Cheap and Quick Heavy Duty Chutes

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Zack Lau

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You need:

1/2" thick Mylar tape--I got my roll from Andy at Aerospace Specialty Products

Flourescent Nylon twine

Thin black garbage bags

Black permanent marker

Scissors

The bags are cut into octagons--it is possible to do this by folding a sheet three times and making a single straight cut. Also cut a spill hole in the center, before unfolding the octagon. A little practice with some paper should make the technique obvious.

Cut the nylon twine into four lengths three times the diameter of
the octagons. Mark the center of the lines with the black marker.

Now, you want to center the line spill hole, and tape the twine to the black chute. I normally tape the twine at the chute edges, near the spill hole, and in between so that there isn't more than 8 inches or so of untaped twine. The tape strips are an inch long.

Flip over the chute. The shroud lines will go over the top of the chute.

Gather together the twine ends and tie them together. You now have a very strong chute, suitable for NAR contest events like F dual eggloft--both my eggs actually survived the extraction from a 40 ft tree. A strong chute is also a good idea if you have trouble selecting the right delay.


Zack Lau W1VT
 
doesn't that make a 6-sided figure known as a HEXagon?
;)
 
Fold three times:
First fold, in half
Second fold, in half again
Third fold, in half (you end up with a 45 degree wedge)
Cut

Personally, I just grab the center of the plastic sheet, hold it pinched at one point, pull down all the plastic to a desired length (equal to the radius of the parachute I am after), bunch it together at that point and cut/chop. Unfold, trim up the edges if you like, and you have a round 'chute.
 
You can get a hexagon by making the last fold to the center, rather than all the way to the edge. But an octagon works better if you accidently burn a shroud line.
 
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