Para-streamer

[gladiator1332]

I saw an article in sport rocketry on how to make a para-streamer...(a small parachute attached to a streamer) It is supposed to give you a recovery that isn't too slow and isn't too fast and mainly used for heavier rockets. I started making two tonight...one small one for my Vostok (this can land with a normal 18" parachute, but I want to test the parastreamer with it) and a larger one for my yet to be built Delta IV Heavy. Tomarrow I am going out to buy a few 12" parachutes to complete the parastreamers.

Just wondering if anyone else has tried one of these out and how they worked.

 

[el chubbo]

Could you advise on where you saw the orig. article.... any links that you could provide?

Sound awesome just can't visualize it....

 

[shockwaveriderz]

imagine a streamer.....on the free end, ie the end not attached to the rocket you attach a small parachute.....such that the parachute is on the free flopping end....

I'm gonna try one tomorrow on my alpha..a 12" estes parachute that has the circle cut out of it in the middle.....

 

[gladiator1332]

I'll try to search online, but I saw the article in Sport Rocketry Magazine.

 

[gladiator1332]

Here is a quick image I drew out in paint to give you an idea what a parastreamer is supposed to look like. The gray object is the body tube, the black object the nosecone and the organge object is the para-streamer.

 

[solrules]

question on these para-streamers:

Am I missing something very obvious, or does the streamer seem pointless? Its like adding a thick shock cord and having the parachute attached to that. Wouldn't it make more sense to attach the streamer above the chute?

 

[Rocketjunkie]

Originally posted by gladiator1332
Just wondering if anyone else has tried one of these out and how they worked.

They work well. Descent is just a little slower than the chute alone. For rockets that go high, they're great as visability is fantastic!

 

[DynaSoar]

Originally posted by Rocketjunkie
They work well. Descent is just a little slower than the chute alone. For rockets that go high, they're great as visability is fantastic!

And that sums up what they're for. They're not supposed to slow it down much more than a chute. After all, the flapping of a streamer is what slows it most, and if a chute is attached to the end, it can't flap. They're for high visibility and low drift. Just don't use them on any models with weak fins, as it'll come down about the speed of the small chute alone.

Way back in the old days, when C engines were "high powered", I tried a dual series cute on a Bertha. Two 9 inch chutes, the lower one with a 1" spill hole, the second with a 1 foot leader (literally, a fishing leader) hooked to the lower chute's snap swivel and running up through the spill hole, to the snap swivel of the second chute. It fell about as fast as a 12" chute but didn't drift as much.

I also tried a streamer above a chute. With a larger chute, the streamer did nothing much but hang off the side. With a smaller chute, the streamer collapsed it. But then, the streamer was connected to the chute. That gave me the idea for the series chutes, and I never tried it that way with a streamer.

 

[Hospital_Rocket]

Welcome herr Brane Doktor!!

Al

 

[shrox]

DynaSoar,

Did the chute with the streamer above it have a spillhole?

shrox

 

[eugenefl]

Originally posted by DynaSoar
They're for high visibility and low drift.

Seems like it would increase drift. Wouldn't the streamer be another broad surface for the wind to catch?

Interesting concept although I only see it being useful for visibility. I figure if the rocket needs to come down on say a 12" as opposed to an 18" then the streamer would do nothing in terms of aiding recovery given the SPR mag example. OTOH, what if the streamer was attached midway down the shockcord? This way the streamer would have a shot at flapping and possibly aid somewhat. I figure if a rocket needs a smaller parachute to descend then there's not much else in the way of "inbetween" sized parachutes to help out. I do like the idea of a small drogue being run through the spillhole on the larger chute.

 

[icyclops]

I saw an article in sport rocketry on how to make a para-streamer...(a small parachute attached to a streamer) It is supposed to give you a recovery that isn't too slow and isn't too fast and mainly used for heavier rockets. I started making two tonight...one small one for my Vostok (this can land with a normal 18" parachute, but I want to test the parastreamer with it) and a larger one for my yet to be built Delta IV Heavy. Tomarrow I am going out to buy a few 12" parachutes to complete the parastreamers.

Just wondering if anyone else has tried one of these out and how they worked.

Yup, i have sewn 4 of them in different sizes. I used thin chute nylon and my first one had the 12” chute sewn into the streamer. It was attached in the middle of the parachute and was about 30” long and 4” wide. I used the 6 threads for the chute sewn onto the streamer about 10” down. I folded the chute in 1/4 sections and rolled the streamer as usual, then tucked it into the chute section….then put in the recovery wadding and inserted the parastreamer. Launched it in a vintage Estes Firehawk which had a BT 60 diameter I believe…and a 18mm motor (used a C6-5 If I remember correctly). Launched and on apogee it ejected just fine. Chute area Opened up after the streamer unraveled all the way and came down just a little faster than I expected, but no damage. Very visible and opened faster than expected…it worked. So I made a 14” one with same streamer length and it came down a little slower. Made an 18” one and launched it successfully in a super big bertha On an E motor. That also worked and came down faster than expected too. The last one I made was a 9” chute for a smaller BT and it opened up slowly….I don’t think it slowed things down very much…probably more drag caused by the streamer section than the chute area itself….but still no damage to the rocket. The bigger chutes caught more air and worked better. That’s about all I can tell ya. Oh ya, I did try just using the big 4” wide by 30” long streamer with no chute area attached and the FireHawk came down real hard…2 of the 3 fins broke….streamer alone is not a good recovery option for that size of rocket, but had to see if the chute had any effect. Guess it did.

 

[lakeroadster]

Holy Thread Necro.... just kidding. Some of these old threads really get the creative juices flowing.

I did a search for para streamer and para-streamer in the NAR archives.... and found nothing.

I did a web search and found a "Snake Tracer Streamer" Wow... is this awesome or what?

 

[icyclops]

Looked into that and basically it will do the same as a single more or less Depending on roc weight. That is made for high altitude visibility and not heavier rockets unfortunately….the para-streamer slows more for a little heavier roc’s….but I am out of the test phase on this as I don’t want to repair or lose anymore of my fleet so what do I know…