Recommend cool-looking 60" chute?

I'm looking for a chute in the 60" range, and I'd like it look a little bit nicer that just a single color sheet. I can get a standard single color chute from Top Flight for under $30. Top Flight also sells their Crossfire chutes, which I gather are sort of like X-form chutes with a secondary color sewn into the corners. That would be nice, and it's around $70. What other sources and chute designs do you recommend? I don't want to spend an exorbitant amount, but I'm ok with paying a little bit more.

Demonian said:

https://spherachutes.com/

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I second this. Reasonable priced multi-panel chutes. You specify the color pattern. They do measure over the canopy but also give the opening diameter.

The Crossfire chutes are a really quality product.

Most of my chutes, at least larger than 30" or so are B2. Not cheap, but good.


Mark Koelsch
Sent from my iPhone using Rocketry Forum

I have great success with Sky Angle chutes.

Fruity chutes,

I have about a dozen of them and they are amazing. The 60" comes in the Iris Ultra which is a very interesting design (a toroidal shape) like a doughnut which is unique for a chute, and you can often use a smaller chute due to it's higher CD. However it is likely one of the more pricy chutes you will look at especially if you opt for the compact spectra lines. You can save a couple bucks if you go with the classic elliptical which are nice. Putting these chutes side by side with most other chutes is when you realize the difference and appreciate the quality. If you want to wait you can get custom colours, Gene usually takes a couple of months for custom.

Re: Fruity Chutes: If you need a 60" hemispherical, you would likely need a 48" Iris. They aren't inexpensive, but they are quality. What kind of weight are you recovering?



Later!

--Coop

Coop said:

Re: Fruity Chutes: If you need a 60" hemispherical, you would likely need a 48" Iris. They aren't inexpensive, but they are quality. What kind of weight are you recovering?

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They are labor intensive to make and worth it.

True. I've got a bunch of them in sizes up to 96", and heartily recommend them, however, the OP did mention that he wasn't interested in spending an exorbitant amount. I wouldn't consider them exorbitantly priced, as they're worth every cent, but others might...


Later!

--Coop

One hour left on this E(vil)bay auction, currently at a decent price within your range:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SkyAngle-C...469129649?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item19f413efb1
It's a 60" SkyAngle.

s6

Demonian said:

https://spherachutes.com/

Click to expand...

Rocketjunkie said:

I second this. Reasonable priced multi-panel chutes. You specify the color pattern. They do measure over the canopy but also give the opening diameter.

Click to expand...

These look really nice! Because they measure over the canopy, do you know how the size compares to a flat chute, like TFR chutes? Even a flat chute creates a curved shape when in use and the opening is smaller than the diameter when laid flat.

I need to pick it based on descent rate. The rocket weighs around 60 oz fully loaded, and I want the descent rate to be low, around 15 fps, or even lower.

markkoelsch said:

The Crossfire chutes are a really quality product.

Most of my chutes, at least larger than 30" or so are B2. Not cheap, but good.


Mark Koelsch
Sent from my iPhone using Rocketry Forum

Click to expand...

cwbullet said:

I have great success with Sky Angle chutes.

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These B2 Skyangle chutes are definitely cool. And it looks like the design means the diameter does not need to be as large as a flat circular chute. The Skyangle 44 gives a descent rate similar to a 60" circular.

You may not want more options at this point, but I have a few chutes from Ky's the Rocketman. These are also not flat; great quality and prices.

There are some on ebay to save a few bucks most of the time as well.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/48-4-ft-RO...787448229?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item51ac8fada5
https://www.ebay.com/itm/72-6-ft-RO...083172741?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item51be301385
https://www.ebay.com/itm/6-ROCKET-R...900144730?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item27ca71425a

markkoelsch said:

The Crossfire chutes are a really quality product.

Most of my chutes, at least larger than 30" or so are B2. Not cheap, but good.


Mark Koelsch
Sent from my iPhone using Rocketry Forum

Click to expand...

Seconded on the Crossfire. Not quite X-forms, but you do get multi-color options.

ThirstyBarbarian said:

These look really nice! Because they measure over the canopy, do you know how the size compares to a flat chute, like TFR chutes? Even a flat chute creates a curved shape when in use and the opening is smaller than the diameter when laid flat.

I need to pick it based on descent rate. The rocket weighs around 60 oz fully loaded, and I want the descent rate to be low, around 15 fps, or even lower.

Click to expand...

The size is comparable.

Use the payload weight vs. descent rate chart on the Spherachutes website: I have found it to be accurate.

ThirstyBarbarian said:

I'm looking for a chute in the 60" range, and I'd like it look a little bit nicer that just a single color sheet. I can get a standard single color chute from Top Flight for under $30. Top Flight also sells their Crossfire chutes, which I gather are sort of like X-form chutes with a secondary color sewn into the corners. That would be nice, and it's around $70. What other sources and chute designs do you recommend? I don't want to spend an exorbitant amount, but I'm ok with paying a little bit more.

Click to expand...

I bought three of these mil surplus chutes and dyed them various colors. They're cheap ($12ea) and beautifully made. Twelve shroud lines, measured weight of chute alone (without bag) 245g. Haven't actually used any of them, yet, though. Anyone else actually used one of these?:

https://aeroconsystems.com/cart/all-parachutes/60-inch-white-parachute/

I used one in a 3" rocket that I needed to lower slowly because of fragile fins. It was a tight squeeze into the tube, and nearly didn't come out as seen in this video:
[video=youtube;JglfA0k2YZ0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JglfA0k2YZ0[/video]
However, after it deployed it brought the 6 pound rocket down very slowly and the fins were fine. I would be careful with these parachutes in 3" tubes, but beyond 3" should be great!

Thanks everyone who had chute suggestions and info in this thread. I've decided on a 54" Spherachute. These look like really nice chutes at a good price.

I haven't placed the order yet, but unless something else comes to me, I think I will probably go with an alternating black and yellow scheme for the 8-panel chute. I'm thinking bright yellow shows up nicely on bright blue-sky days and on the ground. While black shows up well on overcast days. If anyone has any other ideas for a design, there are 8 panels, and I can specify a color for each one. I don't really want it to look like a "festive" chute of many colors for this particular rocket. But I'm open to something more imaginative than just the alternating black and yellow that I have in mind. I would like it to look functional, like something from a space program or military project, but also interesting.

OK, I went ahead and ordered the chute. Thanks for your help, everybody!

Good choice! You won't regret it. I went with Flo. Orange and Black for the same reasons, though it is a bit larger as it is for my L3 Cert rocket.

ThirstyBarbarian said:

These B2 Skyangle chutes are definitely cool. And it looks like the design means the diameter does not need to be as large as a flat circular chute. The Skyangle 44 gives a descent rate similar to a 60" circular.

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All of the above are good choices. I have had good luck with Sky Angle. LOC Precision used to make some Sky Angle chutes. Their chute maker is great. You can order custom colors. You can pick one for each panel if you like. They make them fast and ship fast. The LOC chutes now have a different name, but are probably close to the same. I haven't got one since the name change.

This thread is a perfect example of how different vendors use different methods for measuring their parachutes and it leads to an almost impossible situation when you try to compare the effectiveness of the different chutes.

I suggest everyone read this post, if not the whole thread. https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?69018-Constructing-a-Ringsail-Parachute-Canopy&p=761950#post761950 It gives a good explanation of what you should be looking for when you want to compare parachutes.

I have always wanted to try this one:

https://aeroconsystems.com/cart/all-parachutes/72-inch-orange-parachute/