nose cone is a good idea, so that the nosecone’s momentum at ejection can pull out your chute bundle.

Never tether Chute Release to shroud threads of stock plastic parachutes like Estes provides. Your tethering looks fine. One of my recommended upgrades for your Big Daddy is a more rugged nylon chute. Big Daddys hold up well and can be flown lots of times, but the chute they provide is pretty weak. No matter what, a swivel is a good idea to keep your shroud lines from twisting too much, and they make it easier to move chutes around once you start using nicer ones.

If if you decide NOT to modify your nosecone, try to add wadding in such a way that the wadding and parachute fill up the width of the fuselage and form a sort of piston that will push the nose cone out. And while you don’t want the nosecone to be too tight, it’s probably worse to have it too loose, because after engine burnout the thickness of the rocket causes it to slow down rapidly and the nosecone will start sliding out until the ramp on it is exposed, forming a bypass path for your ejection charge. You want your ejection charge to “pop” your nosecone off, not just blow around it. Hope that makes sense.

Although the space inside is a little limited, Big Daddy is a great rocket to practice using Chute Release on. You’ll have a lot of fun with it!
 
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Thanks so much for the reply Rex! That's the part that's confusing me with the videos.....they say not to "load" the chute release via the shock cord, so Im wondering if im supposed to add another piece of cord independent of the shock cord to attach the tether for the chute release? It seems that though its recommended to attach the tether to one of the parachute lines, there are a number of people who don't recommend it because of the possibility of damaging the 'chute.....again thanks for the input. Always appreciate it!

When they say not to “load” the chute release, they mean don’t rig it in a way that the chute release tether will be stretched or yanked by any of the deployment forces. That means you should attach the chute release tether at the same point wher you attach the parachute lines. When the chute is bundled up and wrapped in the chute release band, there is no way for the tether to get yanked. In your case that attachment point would be the plastic nose cone loop. If you attach it there, it can’t get pulled.

Now there are a few separate issues you might want to consider. The plastic loop can sometimes break, so it might not be the best place to attach the chute release or the parachute lines. It’s the way the instructions say to do it, but it’s not necessarily the best. Also, there’s the problem of the sloped nose cone shoulder. And also, many people like to have a length of shock cord from the nose cone to the chute, and then the longer length of shock cord to the booster section of the rocket.

If I were setting it up. I’d put the chute on a swivel, and I’d attach the chute release to that same swivel. I’d add about 2 feet of shock cord from the nose cone to the swivel, and also attach the main shock cord to the swivel. For the nose cone, I’d follow one of the earlier recommendations.

edit: I was posting at the same John was. Didn’t mean to repeat him.
 
My bit:
The Big daddy is what, $30? the JLCR is what.. $129?... The Big daddy isn't a high flyer, even on an 'E'. You may walk a bit further.. But I wouldn't risk the JLCR in it..
 
I want to thank everyone for replying to my thread! I got a buncha GREAT information from you guys here! JohnBeans, thanks for your direct reply...I kinda figured out the loading thing when I first attached the tether about 6" down the shock cord and stretched it with the chute release attached to it.....kinda clicked then! I've see your chute release work time after time on so many different rockets at my club field......so I just HAD to get one!
Thirsty Barbarian(LOVE that handle!) I looked at several pics of rockets set up that way with a length of some kind of cord, but again, being of less than average interpreting skills(its a curse) I wasn't sure what I was looking at! THANKS for clearing that up!!
Okay...so you guys are talking about using swivels.... I remember using little snap swivels on my small Estes rockets when I was I kid so long ago......could anyone possibly post a pic or 2 of what you're using now, along with a general size based on the size of the rocket(I guess), and where I can purchase these swivels? Again, MANY THANKS for all the help:):)
 
+1 on using a nylon chute. For snap swivels, use the biggest ones you can find at your local sporting goods store, in the fishing area, and only the ones with a locking tab.ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1521396535.936620.jpg
 
My bit:
The Big daddy is what, $30? the JLCR is what.. $129?... The Big daddy isn't a high flyer, even on an 'E'. You may walk a bit further.. But I wouldn't risk the JLCR in it..

It's more to play with it then for the actual application of it. Hopefully in May I'll be using with a Binder Design Devastator. I was going to use it later in the day with a NCR Delta Lance but with it damp I thought better of it.
 
They cost to replace. Tryst me I know. so, risking it in a small light thing, to me, isn't worth it.. yes, definitely on your Devastator & the like. i do. My LPR never get the JLCR. Altimeter yes, JLCR no.
 
They cost to replace. Tryst me I know. so, risking it in a small light thing, to me, isn't worth it.. yes, definitely on your Devastator & the like. i do. My LPR never get the JLCR. Altimeter yes, JLCR no.
Depends on how much effort I put into the rocket, rockets like my Arapahoe E clone rarely flies without the JLCR especially on MPR motors.
 
With it being attached that close to the nose, it looks like the JLCR may beat and bang on the nose cone. Maybe not, and if it does it may not hurt it. Just looks like a bad spot. Other than that, it looks fine.

I modded my nose cone almost exactly like Joe's. I upgraded to kevlar, a nylon chute, a chute protector and I use the JLCR in my Big Daddy pretty regularly, especially ever since I chased it half a mile in the wind on one recovery. Not sure what the risk is in putting it in a light rocket.

30 dollar kit (though it was OOP, but doesn't look like it), 50 dollar hard to find hardware (AT 24/40), man hours spent building/finishing the rocket, first short fat rocket I ever got, first "Big" rocket I ever got, a Christmas gift from my girlfriend, (lots more firsts as well)...yeah I want it back and don't want it to deploy in the winds aloft, whatever they may be and watch it sail away.
 
They cost to replace. Tryst me I know. so, risking it in a small light thing, to me, isn't worth it.. yes, definitely on your Devastator & the like. i do. My LPR never get the JLCR. Altimeter yes, JLCR no.

First time I used a chute release was in my Estes Patriot :cool:
 
Flew this Estes kit bashed Argent-x at the QCRS launch Sunday. Had rained the day before and the chisel plowed fields that surround the launch site were sticky black Illinois farm dirt. Lunched on a G motor to 1,700 feet with a JLCR on board. Landed 30 feet from the launch rail. Same day launched a MDRM on an H151 to 1,500...landed 100 feet from launch rail. Sure saved a long tough walk. If a chute release fits in my rocket, it flies in it.


IMG_E6087.jpg
 
I modded my nose cone almost exactly like Joe's. I upgraded to kevlar, a nylon chute, a chute protector and I use the JLCR in my Big Daddy pretty regularly, especially ever since I chased it half a mile in the wind on one recovery. Not sure what the risk is in putting it in a light rocket.

30 dollar kit (though it was OOP, but doesn't look like it), 50 dollar hard to find hardware (AT 24/40), man hours spent building/finishing the rocket, first short fat rocket I ever got, first "Big" rocket I ever got, a Christmas gift from my girlfriend, (lots more firsts as well)...yeah I want it back and don't want it to deploy in the winds aloft, whatever they may be and watch it sail away.

I put my JLCR in all my Aerotech kits that only cost $60-$80. As you said the time to construct, motor hardware, recovery hardware etc all have value.

I also like that with the lower deployment altitudes you can upsize canopies.

My Cheetah gets launched with an 18" canopy instead of the stock 16". Next I am going to play around with using an Aerotech 22" since it has much narrower suspension lines and see if I can find a packing configuration that allows for reliable deployment.

My Warthog and Initiator both launch with 30" canopies (actually the same canopy) instead of the stock 22".
 
A suggestion for an additional feature for Chute Release that may have already been suggested (or promised) and might only require a firmware change to implement: after each flight, have the apogee altitude blinked out alternately in feet by the 1000 ft setting LED and in meters by the 100 ft setting LED (or vice versa or via some other LED combination). This would continue until one of the altitude setting switches is depressed. What would be required in the rocket's design would be adequate pressure venting ports for the parachute section.
 

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