Top Flight Recovery what's your experience, and packing volume?

[Lowpuller]

I am not familiar with Top Flight products, what has your experience been?

I'm working on a "low budget" project so price is very important

I am specifically looking at an Ultra X

I have found decent rates but can't find pack volume.

I am look at the X chutes hoping they will be lower volume.

Thank you for any advice you can share.

The rocket will be dual deploy about 5 pounds total weight.

 

[markkoelsch]

Top Flight makes a quality product at a very fair price. I strongly recommend them. Gary, owner of Topflight, is on this forum as user crossfire. He is also a personal friend, and truly one of the nicest people you will meet.

 

[djs]

I can't speak to pack volume, as I don't have any Ultra X chutes, but I only use Top Flight chutes. I think they're great quality.

 

[RKeller]

Top Flight chutes are the most popular ones out there. X chutes may not pack as small as standard chutes because they need to be larger, they have less drag. what size area do you need it to fit into? they pack pretty well due to the thin shroud lines. a 36" chute fits fine in my 54mm scarab.

 

[Lowpuller]

Same question for Rocketman chutes, specifically packing volume?

 

[nraymondb]

I use a lot of Top Flight products, Gary and his wife do an excellent job with these. I have a 12 foot ultra X and I can "burrito" that thing into a roughly 4"x12" package with Nomex. For Rocketman chutes, for me, they seem a bit more slippery when I try to pack them tight like that, he makes a good product too, but I prefer TopFlight. The value you get with Gary ( Top Flight) you can't get anywhere else. Just my opinion.

 

[Bat-mite]

Ditto on Gary and Top Flight. Excellent customer service. I have an Ultra X 48" and it fits with ease in a 3" tube. Hope this helps.

 

[MCriscione]

As stated by others, x-forms will be more material for the same decent as a parasheet style. TFR do good work. If your looking for packability in larger sizes, give them a call or message crossfire here, and ask about a 'custom' parasheet using their thin-mil 1.1oz nylon fabric. They'll do them larger than the sizes listed on the site (although you'll be stuck with blaze orange for color). I just got a par58 thin-mil 'custom' from them, and can pack it into my 2.6" L1 rocket. It packs to approx. 2.2" dia. by 5" long and fits in just right with the nomex wrapped around it.

 

[Banzai88]

Just so the advantage of the X pattern doesn't get glossed over here in calling out it's relative bulk as a negative, X patterns will typically exhibit less drift than an equivalent sized parasheet and usually don't wobble or helicopter like a parasheet without a spill hole will often do. Down side is more material (bulk) and a lower CD.

 

[GRIFFIN]

I use Ultra X:

24" for Lil' Rascal size kits

30" for Wildman Jr. Kits or similar

70" for 3" Wildman kits (full stack dual deploy)

90" for 4" Wildman kits (full stack. Wildman extreme, Darkstar Extreme)

12' for 6" Ultimate Darkstar

 

[GregGleason]

I prefer to use Top Flite Recovery chutes. I like their Thin Mill chutes because they pack so small in mod rocs.

Greg

 

[MikeyDSlagle]

If your going low budget, I think Rocketman would be out. Those are bit more than Topflight. I'm sure Gary would bemire than happy to make you just about any size or color you want, except for the thin-mil, as was mentioned all that is there is orange. I have several Top flights but have only flown my V2 with one in it. That rocket went ICBM and deployed flying horizontally at a pretty good speed, the chute survived and landed it safely.

Not trying to take business from Topflight but Binder Design and Dinochutes also carry X pattern and standard chutes. Pat at Dinochutes does custom work too. I haven't used their chutes but do have some of their pouches and nomex, and a few custom pouches as well. To me their nomex feels more flexible or pliable.

Mikey D

 

[Handeman]

X patterns will typically exhibit less drift than an equivalent sized parasheet

I'm assuming that is because of a faster decent rate for the equivalent sized parasheet. That would mean you have to go to an even larger x pattern to get the same decent rate and that would be more bulk.

 

[Onebadhawk]

I like Top Flight chutes very much...
I love a big chute in the air,, their gorgeous,,
and an X type you have to use a bigger chute to get the same decent rate...
If you have a heavy enough rocket I also like very much the Ultra X as a drogue
as they're super robust and will stand up to being dragged through the air at 80 fps....

Teddy