Chute Release with large chutes

[NateLowrie]

I have a chute release and like it. I am flying a 10in diameter rocket with a single compartment and no real space to do a proper dual deploy. Can I use the chute release with an 8' rocketman chute? The manual and spec pages do not reference a max size, only to use the large band for chutes over 36in.

So, does anyone have experience using the CR with that big a chute and if so, any special considerations or folding techniques?

 

[Bat-mite]

I have a chute release and like it. I am flying a 10in diameter rocket with a single compartment and no real space to do a proper dual deploy. Can I use the chute release with an 8' rocketman chute? The manual and spec pages do not reference a max size, only to use the large band for chutes over 36in.

So, does anyone have experience using the CR with that big a chute and if so, any special considerations or folding techniques?

Never done it, but if you can find a rubberband long enough to fit around your chute, but narrow enough to go through the eye of the pin, you can use it. JLCR doesn't care what size the chute is. I would set it for 200' higher than you really want it to deploy (e.g., if you're thinking 500', set it for 700'). That will give it time to release and the chute unfold completely.

I have used mine in smaller rockets, sometimes wrapping it around the Nomex, and sometimes inside the Nomex, directly on the chute. Others may have some best practices.

 

[CzTeacherMan]

I have a chute release and like it. I am flying a 10in diameter rocket with a single compartment and no real space to do a proper dual deploy. Can I use the chute release with an 8' rocketman chute? The manual and spec pages do not reference a max size, only to use the large band for chutes over 36in.

So, does anyone have experience using the CR with that big a chute and if so, any special considerations or folding techniques?

Yes, very usable.
If you want redundant, you can strong 2 JLCRs together between two rubberbands. I've traded out the rubberband for elastic before and it worked fine; the key is to have something that will pull the pin when it releases. It's really no different than a cable cutter.

 

[John Beans]

Yes, these comments are all correct. Also: we're working on a "large rocket deployment bag" powered by Chute Release. In development.

 

[T-Rex]

I used it on a 72" chute a couple weeks ago. I put 2 bands together to get around the bundle. In my case, the CR worked, but my packing job did not (never unrolled). If you use the protective pouch from Dino Chutes, be very careful with the velcro, that is what bit me.
In the future on my large chutes I will be holding the chute closed/reefed with the CR, but leaving the bulk of the material to unroll and act like a streamer. YMMV

 

[CzTeacherMan]

Yes, these comments are all correct. Also: we're working on a "large rocket deployment bag" powered by Chute Release. In development.

John... Just so you know... Many of us imagine your home/workshop is like a Willy Wonka shop for rockets...

 

[o1d_dude]

A 48" Fruity Chute is the largest I have gone. Four flights so far with that chute.

I'm currently using a Fruity Chutes parachute sleeve...like a deployment bag but much much simpler and lighter. No problems with the rubber band of the Chute Release.

 

[NateLowrie]

Thanks for the info. I think I am going to start with one large band and see if I can fit it around the chute.

John, I would be HIGHLY interested in the deployment bag.

 

[John Beans]

John... Just so you know... Many of us imagine your home/workshop is like a Willy Wonka shop for rockets...

That would explain why my kids have a distinct orange tint to them...

There have been quite a number of prototypes that have been built over the years. For instance, I once built a prototype of a product that I called Wander. It was a wand-shaped rocket finder. It vibrated when you were pointing it toward your rocket, so very easy to use. But highly complex, expensive, short battery life, and too fussy. Perhaps I'll revisit someday. There was also a product called Flight Recorder, which was a complete inertial tracking unit (with gyros) that I was developing for a British flight demonstration team and the Felix Baumgartner jump. When I couldn't get it done in time for his jump (they saved me space in his pack), I morphed it into AltimeterThree.

 

[EBurg]

I've done it successfully with some chutes, but with my large LOC 60", I'm 0/3.... The rubber band seems to stick to the chute and I have not found a way to consistently release it. I haven't tried the nylon method - but do watch for any stickiness with the chute.

 

[NateLowrie]

I've done it successfully with some chutes, but with my large LOC 60", I'm 0/3.... The rubber band seems to stick to the chute and I have not found a way to consistently release it. I haven't tried the nylon method - but do watch for any stickiness with the chute.

Good to know. Instead of attached the CR band around the chute and putting a nomex blanket over it, could you put the CR around the nomex?

 

[John Beans]

Best to also also protect the CR with the nomex, and tether the nomex in such a way that it is "whisked off" the bundle at ejection. You don't want the nomex to stay wrapped around the bundle during descent, because it could keep the chute from inflating after release.

 

[Nathan]

The biggest parachute that I have used with a Jolly Logic Chute Release is a 72" FruityChute with my Upscale Onyx. No problems.

 

[ECayemberg]

Biggest tried was a 78" Crossfire and a 84" standard chute in our Top Gun drag race at LDRS this year. I used a nomex pad on the 78" X-fire, my Dad used the big band directly on the 84"; both worked as intended!

 

[BDB]

The biggest chute I've tried with the JLCR is a 45" octagon chute from Binder Design. It's worked perfectly 3/3 times. It doesn't pack as tightly as some of the thin mill chutes, so it is a relatively large bundle. I didn't have any large rubber bands, so I daisy chained three small ones together. It worked so well, that I'm planning to use this set up for my L2 certification flight.

 

[NateLowrie]

Just an update: the 8' rocketman packed nicely and I was able to use the large band without problems. I'll have a flight update when it flies on Saturday.

 

[Homer_S]

Ooops... wrong window! Should have gone here.

 

[pendrin2020]

I've flown the 6' rocketman with it and wouldn't hesitate to fly the 8'.

 

[crossfire]

I haved used my JlCR all summer with no problems. Last weekend I used it on a 50" chute. The main chute did not open rocket hit the ground. When I walked up to the rocket the nomex protector was laying open on the ground with chute just as I folded it with JLCR layin on top of the chute with servo pin released. The landing was a ways out from launch site so it was hard to see if bundle opened up on descent. I used same device yesterday and it worked like it should but with a smaller chute. Is it possible to have band streched to tight around chute bundle? I would say out of my 12 flight with so far this year its only the 2nd time with any issues. Any ideas?