Do you powder your parachutes on cold launches?

[Jim Hinton]

Well, naturally. Just don't get it wet or it will turn into a low grade cement like substance.

Dissolving wood ash into water produces sodium hydroxide as well. I'm sure it's fairly low concentration but lye can produce some undesirable results.

Jim

 

[James Kobel]

Yeah, but Baby Powder is no longer talcum powder.
Top Flight chutes are good. I have a couple.
My rockets are all of the fiberglass high power variety.
I have had good luck with Apogee chutes on smaller rockets. They are thin, strong and cheap!
I use pure talcum powder for nosecone and av-bay connections that are snug.

Yep, we still use it this day with newer bottles of it and works fine for use. We use quite a lot of it, but not an overload. We also have many high powered and fiberglass rockets with top flight and have yet to have a problem. That’s what’s cool about rocketry, there so many different brands. You just gotta find what fits you!

 

[dpower]

I use talc on plastic chutes all year, down to 0F here in WI. Any colder and I don't fly (well, we had one club launch in below zero temps a few years ago). It certainly helps keep them from sticking in warm humid weather, and seems to make them more slippery even in cold weather, and open up more reliably. I've never had talc-treated chutes get sticky, but corn-starch treated chutes could. I've even been using it on the Big Der Red Max stiff plastic chute, and it's opened every flight, down to 15F. I stocked up on Talc-based baby powder when it was disappearing from store shelves. Might just have a lifetime supply

Bah, I see even Anti Monkey Butt powder has switched to cornstarch!