Looking for parachute material

[DexterLB]

I ran out of parachute mylar. I've been searching on ebay but couldn't find anything.

Could you help? I need something for less than $2 for square meter.

 

[gpoehlein]

Space Blanket? I use that when I want aluminized mylar - only about $2 at Walmart. I don't know what you have "across the pond", but hopefully something similar. Space Blankets are a bit heavier gauge than parachute mylar, but not bad if you are building for a sport model.

For contest use, I tend to buy the cheapest garbage bags I can find. One local source has black 30gal garbage bags that are 0.55mil thick, which is great for contest duration chutes. They "jellyfish" quite nicely in a thermal.

 

[powderburner]

Mylar is nice, but it is not necessary.

There have been zillions of kits built with plain old plastic parachutes. This is the standard material for many manufacturers, especially the big companies that sell 99% of the kits. Plastic sheet works fine, is plenty strong, and is available just about anywhere. You can use plastic shopping bags from the grocery store (if they even use them in your country, but that's a whole different discussion), from other local stores, or salvaged from other uses. If you have "party" supply stores in your area you can often find large plastic table covers in a variety of bright colors; these table covers are usually very inexpensive.

If you have thin plastic bags from your local clothing dry cleaners, this too can be used for parachute material. I used to use dry cleaner bags all the time for competition rockets, but this plastic is not as durable. It is so thin and soft that it stretches and tears easily, and if the ejection charges get past the protective wadding, dry cleaner plastic will melt quickly. These parachutes are usually only good for a few flights before they become damaged or unusable.

If you want mylar, you may be able to find it at your local sporting goods store. (This is the same stuff that gpoehlein was just talking about.) Hunters sometimes carry a "space blanket" in their emergency supplies in case they get lost or stuck somewhere in the woods for the night. The space blanket is a large sheet of aluminized mylar sheet about six feet by eight feet (two meters by 2 & 1/2?) for a few dollars. That is about as cheap as you are going to find mylar in your own town. They call it "space blanket" because it is shiny and high-tech-looking, and pretty light weight.

Do you remember seeing any products like that in your area?

 

[TheAviator]

One place I've seen Mylar (Aluminized Polyester Film, or specifically aluminized Biaxially-Oriented Polyethylene Terephthalate film) is at Hydroponics websites. 1/2 mil or 1 mil (10 or 20 micrometer) thick Mylar is good for parasheets, 1/4 mil (5 micrometer) is good for competition parasheets, and 2-4 mil (40-80 micrometer) is good for streamers.

 

[TheAviator]

I actually found this website which caters to free-flight aircraft guys. Apparently mylar is also used as a FF covering material. That gives me a great idea for 1/4A-BG this year...

http://www.freeflightsupplies.co.uk/lightweight.htm

 

[DexterLB]

Mylar is nice, but it is not necessary.

There have been zillions of kits built with plain old plastic parachutes. This is the standard material for many manufacturers, especially the big companies that sell 99% of the kits. Plastic sheet works fine, is plenty strong, and is available just about anywhere. You can use plastic shopping bags from the grocery store (if they even use them in your country, but that's a whole different discussion), from other local stores, or salvaged from other uses. If you have "party" supply stores in your area you can often find large plastic table covers in a variety of bright colors; these table covers are usually very inexpensive.

If you have thin plastic bags from your local clothing dry cleaners, this too can be used for parachute material. I used to use dry cleaner bags all the time for competition rockets, but this plastic is not as durable. It is so thin and soft that it stretches and tears easily, and if the ejection charges get past the protective wadding, dry cleaner plastic will melt quickly. These parachutes are usually only good for a few flights before they become damaged or unusable.

Do you remember seeing any products like that in your area?

In our grocery store all fruit etc are packed in plastic bags that are really, really thin - maybe half the thickness of a garbage bag. Is that what you're talking about or something thicker?

Space Blanket? I use that when I want aluminized mylar - only about $2 at Walmart. I don't know what you have "across the pond", but hopefully something similar. Space Blankets are a bit heavier gauge than parachute mylar, but not bad if you are building for a sport model.

For contest use, I tend to buy the cheapest garbage bags I can find. One local source has black 30gal garbage bags that are 0.55mil thick, which is great for contest duration chutes. They "jellyfish" quite nicely in a thermal.

Hmm, black thin garbage bags. We have loads of them, that should do.
As for space blanket I'll see if they have something like that in the hunters' store.

 

[evil ed]

Dexter,
Send me a PM with your mailing address and I'll send a small package in the mail.

Evil Ed

 

[DexterLB]

Small package with what?
Anyway I am sending you my address

 

[evil ed]

Small package with what?
Anyway I am sending you my address

:dark:


Don't worry,
nothing dangerous, illegal, immoral, or fattening!

 

[cbrarick]

Go to your local home improvement store and pick up some 1 mil plastic drop cloth (for painting). It's plenty strong, I made a 7 foot chute out of it, deployed it with 2 enhanced ejection charge G80's and had a perfect deployment. It works good.
Why was I doing it, you ask? Winning a parachute duration pumkin chunkin contest!

JMHO

rick

 

[Peartree]

Small package with what?
Anyway I am sending you my address

I have been on the receiving end of one of Ed's packages. Trust me, you'll like it.

Thanks Ed (again).

 

[DexterLB]

Cool then. I guess I'll say Thanks in advance, Ed