Top Flight Chutes

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Arsenal78

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Needing a chute for my 5.5 LOC Goblin and I noticed on Top Flight’s webpage, they claim a 50” chute will work for a 7-9lb rocket at 17-22ft/s. I’m assuming the 17ft/s is for the 7lb. Can anyone confirm these numbers? I’ve always been told a 6ft chute for 7-9lbs with a 17ft/s descent rate.
 
Does your wight include the empty motor case? I have a Frenzy that weights 7.4 lbs and use a 50" TFR chute and it comes in about 20-25 fps.
 
My feeling is it should be a bit bigger than that. My Warlock was in that weight range and came with a 58” flat chute that was almost identical to a Top Flight chute, and I kept getting fin damage. I think the descent rate was OK, but it tended to swing a lot. If you go with a brand with a spill hole, it will reduce the swinging. Spherachutes are pretty nice and tend to come down nice and stable. They do cost more, but not ridiculously expensive.
 
My feeling is it should be a bit bigger than that. My Warlock was in that weight range and came with a 58” flat chute that was almost identical to a Top Flight chute, and I kept getting fin damage. I think the descent rate was OK, but it tended to swing a lot. If you go with a brand with a spill hole, it will reduce the swinging. Spherachutes are pretty nice and tend to come down nice and stable. They do cost more, but not ridiculously expensive.

I had planned on getting a BAMA chute but he's been having a lot of personal stuff the past few months. I might just get a 70" Top Flight and hope it works.
 
I used a 70" TFR standard chute in my L2 rocket. Decent weight was 6.5lbs, decent rate was 11-12fps. I have switched it to a TFR 50" standard and am seeing 17-18fps now. The rocket descends at 45-48fps under drouge.

~John
 
I had planned on getting a BAMA chute but he's been having a lot of personal stuff the past few months. I might just get a 70" Top Flight and hope it works.
I had TOP Flight put spill holes in 2 Par30s. So I would guess they would do it on a Par70. A lot depends on your landing surface when choosing a chute.
 
I could split the difference and go with the 58” chute. I’m flying in a farm field so the land will be a bit soft
 
I think the 58” is fine in terms of descent rate, but if they can put a spill hole in it for stability, it would be even better.
 
Try TFR's X-Form chutes. There is no swinging during decent. I use parachute size calculator to pick the right chute. Its suggested decent rate agrees with my altimeter 3.
 
We can add spill holes to any parachute, just email us with your order and specify what size spill hole you’d like. Swivels can help reduce swaying as well.

[email protected]

Preston

Good to know. I was not aware until this thread that you could add spill holes, and I don’t think your website mentions it.
 
What surface are you landing on? Goblin's have slightly downswept fins, so you want to protect those corners. Soft grass and mud will afford you a smaller chute than hardtack or a parking lot.
 
What surface are you landing on? Goblin's have slightly downswept fins, so you want to protect those corners. Soft grass and mud will afford you a smaller chute than hardtack or a parking lot.
The area will be farm land at Bama Blastoff.
 
I won’t be able to get a spill hole in the chute as I’ll be picking it up from a vendor at the field. I’ll stick with a 58” and add a swivel.
 
Anyone happen to know the CD of the chutes? I'm assuming since it's a flat panel chute, it will be about 0.75-0.8.
 
So 15ft/s descent on a 58” for a roughly 7.5-8lb rocket? Didn’t know flat panel chutes had that high drag.
 
I've flown my LOC Goblin once at Bong. I used a 48" chute. Lost track of it at apogee. Found it about 40 minutes later and discovered the Goblin came in under a tangled chute. Only damage from the landing was some chipped paint on the bottom, outside corners on two fins.
 
Generally speaking:
X Type=.5
Flat=.8 (Top Flite or others that essentially 'lay flat' or are a single piece of fabric)
Cupped Parabolic=.97 (Rocketman, recon, sky angel, etc)
Annular=.99 (shaped like a ring)
Elliptical=1.5 (Fruity, etc)
Torroidal=2.2 (Fruity Iris, etc)

This all matches my personal flight data from OR as well.
 
Generally speaking:
X Type=.5
Flat=.8 (Top Flite or others that essentially 'lay flat' or are a single piece of fabric)
Cupped Parabolic=.97 (Rocketman, recon, sky angel, etc)
Annular=.99 (shaped like a ring)
Elliptical=1.5 (Fruity, etc)
Torroidal=2.2 (Fruity Iris, etc)

This all matches my personal flight data from OR as well.
That sounds more realistic. 0.8 would be a 70" chute which makes more sense to me.
 
A lot of the numbers never mention the priostory of the fabric. Some ripstop nylon will let some air through it. Other ripstop with a heavy coating let no air through.
 
I truly believe the TFR numbers as the chutes were all tested in the Space Shuttle assembly building many years ago.
 
Alright I'll trust Top Flight's numbers this time and go with a 58" chute.
 
Certed over the weekend with the Goblin. Used a 58” Top Flight chute and it was definitely too small. I’ll need a 70” next time.
 
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