o1d_dude
'I battle gravity'
I have used Kevin's method for years and have never had a problem.
Poor inflation is one reason I don't use flat chutes anymore. It just seems too easy for them to not inflate fully if they don't catch the airflow just right. They can 'sideslip' and the canopy stays closed, especially if they don't have a lot of time to flutter in the airstream.Rick,
It looks like you're using flat chutes. Try Kevin's method here. I've never had a parachute fail to inflate using this folding method. You can deviate slightly to give a little more material to roll up, but the Z fold is the key. The chute is basically forced to pop open by the folds.
Tony - EXPJawa had the picture you're asking about. I did have a failure to inflate with a flat chute, but that was due to a poor nomex burrito allowing the ejection charge to fuse my chute closed.
A 'non flat' chute is made of gores - more than one piece of material. Like the kind PML includes with their kits. In my experience they tend to open more reliably than a flat chute made of a single piece of material.I guess I don't know enough about it to say what it would be if not a flat chute. Almost all of my chutes are thin-mil nylon chutes from Top Flight, though this one is an Estes 18" nylon chute. I guess they're flat when spread out. On the flight shown previously, the CR was set to 300'. Up to this point, I've used both 200' & 300' settings. In this case, it does appear that the chute never fully opened, much less inflate. The previous occurrence had the chute mostly rolled with the CR on top of it. So, I'm inclined to believe that my problem is as you & John have said, due to folding technique more than anything else.
That's one thing that's definitely different with the CR - the chute is already partly deployed out in the airstream. I can see where with the right kind of chute and packing it should be possible to inflate a chute much more quickly than I'm used to which counts the time it takes for the entire recovery system to stretch out and then allow the chute to start to fill.I advise folks to start higher (~500 ft) and work down based on your own personal inflation rate, which you should measure with something like AltimeterThree. Other folks can chime in, but once you develop a smooth setup, it's a waste to drift more than necessary. Learn your tumble/drogue descent rate for each rocket, develop a snappy release and inflation, and then drop them down low and slow.
I used Chute Release yesterday for a successful L2 certification flight. I flew it on a Madcow Torrent with an AT J270-10. Beautiful flight - apogee at 3000 ft with motor ejection to deploy an 18" drogue, then CR deployed the 45" main chute at 500 ft. I had rolled the main chute as per John's instructions and it deployed very quickly. Attached is a photo of my Torrent.View attachment 293822
I used Chute Release yesterday for a successful L2 certification flight. I flew it on a Madcow Torrent with an AT J270-10. Beautiful flight - apogee at 3000 ft with motor ejection to deploy an 18" drogue, then CR deployed the 45" main chute at 500 ft. I had rolled the main chute as per John's instructions and it deployed very quickly. Attached is a photo of my Torrent.View attachment 293822
I what to try to just reef the chute all the way up to the canopy with the CR for larger rockets to act like a drogue chute until lines are let free.
That sounds like an interesting configuration. Has anyone tried to use the CR to hold a D-bag closed and have a small pilot attached to the CR latch?
I've had good luck with a BP cable cutter (Archtype/PrairieTwister) using a pilot drogue that attaches through a loop at the apex of the main chute. A small puck of hard foam is threaded on the loop and the chute is folded so the ziptie up against the foam block that restrains the main in the chute protector so the drogue can't pull it out. The ziptie can be cinched down very tight. The charge blows, breaks the ziptie and the drogue can now pull the main out of the protector. Works very nicely. Not my idea as I saw posted by another flier here. Yes this is with electronics and more BP which one is trying to get away from with the CR. Point is this technique is fine with a cutter but I don't think would be advisable with a JLCR.
Interesting. Do you have some pictures for explanation and/or the link to the other TRF member's thread?
Interesting. Do you have some pictures for explanation and/or the link to the other TRF member's thread?
I made 4 more flights today at URRF3 with my Chute Release. Now folding my chutes the recommended way, I've so far had complete success with deployment. Hopefully, there will more to report from tomorrow & Sunday. Lots of positive comments about the product, I even demonstrated how to set it up to another flyer that just bought one but hadn't used it yet...
I'll iterate one more time that if you ever devise a more compact version that fits in BT50 tubes, you'll spark a lot more interest. I'd be one of the first in line. I get that its already pretty damn small, especially considering what it potentially replaces, and was probably a lot of work to package what you have now. But just think how cool would it be - and how appealing to fliers - to be able to take high-flying small rocket (Goblin, Cherokee-D, or a minimum-dia 24mm rocket), and be able to drop it back within near walking distance under a parachute?..
Thanks for the report!
As for the idea for a smaller Chute Release: working on it.
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