How Many Here Sew Their Own Chutes???

Nice chutes. I would have never thought to use flat nylon as an attachment point.

cwbullet said:

Nice chutes. I would have never thought to use flat nylon as an attachment point.

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Thanks.
The Nylon "Webbing" is kinda' bulky, so for my next Attachment Points I'm going to try out some Flat Shoe Lace Material that is about half as wide, and much more supple, which will make it easier to Sew through.

Here's my TAN-SAM on a homemade Chute'.

Gonna' gear up tonight to make a couple more.

The red one will replace the yellow one in the 17oz. TAN-SAM. Should set her down much more gentle like.
30" between the Points and 27" between the Flats makes this my biggest Homemade Parasheet to Date.
I need to get some more Tent Material to make up some more this size.
I had'nt sewn in a few Months, so it took me a few minutes to get back into the hang of it, resulting in three Seam Lines around the circumference.
Can't wait to fly her!

I'm at it again!

I'm using Heat Shrink Tubing to finish off the Shroud Lines, as I have seen others do. It does look pretty clean.

TopRamen said:

I'm using Heat Shrink Tubing to finish off the Shroud Lines, as I have seen others do. It does look pretty clean.

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Nice job Top. Guess Sandy and I are going to give it a shot. I do have a sh!t ton of old tent and tent fly material to practices on. Some of the tent fly stuff is pretty thin,it may just do the trick. What kind of stitch do you use when sewing around the sail? What kind of coin did you spend on that nice orange ripstop?

The Orange Ripstop was $7.99 a Yard at Joann Fabrics, but they do have a Coupon you can get online and print out for 30% off any one regular priced Item. I'm going to do that next time I go there to get some.
I just use whatever Stitch is the Straight Stitch on the Machine.

For my L1 Cert build, I'm contemplating using a salvaged umbrella for a parachute. Looks like it's from a golf umbrella (57" Diameter). I'm wondering how long to make the shroud lines. I'm seriously thinking that it should also be given a spill hole.

Any recommendations on the conversion?

I have just salvaged a golf umbrella skin as a possible future parachute. (My wife thinks I am obsessed... "What are you going to do with a chute THAT LARGE??!!" "Honey, don't worry about it. I know how to sew. I'll figure out something...")

There was one worn hole in one of the four white panels, so I zig-zaged it to prevent a problem. There's a "spill hole" about the size of a quarter or a half dollar at the top. I have no shroud lines yet, so I'll be very interested in what you come up with. Some recomment a shroud length three times the diameter of the chute....but that seems excessive to me.

I had originally hoped that the small hole/tear was going to be in the white panel that contained a silkscreend advert for the relators' office that gave it away...but no such luck. I had been thinking of just removing that one panel and making the chute slightly more cone shaped, but the color scheme would have suffered...not that I care, actually.

K'Tesh said:

For my L1 Cert build, I'm contemplating using a salvaged umbrella for a parachute. Looks like it's from a golf umbrella (57" Diameter). I'm wondering how long to make the shroud lines. I'm seriously thinking that it should also be given a spill hole.

Any recommendations on the conversion?

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1 to 1.5x the diameter per shroud line. I go short thinking that there's less to tangle. Like Kirk G said 3 x the diameter but I think that's when you double it for like simple plastic chutes.

TopRamen said:

The Orange Ripstop was $7.99 a Yard at Joann Fabrics, but they do have a Coupon you can get online and print out for 30% off any one regular priced Item. I'm going to do that next time I go there to get some.

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Search under 'ripstop nylon' on Ebay -- particularly Emma Kites -- like this one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/12-Yards-1...-Coated-Outdoor-Nylon-Fabric-US-/261481595979

That's a nice supply and about $4.60/yd (60" wide) - and free shipping.

There are other deals out there as well.

-- john.

K'Tesh said:

For my L1 Cert build, I'm contemplating using a salvaged umbrella for a parachute. Looks like it's from a golf umbrella (57" Diameter). I'm wondering how long to make the shroud lines. I'm seriously thinking that it should also be given a spill hole.

Any recommendations on the conversion?

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As others have said - something like 1 to 1.5x the diameter of the canopy. Some may question it, but I'd recommend continuous line construction - from one side, up and over the canopy and down the other side - unbroken. If you can find some ribbon weave tape (3/8" wide), sew it around the skirt (outer edge) and also some up at the vent hole (and, yes, put one in -- 1/2% to 1% of the canopy area). If you can't find the tape, even some rayon ribbon would work (or, some parachute cord with the inner strands removed). If you don't want to do the 'continuous line' approach, run your lines as far up the canopy as you can (zig-zag stitch - and put a loop in the end, wherever that is) - the more line anchored to the canopy, the more distributed the loads they impart to the canopy and the stronger it will be.

-- john.

Sandy is picking me up some Red and Orange nylon today.
She wasnt sure if it is "Rip-Stop". She said (called me from Joannes) they call it 100% nylon.
So, taking a chance, I told her to get 1/2 yard of each.

I've been using 150 lb braided dacron line I picked up years ago. I got 3,000 on special from a kite shop for $15.00. I'm not sure you can find it at that price any more. I believe it was the bulk line that is used to make window blinds. It comes in some strange colors.

I've been using several chutes made from golf umbrellas. I sew about 2" of the line to each seam of the umbrella and use 1.5 times the diameter of the chute for the length of each line. I don't put any spill holes in the chutes. These have been the main chutes for 10 lb dual deploy rockets for several years now.