Chute Release questions

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Our kids used the CR for their SLI rocket. We own 4 of them because they were using two at a time for their rocket and we needed a backup set. Anyway, we always try to note where the split section of the small split ring ends up in relation to the rubber band. It's a nicely made ring, but I don't want the part of the split ring than can open be near the rubber band. That part of the ring can very slightly press into the rubber band. It's better to rotate that ring so that the rubber band is only over the double section of 'wire' that the ring is made of.

Talcum powder also works well for getting the rubber band into the CR. We replace the rubber band often. They're super cheap and we ended up buying a nice box from Uline that has hundreds of rubber bands. Easier to replace the rubber band often rather than waiting for a failure.

The only time the CR didn't work for us is when we forgot to turn it on!

ring.jpg
 
Something to be aware of: If your nose cone fits tightly, and if pulling up on the nose cone with the motor installed draws a vacuum, you might accidently trigger the CR before launch.

The nose of my Leviathan and my Argent fit perfectly, and every time that I go through the RSO table and the RSO pulls on the nose cone, and pushes the nose back on, it triggers the release.

isn't it supposed only release after 3 seconds of +100' altitude? and when descending is detected? I guess your RSO has a slow touch!
 
@boatgeek - "Fold the chute over the CR so that the plastic CR doesn't touch your body tube."
How is that possible, since the band wraps around the chute? Do you have a picture?
 
Something to be aware of: If your nose cone fits tightly, and if pulling up on the nose cone with the motor installed draws a vacuum, you might accidently trigger the CR before launch.

The nose of my Leviathan and my Argent fit perfectly, and every time that I go through the RSO table and the RSO pulls on the nose cone, and pushes the nose back on, it triggers the release.

Heh, I think you're onto something there! My Nike Smoke's NC fits very tight (I can carry the rocket vertically by the nose), but has never had any trouble deploying. I mentioned back in post #28 of a recent issue I had where the main came out at apogee that wasn't a band-break, that was the only flight where the RSO questioned the tightness of the nose and I had to demonstrate that it separated at the RSO table. So I'll bet that's why my main came out at apogee! I'll definitely have to keep that in mind in the future, thanks! I'll also do a test at home and see if I can reproduce it, but I suspect I will be able to. I do have vent holes, but the nose comes on/off with a tight enough fit that you can still hear the air rush in/out of the holes.

I just need a CR with Bluetooth so that I could verify it's status on the pad, see if it's already triggered (good to ensure that it's armed also). :) Or maybe a beeper or something (to either indicate that it's on/waiting or to make an obvious noise when it releases).
 
I just need a CR with Bluetooth so that I could verify it's status on the pad, see if it's already triggered (good to ensure that it's armed also). :) Or maybe a beeper or something (to either indicate that it's on/waiting or to make an obvious noise when it releases).

That would be awesome. I already own two JLCRs, but BT capability would sure make me interested in a third.
 
@boatgeek - "Fold the chute over the CR so that the plastic CR doesn't touch your body tube."
How is that possible, since the band wraps around the chute? Do you have a picture?

I don't have a picture handy, but here's a description:

When folding the chute, make it into a relatively long and narrow roll
Fold the roll over the JLCR; I usually put the folded edge at the front of the rocket
Wrap the band around the chute, using 1.5 wraps
Turn on the JLCR by pushing buttons through the chute fabric
Wrap in fire blanket burrito and load in rocket (or just load on top of dog barf)

You have to move the chute out of the way a little bit to see that the lights are on and the altitude is set where you want. It also helps to pull the band out to nearly its full extent before you start wrapping it around the chute. The main goal is to keep the plastic of the JLCR from touching the inside of the body tube so everything slides better on ejection. It's probably less of an issue with larger body tubes, but I found it pretty important on 38mm and 54mm airframes.
 
And more affordable, so why not right? Heck I should get one. How does it work with drogue and main?

I used to think that most were using motor deploy for the apogee event,,
the chute release is a bundle on the harness and gives you the preset altitude deployment...
The bundle itself offers a bit more drag then just the harness alone,,
but you could attach a drogue here as well,, but you may be risking entanglement and I don't really think it's necessary..
But I have heard of many using chute releases with altimeters now..
If you're going to do that the configurations are almost endless...

Teddy
 
I was thinking a drogue to control drift and to spot it easier. Wouldn't the drogue keep the pieces better oriented as well while they are falling and perhaps prevent them from banging into each other??

Yes,, I am an advocate of drogues,,
just keep it very small and it should work without entangling the main when it's released..

Teddy
 
I used to think that most were using motor deploy for the apogee event,,
the chute release is a bundle on the harness and gives you the preset altitude deployment...
The bundle itself offers a bit more drag then just the harness alone,,
but you could attach a drogue here as well,, but you may be risking entanglement and I don't really think it's necessary..
But I have heard of many using chute releases with altimeters now..
If you're going to do that the configurations are almost endless...

Teddy

If you separate the drogue say by 4 feet I don't see an issue
 
If you separate the drogue say by 4 feet I don't see an issue

Me too,,,
I think with a bit of thought exactly like this you could make it work no problem...
You must assume that the drogue will be higher then the Chute Release bundle at the moment of release...
( because the drogue will impart more drag then the Chute Release bundle )..
So keep the drogue further away from the bundle then the drogues shroud lines...
I would think that'd work...

Teddy
 
Me too,,,
I think with a bit of thought exactly like this you could make it work no problem...
You must assume that the drogue will be higher then the Chute Release bundle at the moment of release...
( because the drogue will impart more drag then the Chute Release bundle )..
So keep the drogue further away from the bundle then the drogues shroud lines...
I would think that'd work...

Teddy

Probably be better to put the parachute pack near the nose cone and the drogue not quite mid way just so the two pieces don't collide
 
Probably be better to put the parachute pack near the nose cone and the drogue not quite mid way just so the two pieces don't collide

Perfect,,
Then you could attach the main chute directly to the nose cone,,
and tether the chute release directly to the nose cone...
That's a more robust setup anyway...

Teddy
 
Last edited:
I've always flown my CR in this configuration (drogue attached to nose):

Screen Shot 2017-04-21 at 7.02.57 AM.pngScreen Shot 2017-04-21 at 7.04.29 AM.png

But after seeing this happen on my most recent flight I'll be reconfiguring to ensure the nose is below the main before it opens (note the nose hitting the chute & shroud lines as the main was deploying):

Screen Shot 2017-04-21 at 6.48.20 AM.jpg

I'm thinking that the main is currently too close to the nose, should ensure that the fully-unfolded main and shroud lines should still be shorter than main-to-nose distance, and to basically put the drogue the same distance in the opposite direction of the nose (I think that will still be less than half-way, keeping the nose above the airframe, have to check that). The nose tends to spin on the way down so that should hold the main clear of the drogue, if I had the main and drogue positions swapped then the main would be held under the drogue by the airframe and I'd be afraid that the spinning nose cord could still twist around the deploying main.
 
I taught myself a different way to pack my chutes. I normally roll them with the shroud lines wrapped around the outside. But for the Chute Release, the lines need to be on the inside. I think I've got it. I found some 1/8" Kevlar that I had, and used it for the tethers. I also sanded the end of a piece of wood dowel to press the buttons with. My big fingers just can't press the recessed buttons reliably.

011.jpg

012.jpg

014.jpg

016.jpg

018.jpg

019.jpg
 
This chute release looks like it is better than sliced bread in a bag. The perfect thing for my L2 flight. Course, me being me, I have collected 5 altimeters & 8 LiPos over the years. I planned to go old school and make a chute release with an altimeter, initiator and monofilament fishing line. Will have to give this a lot of thought as it looks a lot less likely to fail.....
 
I'll let you know later today if it's worth the exorbitant price.
 
I used the Chute Release on all three flights yesterday. I lost view of the rocket in the clouds on the first flight, and missed the recovery. But according to spectators the Release worked perfectly. I caught the next two flights on video. I was really glad I used the Chute Release. All three rockets drifted a long ways, I can't imagine how far they would have gone without the CR.

[video=youtube;2rhJD9N-YB4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rhJD9N-YB4[/video]

[video=youtube;d5eXJc4UGmM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5eXJc4UGmM[/video]
 
I'm really glad you like the release Jim..
It sure is a wonderful idea and a game changer in rocketry..
I sell / ship them all the time...
Flyers have gone beyond warming up to them,, they love em,, lol..

Teddy
 
I taught myself a different way to pack my chutes. I normally roll them with the shroud lines wrapped around the outside. But for the Chute Release, the lines need to be on the inside. I think I've got it. I found some 1/8" Kevlar that I had, and used it for the tethers. I also sanded the end of a piece of wood dowel to press the buttons with. My big fingers just can't press the recessed buttons reliably.

Remember, too many extraneous lines can give a potential for tangling up something. Kurt
 
Here's a video I got from yesterday's Midwest Blast 2 in Three Oaks, MI. First flight of my LOC Expediter. Motor was a CTI I150 Blue Streak. I really like seeing the CR do it's thing, and catching the very moment it lets go of the chute. https://youtu.be/lT2RknQJ6xQ
 
@noffie79 - That's a great video, thanks for posting. Maybe adjust the positioning of CR so it doesn't keep striking bottom of the rocket during descent?
 
@noffie79 - That's a great video, thanks for posting. Maybe adjust the positioning of CR so it doesn't keep striking bottom of the rocket during descent?

Thanks. I have the nomex Chute Release protector from Dino Chutes on it. Besides, most of what you hear is the pin against the plastic transition. It resonates in that upper body tube and it sounds loud in the video.
 
@ksaves2
"Or single apogee deployment by an altimeter or a magnetic anomaly device
like this: https://www.tindie.com/products/ZeptoBit/zeptomag/"

That magnetic device looks cool, but it's about the same price as a dual deployment altimeter and it doesn't tell you how high the rocket went. What are its advantages over an altimeter?
 
The large rubber band *barely* fits in the slot. And the pin is small, it's difficult to get it inserted with my large fingers.

Personally, I use a piece of string to pull rubber bands through. Put the string through the hole, then through the band, then back through the hole. Just tug the string to pull the band through.
 
Back
Top