Storing Parachutes

[AndrewGil]

I have been just storing my parachutes rolled up in a carrying tool box that I would effectively call my "range box". Is there a better, or actual way to store your parachutes?

 

[DragonRocketry]

I fold mine and put them in Ziplock bags. I then store all of them in tote.

 

[dr wogz]

LPR? HPR?

my little LPR plastic chutes I fold up loosely & store in a zip lock. My HPR chutes are hooked onto a carabiner, and hung up on a wall; so they are all loose & "fluffed up"..

 

[AndrewGil]

LPR? HPR?

my little LPR plastic chutes I fold up loosely & store in a zip lock. My HPR chutes are hooked onto a carabiner, and hung up on a wall; so they are all loose & "fluffed up"..

All HPR, my smaller chutes are just kind of chilling on the bottom of the box wrapped in the shroud lines. My larger chutes are half way folded and jut shoved into a bag that sits in the box.

I dont think I can do that with my new 8' RocketMan chute however.

 

[MClark]

Store chutes away from light. UV does terrible things.
The surplus “flare" chutes by design have no UV blockers so they will turn to dust.

 

[mh9162013]

I only fly LPR and I fold my parachutes (with shroud lines and snap swivel) into quarters, then sandwich them between two "slices" of cardboard that are rubber-banded closed.

When I'm about to launch, I remove the rubber bands, unfold the parachute, then attach it to my rocket.

 

[Antares JS]

I just stuff 'em in the rockets, but am sure to unfurl them before getting out to the field, and again on the field before packing them for flight.

 

[Huxter]

I have very few chutes that I use on LPR mostly. I put filled balloons in the chutes and hang them upside down in my basement.

 

[Donnager]

I'd like to say I have a 'system'.

I have all of the above. Mostly, LPR will either be stuffed back in or rolled up haphazardly and put in the bottom of the range box. MPR stuff stays in the rocket, and fluffed up before use. 4" high power mostly stays in the rocket, but some of these are kind of heavy and those harnesses/chutes are removed from the rocket and hung up (also for use in other rockets). I only have a couple of larger parachutes (6"+ rockets), and those are either wrapped up and stored by the rocket, or hung from the ceiling.

 

[user 35280]

86 the plastic chutes and use thin-mil nylon chutes with a nice swivel.

 

[bjphoenix]

For LPR I save the cardboard tubes from toilet paper rolls, pull the chute into a spike, wrap the shroud lines around it and slide it in the tube.

 

[teepot]

All my chutes are Z folded. Then I wrap the shroud lines around the chute. I keep them in zip lock baggies. Fluff before they fly. The baggies with chutes are marked with the size and stored in a large tool box.

 

[jdsmith39]

My chutes in my basement.

I used a nylon rope to string up everything. Used clothes pins as a sign/separator to keep things organized.

 

[Echo3]

Most of my chutes are flat plastic Estes type parasheets and I remove them from the rockets, lay them out flat, and stack them. The ones that I use the most are just laid loosely on top of the rockets in the rocket storage box. I have a lot of extras that are sandwiched between 2 sheets of cardboard.

 

[Rocketjunkie]

Packed into the rocket they belong in. All my rockets have their own chutes. Repack when prepping the rocket.

 

[Dipstick]

Balled into ugly wads with bits of grass and detritus from the launch site, packed into a container thats not big enough and stored under my workbench

For all that they treat my rockets nicely when needed...

 

[Sandy H.]

I have a love/hate relationship with chutes. I don't use plastic for anything at all, Mylar for small LPR, but nylon for everything else. As chutes aren't cheap, I do switch them from rocket to rocket and when somebody sells used ones, I buy if it fits the budget.

Regretfully, I just put them in a tote without a sealed lid and left them in my rocket trailer for a while. I'm guessing it was a mouse, but someone decided to get in the tote, chew up stuff and pee. Honestly, the damage due to chewing was pretty minimal on most, but the pee smell was horrific. I threw them in the washing machine and then spent 2 weeks untangling the shroud lines #idiot. . .

They're back in the trailer and in a different tote now, but who knows if it'll happen again.

2 things to learn for sure: Figure out how to keep animal pee away from them (ziplock bag, like @DRAGON64 said sounds smart) and if you wash them in the washing machine, figure out how to manage the shroud lines!!!!

I like the hanging arrangement @jdsmith39 showed above. Clean, functional and a conversation starter if a stranger didn't know about rockets! Won't work in my shop due to dust etc., but a cool method if it works in your environment.

Sandy.

 

[Hobie1dog]

I just stuff 'em in the rockets, but am sure to unfurl them before getting out to the field, and again on the field before packing them for flight.

+1

 

[DragonRocketry]

I have a love/hate relationship with chutes. I don't use plastic for anything at all, Mylar for small LPR, but nylon for everything else. As chutes aren't cheap, I do switch them from rocket to rocket and when somebody sells used ones, I buy if it fits the budget.

Regretfully, I just put them in a tote without a sealed lid and left them in my rocket trailer for a while. I'm guessing it was a mouse, but someone decided to get in the tote, chew up stuff and pee. Honestly, the damage due to chewing was pretty minimal on most, but the pee smell was horrific. I threw them in the washing machine and then spent 2 weeks untangling the shroud lines #idiot. . .

They're back in the trailer and in a different tote now, but who knows if it'll happen again.

2 things to learn for sure: Figure out how to keep animal pee away from them (ziplock bag, like @DRAGON64 said sounds smart) and if you wash them in the washing machine, figure out how to manage the shroud lines!!!!

I like the hanging arrangement @jdsmith39 showed above. Clean, functional and a conversation starter if a stranger didn't know about rockets! Won't work in my shop due to dust etc., but a cool method if it works in your environment.

Sandy.

I z fold the shroud lines and then put a zip tie around the bundle, then I put the chute in a pillowcase and zip tie it closed. Place in washer on gentle wash

 

[AndrewGil]

I z fold the shroud lines and then put a zip tie around the bundle, then I put the chute in a pillowcase and zip tie it closed. Place in washer on gentle wash

That there is a good idea. That is what makes you an expert my friend.

 

[Bryan XJ6C]

I have been just storing my parachutes rolled up in a carrying tool box that I would effectively call my "range box". Is there a better, or actual way to store your parachutes?

I guess I don't understand. I have always kept mine in place inside the rocket since they all are permanently attached the the inside body of the rocket. Am I missing something. I benn flying mine since I was a kid. I do take them out and repack them when I'm ready to fly them. I've never had to replace an Estes Parachute.

 

[AndrewGil]

I guess I don't understand. I have always kept mine in place inside the rocket since they all are permanently attached the the inside body of the rocket. Am I missing something. I benn flying mine since I was a kid. I do take them out and repack them when I'm ready to fly them. I've never had to replace an Estes Parachute.

I like to recycle them into other rockets. I dont have a parachute that is just for one rocket. I usually get sizes that I can use in multiple rockets.

 

[Bryan XJ6C]

That there is a good idea. That is what makes you an expert my friend.

Why not wrap them in the finest silk and the place them next to the gold in your safe. He he he just kidding only pun intended

 

[mh9162013]

I guess I don't understand. I have always kept mine in place inside the rocket since they all are permanently attached the the inside body of the rocket. Am I missing something. I benn flying mine since I was a kid. I do take them out and repack them when I'm ready to fly them. I've never had to replace an Estes Parachute.

I never permanently attach parachutes to my rockets, as I like to switch out parachutes based on flying conditions. I also like experimenting with new recovery systems. For example, I've been tinkering with HDPE grocery bags, but I'm now trying out mylar parachutes for my BT-20 LPR rockets.

Just b/c my parachutes are removable, doesn't mean they can't be stored inside the rocket. But I don't like the idea of storing something crumpled or folded inside a small tube for weeks to months on end. Also, I only currently have about 5 parachutes for 8 rockets. So I need my parachutes kept loose and separate so when I go to fly, I don't have to worry about whether a specific parachute is installed in a specific rocket.

 

[RocketRohde]

I have a set of these expandable file folders, one for my nylon chutes and one for my estes types.

 

[StreuB1]

All my "big" chutes (>24") I hang upside down in the basement (cool / dry / dark).

Thin mill chutes, I loosely pack and leave them in the rocket they belong to. I also loosely wipe BP residue off the inside of airframes and recovery gear before I pack it up. The sulfur compounds left over coupled with moisture in the air will form weak sulfuric acid and it can degrade nylon and kevlar over time. This doesn't remove that, but it helps mitigate it.

My REALLY big chutes (>72") like my Cert chutes, I fluff up, loosely fold up, and then place inside a bag or place them on a shelf. All my recovery stuff stays in the basement (cool / dry / dark).