How Many Here Sew Their Own Chutes???

I had a small Tent over at my Moms House, so I went over there and got it to make Chutes/Sheets/Streamers out of.
Also she lent me a small Travel Style Iron, and gave me a roll of Seam Tape.
For my next Chute, I'm going to plan it out, since I now have the basic Idea of what I'm supposed to do. I'll make Panels, then stitch them together to make a Multi-Colored Hexoganal Sheet. This Tent was in nice shape, so it should work nicely.

Look forward to seeing what you come up with

The Fly from this Tent looks like it would make a Chute all by itself by just adding Shroud Lines.
Don't know how well a Square would work though. A little large too. On the blue and yellow parts, I could just cut the Shape and leave the Seam in the middle intact, to get a Bi-Color Chute without having to sew two separate Pieces together.

Having the right stuff to do it makes it a lot easier. This one is definitely going in a Rocket.

Having the Loops on the Corners means I can replace the Shroud Lines easily if need be.

I have done a few flights with a square chute design. They work very well. Very simple to make and pack up nice.
Good luck

I have a 25' chute with the cords cut if anyone want to use the material to make their own chutes...I'd hate to throw it away...White, green and orange panels.

RocketflierVB said:

I have a 25' chute with the cords cut if anyone want to use the material to make their own chutes...I'd hate to throw it away...White, green and orange panels.

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PM Sent.

Just made another, but the Loops will have to wait til' tomorrow. It folds up quite nicely.

I have to say, this is pretty fun work. I'm happy to have added a new Skill to my Set.

TopRamen said:

I have to say, this is pretty fun work. I'm happy to have added a new Skill to my Set.

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Cool, nice work. I too like the idea of crafting whatever I can on the rocket. Just slapping together all pre-made stuff isn't as fun for me.

micro said:

Cool, nice work. I too like the idea of crafting whatever I can on the rocket. Just slapping together all pre-made stuff isn't as fun for me.

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Thanks.
I feel that way too. I'll save some money on Chutes this way. It also does'nt make a Mess like Sanding and stuff like that, so it will make for a good Winter Rocketry Activity.
I'll at least be able to make them to my Specs when it comes to Color Choices and Patterns which will be nice.

The below photo is my L3 rocket. The brown chute is made from the rain fly of my old family dome tent. It even has part of the zipper in it. It lasted for about 30 flights before it "needed" to be retired.



Tony

That's awesome Tony!

I'm in the habit now of weighing everything that goes into a Rocket, and this Chute, by itself weighs 1oz.

Got the Loops on. I like how it came out. I'm not a big fan of Purple, and will likely never have a Rocket that matches it Color Wise, but it is a nice looking Chute if I do say so myself.
Weight, .8oz.

This one I just made. I decided to do a second line of Stitches on the Seams of this one for looks and durability.



The Yellow Thread is from the Tent being stitched at the Factory, I did the Black Thread only. I figure that reinforcing the Seam is always a good Idea so that I know the Integrity of the Thread for certain. Who knows what quality the Factory Job was?
I just realized that that is a Bonus about making your own Chute, is you really have a feel for the Materials that go into it, and thusly a good sense of what their Strengths and Weaknesses are. Working with Fabric reminds me of working in Metal. Working with my Hands producing anything keeps me happy, so this is something I can see myself doing quite Often. I really need to get some more Materials. I can make about 10-12 with what I have on hand, but I'm ready to take on some different Designs, and would like a better Color selection.




I have to say, I now have three useable Chutes, and I did'nt spend any money to get them. How cool is that?!

I'm gonna go start a red and yellow one.

Now I got 4.

Q, are you going to try putting 'skull & cross bones' on one your chutes?
Rex

I've been sewing my own chutes since about '05, sewing since my Mom taught me how in the '70s. I've got several I made from umbrellas. Golf umbrellas make about a 53" chute. The smaller umbrellas are about 32" chutes. I've also designed and made several 8" to 24" hemi and elliptical chutes along with some modified hemi chutes as use as drogue chutes. I elongated the panels so the chute is almost cone shaped with a spill hole. Makes for a stable drogue even though it is falling fast.


One of the best things I did was buy a 3000 ft roll of 150lb dacron line from a kite place. It is the same stuff used for pulling up the 1" window blinds you buy a Walmart. It was only $15 at the time so shroud lines are cheap.

My latest project is a seven cell parasail. It is a scaled down version of what a skydiver uses. I've got a RC controller for it so I can fly the rocket back. Now I just need to get the deployment to work right. Skydivers pack their chutes in a rectangular backpack, I have to figure out how to make it work in a cylindrical D-bag that will fit in a 4" rocket. After 4 flights, I feel like I'm getting close.

Very impressive Handeman!!!:clap:

What is the largest size you have done? they are coming out really good.

conman13 said:

What is the largest size you have done? they are coming out really good.

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Thanks.
The larger ones are 22" between the Shroud Line Loops, 18.5 across the Center.
I won't be needing anything much larger for MPR stuff. I don't do any HPR stuff, so for now I'm all set working in this Scale.

Here's my first HPR chute for my L1 almost done. Technically a parasheet, just a flat chute with 12 sides. Thought I'd try straight seams first before attempting a parabolic pattern. Just needs a center patch and shroud lines. Material is standard ripstop from Joann left over from kite making. Founds some pics from the common chute makers and it looks like sewing the shroud lines to the chute is the way to go.

That looks great Micro!

I just got this in the Mail. It's 550 Paracord, which normally would be kinda' heavy for making my Shroud Lines out of, but I'm going to "Gut it".
550 Cord has 7 internal Strands in a Sheath, and the internal Strands can be removed easily. The remaining "Sheath" is what I'll make the Lines from.
The Florecsent Yellow is perfect for this in my opinion.

Here's the first Shroud Lines sewn on, and the Rocket that will be flying this Parasheet.

It was just brought to my attention that there is a better way to attach the Lines which will function better. I'll likely undo and re-attach them.

TopRamen said:

Just made another, but the Loops will have to wait til' tomorrow. It folds up quite nicely.

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I finally flew this Chute' yesterday in my 2.6" Meow Mixer. I used Shroud Lines from a TLP Kit, so as to keep the Weight the same, and it worked beautifully.

[video=youtube;aV2wJpxYD2c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV2wJpxYD2c[/video]

Whole rockets from scratch, the chutes are actually pretty easy compared to turning a nose cone. Rip Stop nylon with double stitching around the edges in upholstery thread.