Parachute to Eye Screw Attachment

Hi all,
I bought a parachute that came with the cords attached. However, this meant that the cords were also in a loop, meaning that I couldn't attach it directly to the eyescrew that is on my rocket.
Would it be possible (or wise) to use a sturdy keychain circle or two to attach the cords to the eyescrew, or should I just cut the loops that the cords form and tie it directly to the screw? It's a 15 inch parachute with about 0.4kg of mass that it has to support.
Thanks.

No need to cut the loops on your new chute.

Most of us just make an overhand knot in the shrouds and use one variety of swivel or clip (fishing tackle) or another to attach the loop to the eyelet on your nosecone.

If Micromeister sees this thread, he's got a collage of photos showing how this done.

In the meantime, here's a picture of one of the clips I have used. Others go by the name of Coast lock and incorporate a swivel.

Larks head

Pass the looped lines through the screw eye and pull them about an inch past. Then put the parachute through the loops and then pull the parachute until the loops pull tight.

Quick and easy

-Kevin

Ditto.. That is how 95% of my parachutes get attached..Either to the eyebolt or to the shock cord-both LPR and HPR.

Alright, thanks guys.
I'll try to find a swivel, but if not, I'll just attach it directly.

Attaching the parachute to the nose cone with a swivel means that you can store the parachute separately from the rocket during the 99% of the time that you aren't actually launching it, and it also enables you to share and swap parachutes between rockets. If it's breezy at the launch field and you are landing on grass, you can switch to a smaller parachute to cut down on the drift. If it's calm and you are landing on hard-packed ground, you can swap in a larger parachute to bring the rocket down more slowly and gently. Storing a parachute with the canopy open and loose helps to keep it from developing material memory, so that it will open more readily and completely when it is deployed out of the rocket during flight.

What about another common practice of attaching the chute ~1/3 the way down the cord from the cone rather than at the screw eye?

gary7 said:

What about another common practice of attaching the chute ~1/3 the way down the cord from the cone rather than at the screw eye?

Click to expand...

This is my standard method of attaching the chute. On larger birds, I tie a simple overhand knot around a small quick link. On the smaller ones, I tie an overhand double slip knot. In either case, I can remove the chute for storage and switch out chutes as launch conditions dictate.

Opening a can of worms here...I almost always use black 550 paracord for my recovery harnesses so the knots are very easy to tie.

What about attaching the nose cone 1/3 the way down the shock cord and putting the chute on the end? Then you don't have that nose cone swinging around on a 1/3 of the harness on the way down.

Handeman said:

What about attaching the nose cone 1/3 the way down the shock cord and putting the chute on the end? Then you don't have that nose cone swinging around on a 1/3 of the harness on the way down.

Click to expand...

I learn more stuff from this guy.

Gonna have to try this.

Handeman said:

What about attaching the nose cone 1/3 the way down the shock cord and putting the chute on the end? Then you don't have that nose cone swinging around on a 1/3 of the harness on the way down.

Click to expand...

That's my standard method.

Originally Posted by Handeman
What about attaching the nose cone 1/3 the way down the shock cord and putting the chute on the end? Then you don't have that nose cone swinging around on a 1/3 of the harness on the way down.

Never thought of that and probably just over looked it when I saw it. Can you employ this method in the drogue bay too, attaching the chute on the end of the cord and the main 1/3 down?

gary7 said:

Originally Posted by Handeman
What about attaching the nose cone 1/3 the way down the shock cord and putting the chute on the end? Then you don't have that nose cone swinging around on a 1/3 of the harness on the way down.

Never thought of that and probably just over looked it when I saw it. Can you employ this method in the drogue bay too, attaching the chute on the end of the cord and the main 1/3 down?

Click to expand...

I would think you could, but I'm not sure you would want to. The main chute lowers the whole rocket. The drogue is usually used to slow and stabilize one part of the rocket on the way down so it doesn't hit against the other half or allow the fin can to foul the main. On mine, it's the upper section that has the drogue and the fin can floats along side or below the upper section with the drogue. You could use a larger drogue that would lower the whole rocket like the main does, but then it would be falling slower then it probably needs to.

I have never made any systematic effort to employ different nose cone/recovery device attachment schemes because on the few occasions when I did something other than hook everything onto the base of the nose cone, it didn't appear to make any difference in the deployment or recovery. So what is the idea behind these alternative schemes? What are they meant to accomplish? I have never seen any explanation of the thinking behind any of them.

You are right about the different methods not having much difference when it comes to actual deployment. It's after the deployment, while it's coming down, where they make a difference.

I noticed that attaching the main chute to the base of the nose cone on LPR rockets tends to get the nose cone passing through the shroud lines once in a while, tangling things up. That's not much of a problem for LPR, but something I would like to avoid, especially with the HPR.

Have you ever seen a rocket come down where the chute was attached at some point on the shock cord and the nose cone was circling around it on the end of it's cord like a May pole dancer? Putting the chute on the end with the nose cone on the cord cuts down on that a lot and tends to reduce the amount of spinning and twisting of the recovery harness.

Handeman said:

Have you ever seen a rocket come down where the chute was attached at some point on the shock cord and the nose cone was circling around it on the end of it's cord like a May pole dancer? Putting the chute on the end with the nose cone on the cord cuts down on that a lot and tends to reduce the amount of spinning and twisting of the recovery harness.

Click to expand...

That was the first thing that came to mind when you posted about attaching the parachute at the end of the harness rather than the middle.

Yet another Good Tip(tm) from the HandeMan.

Handeman said:

Have you ever seen a rocket come down where the chute was attached at some point on the shock cord and the nose cone was circling around it on the end of it's cord like a May pole dancer? .

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Yep. I put my chute on the line where LOC suggested for my Onyx. This shots at maybe 50 feet after falling from 1100 feet under chute. Bounced around quite a bit and helicopter'd in the last 100 feet or so.




After that, I tried moving the chute closer to the NC. It was more controlled, but the NC still spun up like a top:




I'll be trying this next time. ( chute on the end)

DizWolf said:

Yep. I put my chute on the line where LOC suggested for my Onyx. This shots at maybe 50 feet after falling from 1100 feet under chute. Bounced around quite a bit and helicopter'd in the last 100 feet or so.

After that, I tried moving the chute closer to the NC. It was more controlled, but the NC still spun up like a top:

I'll be trying this next time. ( chute on the end)

Click to expand...

Yeah, my TLP HAWK's shock cord looks like that every time I fly it. Paddleboat sized fins will do that. Sign me up for a swap.