Thanks. It's actually getting pretty 'rough' close up. But that's because it flies! And it gets handled. Getting to and from a launch can be as bad as the launch or worse!
The Hawk was three seconds past apogee when it ejected. No tracking smoke was left (which is why I feared the worse... delay grain done burning and no ejection yet). It must have been burning, since it did eject, but as speed picked up it probably spread out the smoke too thin... or I was simply expecting the worst and memory is failing me.
No, it did not zipper. I get zippers with kevlar but rarely with 1/4 inch elastic. Yes the elastic can fail... but in my experience it's more likely the teabag style shock cord mount fails to hold the elastic and it pulls out. Been there... done that...
Well, I'm sure it started off looking great... rockets all get their "mileage" dents and dings pretty rapidly... and your right-- road transport is the WORST... seems five times more likely to get damaged on the ground than in the air...
Best thing I've found-- save those plastic air-filled bags from packages we get in lieu of packing peanuts... also "airing up" ziplock bags by sealing them off except one little corner, and then blowing into them to inflate them, and then zipping that last corner shut, makes your own air-filled shipping bags that will keep rockets pretty well cushioned for transport, if you have a good sturdy box...
I have no idea why I am one of those people that tries and use most of what comes with a kit. Maybe I am just cheap. Or I know light makes flight (R/C Gliders). Mylar is what the designer of the rocket got to work. Why shouldn't I? As a rule I never ever attach the chute to the rocket that came with it. All my chutes get built, I attach a snap swivel, and into my range box it goes. Then I choose a type and size at launch time. I like the idea of lightweight mylar chutes. They are light
and can be really easy to see. I got hold of a few 'rectangular' ones from Launch Pad kits that a TRF friend sent me gratis. I gave one a try in the TLP Osiris (BT-80 based TLP model) and as long as the ejection timing is close, it works great. Same for all mylar chutes I've tried. But they don't suffer bonus delays lightly.
I'm the same way... unless I'm kitbashing, I pretty well "use what they brung" so to speak... with two exceptions... I *refuse* to use that rubber band CRAP Estes puts in their kits as "shock cords" and replace that right off the bat with elastic, and if the TLP kit has the "soft balsa" that goes into the "spare balsa" stock and a sheet of harder, denser balsa takes its place.
I do the same thing with my chutes... they're all assembled (well, except for the spare half-dozen or so Dr. Zooch trash-bag chutes I end up with) and put in ziplocks in my range box with a file card in there telling me what it is, what it's for, and what size it is... Then I just pick and choose on the field according to conditions and the rocket in question. I picked up a mess of Top-Flite Recovery nylon chutes in a spate of sizes at NSL in Muncie a few years ago, and they work GREAT! For lighter, smaller rockets I've no fear in using the plastic chutes, but when the rocket gets bigger and heavier, I prefer the nylon chutes... ESPECIALLY if there's any wind or the rocket is prone to weathercocking or something that nearly guarantees a hard deployment at fast speeds... Sounds like from your experience the lightweight mylar chutes are good for weight savings and space savings, but you want pretty much spot-on apogee deployment at pretty low velocities to ensure that it comes down in one piece undamaged... good information to know...
Now, have you tried reinforcing the shroud holes in the mylar chutes?? Like I said, I've done a bunch of chutes from mylar party balloons-- love the colors and logos and stuff... really look cool... what I do is use a hole-punch to cut the shroud line hole in the canopy, which eliminates any 'slits' from a knife that could run and tear the chute... PLUS, I've started using small roughly 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch or so squares of DUCT TAPE (plain old silver plastic duct tape) bonded to the surface of the chute where the shroud line holes will be punched-- the hole is punched through the center, and I recess the tape about 1/8 inch from the edge of the canopy itself. I burnish the tape down tight and then rub baby powder over it once I'm done to eliminate any 'stickies' that might hold the chute closed... works well... I've even done this with blue painter's tape on Keira's mylar party balloon "Disney Princess" parachutes.. worked great and it's held up so far, though I'm not sure how long masking tape adhesive will work... guess we'll see...
Reinforcing the shroud line holes seems to really help the strength of the chute...
Alas, I share your fear of nicks and such. And even so, hustling down when a delay goes long, or simply a tip off at launch, or unexpected shear winds, whatever makes a rocket go long on ejections, mylar will fail at the attachments. And they have. I just have not found a way not to unless you go over the top with the shrouds...
I don't mind using mylar if I think I understand the performance of the rocket and motor combination based on many launches. But to be honest, I am becoming a big nylon chute fan. At least 95% of the time or more, they'll not fail when plastic and mylar will. They are bulkier (word?) to pack. And a bit heavier.
Is that about where you are at?
Yep, been my experience exactly... the nylon is a little heavier/bulkier, but it's MUCH more durable... I've yet to see a nylon chute come back damaged... where I've had plastic ones strip lines on a hard deployment, either from weathercocking or bonus delay...
I've had pretty good luck with the reinforced plastic and mylar chutes, in Keira's rocket anyway... I've started reinforcing the holes on all my chutes using tape squares cut from duct tape with scissors... I like the duct tape because it's got the 'reinforcing strings' embedded in the tape, unlike masking tape which doesn't... I've had a couple hard deploys where the string tugged hard enough on the tape to wrinkle it, but it didn't tear anything... so I guess it's working...
Later and good luck and thanks for the info!
OL JR
