High Power Parachutes

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

GrossApproximator

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2010
Messages
408
Reaction score
0
I'm looking to build a new rocket that, hopefully, I can certify level one with sometime in the future (probably late future as opposed to near future). However, I don't know which parachute to use. RockSim says that I need a 36 inch parachute for a 16-17 fps landing. Can anyone reccommend a brand of parachutes? For instance, I like the PML chutes wich seem reasonably priced, but I also like to scratchbuild everything I can and I might save a few dollars making my own chute. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
I wouldnt go with PML chutes. They are low quality IMO.

www.spherachutes.com
www.kandsrockets.com (high recommended, great work and I like the look of them, only 4 lines so less chance of tangling too)
www.topflightrecovery.com (not sure when sunward bought them, good qaulity simple chutes)
www.giantleaprocketry.com (the Tac9 are a little large for you)
www.fruitychutes.com

Just some to thumb through. I used to shop for the best deal but once I started using Scotts chutes I never went anywhere else. He has great quilty and the colors are great. I have a matching white and red drouge and main for my 4" Cherokee D upscale.

Ben
 
PML chutes are fine. Spherachutes are quite nice too.
 
Last edited:
The companies Ben listed are indeed all good recommendations.

I'll disagree with him on PML -- they make a decent parachute, and I know some folks who use almost nothing but PML 'chutes.

Me? Almost everything I use is Rocketman - https://www.the-rocketman.com

-Kevin
 
Just some to thumb through. I used to shop for the best deal but once I started using Scotts chutes I never went anywhere else. He has great quilty and the colors are great. I have a matching white and red drouge and main for my 4" Cherokee D upscale.

Ben


Which ones are Scotts chutes? Also, will the Sunward chutes hold up to high power use (level 1 and 29mm motors in a relatively small rocket)?
 
Also, what about LOC chutes? (I need to buy another LOC tube, so I'm desperately trying to get all my supplies from one source and minimize s&h costs)
 
Scott Kissinger is the man behind K & S Rockets.

Regarding the LOC parachutes, Barry has two offerings -- the standard LOC parachutes, that I'm not fond of (but others use them without problem), and Sky Angle. The Sky Angle parachutes are another nice option.

-Kevin
 
Which ones are Scotts chutes? Also, will the Sunward chutes hold up to high power use (level 1 and 29mm motors in a relatively small rocket)?
Unless you are incorporating dual deployment, your parachute doesn't have to be the kind that is used on the Shuttle. Just make sure it is nylon and is made well (i.e., shroud lines are made from quality material and are sewn on securely, that sort of thing). Another good brand is SkyAngle. Tac-9 and other 100 mph 'chutes (which are all very high quality) would be overkill for a Level 1 rocket with apogee-only deployment, I would think.

When did Sunward buy out Top Flight?

Mark K.
 
There are plenty of patterns floating around if you want to make your own chutes; a flat sheet is the easiest to make, but more complex ones aren't that bad, either:

https://vatsaas.org/rtv/systems/Parachutes/Chute.aspx
https://nakka-rocketry.net/paracon.html

I went through and added it all up once; for chutes in the 36-60" range, it would have cost me about the same in time and materials to make as to buy, so I just bought. I've had good service from Spherachutes, Rocketman, Sky Angle, Top Flight Recovery, and PML. I tend to fly more Spherachutes and TFR systems lately, since they pack a little tighter than RM chutes.

www.topflightrecovery.com (not sure when sunward bought them, good qaulity simple chutes)

Yea, that seemed weird to me. A quick Google brought up Gary's actual site:

https://topflightrecoveryllc.com/

...looks like Sunward is domain squatting :(
 
The companies Ben listed are indeed all good recommendations.

I'll disagree with him on PML -- they make a decent parachute, and I know some folks who use almost nothing but PML 'chutes.

Me? Almost everything I use is Rocketman - https://www.the-rocketman.com

-Kevin

Im not saying PML chutes are crap they are just lower quality to some of the others out there. I have 2 or 3 that I still use from time to time. I guess I like looking at a clean cut chute and they leave alot of threads and the stiching is just back to back.

Skyangle is another one I forgot to list. All the chutes out there (within) reason will hold up to your rocket. I have a 48" Navy parachute that weighs about 5lbs on its own. Its a drag chute and I could probably open it as a main on a ballistic flight and it would survive


Ben
 
My biggest and best chutes are made from old umbrellas. I have two from golf umbrellas, about 53" and two from smaller umbrellas, 40" and 33". I bought 3,000 ft of 150 lb dacron line at https://www.kitebuilder.com/kitestudio.html for $15.

Comes to about $0.30 for shroud lines and thread and 20 minutes of my time per chute. All you need is a sewing machine that can do a zig zag stitch.

They work great too because they are already hemispherical.
 
We use Top Flight and LOC chutes in all of our MPR/HPR kits. About the only reason we don't use PML chutes is their weight.
 
I've used quite a few chutes from sphereachutes, and find them quite nice. I really like the way you can pick the colors/patterns with them too. I just ordered another yesterday, and you should know they are on sale (25% off, free shipping) right now if you get the neon orange/white ones.
 
I've used quite a few chutes from sphereachutes, and find them quite nice. I really like the way you can pick the colors/patterns with them too. I just ordered another yesterday, and you should know they are on sale (25% off, free shipping) right now if you get the neon orange/white ones.

WOW. Cool. I'll definitely think about that one ! :jaw:
 
Thanks Ben for the kind words.

K and S Rockets offer 3 types of chutes. We have a parabolic cupped chute, semi hemispherical chute and a para-sheet (flat sheet) style chute. The para-sheet style is not listed on our site yet but we have 12, 18, 24, 30 and 36” sizes. For price drop me a pm or email me at [email protected]
 
Spherachutes for me. If you go directly to their website to order you can pick your colors. Theeer preeettyyy.:D
Seriously though, Their prices are good and the service is top notch.
I also like Top Flight. They have good thin mil chutes for smaller rockets or as drougs that need to fit in tight places.
 
Most of my parachutes are made by TFR. I haven't tried K&S parachutes yet, but they are coming up fast on my "must buy" radar. I have heard nothing but good things about them.

Mark K.
 
I'm in the "make-your-own" camp after a certain size. I have a flat sheet Top Flite that's 54" but the biggest parachute I've made is 9 foot semi-hemi-demi:rolleyes: chute that started a 9 foot X and not having enough drag for the rocket intended I sew'd triangular gores between the panels of the X to fill it in, making it a semi hemi(this is my term)

I have another I made I call a "rag" chute, about 48" dia, when it fills it looks like a hot air balloon. I made it 17 years ago for my conformation rocket(Tripoli used to have a "conformation" before the 3 level thing was instituted).
 
Love Spherachutes--super offer--just got an 84" myself.

I've used quite a few chutes from sphereachutes, and find them quite nice. I really like the way you can pick the colors/patterns with them too. I just ordered another yesterday, and you should know they are on sale (25% off, free shipping) right now if you get the neon orange/white ones.
 
A word of caution on parachute sizing. A flat cut chute (PML, LOC, etc.) has a drag coefficient (CD) of around .75; whereas, a spherical (Spherachutes) or elliptical (Fruity Chutes) will have a CD around 1.5 giving a lower descent rate for the same diameter chute. Make sure you plug in the correct CD in Rocksim when using it to calculate chute diameter. For a small, heavy, rocket, being able to get by with a smaller chute is a big advantage.
 
A word of caution on parachute sizing. A flat cut chute (PML, LOC, etc.) has a drag coefficient (CD) of around .75; whereas, a spherical (Spherachutes) or elliptical (Fruity Chutes) will have a CD around 1.5 giving a lower descent rate for the same diameter chute. Make sure you plug in the correct CD in Rocksim when using it to calculate chute diameter. For a small, heavy, rocket, being able to get by with a smaller chute is a big advantage.

PML chutes are conical, so they should have a Cd somewhere between that of a flat chute and a hemisphere.
 
I tried to match up the PML chute sizes & descents with their recommended weight chart published on their website and 0.9 Cd seems to work well.

PML chutes are conical, so they should have a Cd somewhere between that of a flat chute and a hemisphere.
 
A 30 inch spherachute is easily enough for a 30oz rocket, and it should come down a LOT slower than 27fps. You shouldn't enter the spherachute as a 15" in Rocksim, you should enter it as a 30" hemisphere.
 
Back
Top