Using masking tape to manage the harness

[Onebadhawk]

Yeahh,
I think I can explain Nick,,
In your pic there are bundles,,
On each bundle BOTH legs of the harness exiting the bundle are exiting the bundle on the SAME side..
That is correct and is critically important...
On each bundle there are 3 rubber bands...
Remove the 2 on the right and leave only the 1 on the left...
Now the very slightest tension will make the band pop off the bundle...

Teddy

 

[Glasspack]

Do most of you use the technique of Z-folding your harness (shock-cord) then wrapping with small lengths of masking tape?

Another method I like to manage a long shock cord.... this is pretty cool also .............

https://www.apogeerockets.com/Advanced_Construction_Videos/Rocketry_Video_31

 

[AlphaHybrids]

Another method I like to manage a long shock cord.... this is pretty cool also .............

https://www.apogeerockets.com/Advanced_Construction_Videos/Rocketry_Video_31

I would strongly advise against using a daisy chain to manage shock cords. As it is pulled out, you can generate a lot of friction and melt tubular nylon, or if you are using kevlar it can start slicing and abrading itself.

I've seen it happen in rockets - not pretty.

Edward

 

[Glasspack]

I would strongly advise against using a daisy chain to manage shock cords. As it is pulled out, you can generate a lot of friction and melt tubular nylon, or if you are using kevlar it can start slicing and abrading itself.

I've seen it happen in rockets - not pretty.

Edward

Thank You Ed

I haven't thought it could happen but I see that it could be a bad deal.
I used the masking tape Z-folded method for my high power flights.

The recovery harness is made of 1" nylon strap. The tape worked great !

 

[G_T]

I'd recommend against wrapping the chute the way it is shown in the last photo. It delays deployment and makes the deployment inconsistent. Often it will release off the side rather than the end and that results in a twist. Throw a twisted collection of lines and chute against another line and it may wrap it up while trying to untwist. Etc.

For those doing chute packing, I'd strongly suggest forgetting most everything you were taught at the hobby rocket scale. Most all of that is WRONG... Instead, read up on, and/or watch videos, from riggers. There it has to work right the first time every time, and open in a controlled predictable fashion. Not too fast and break a person's neck; not too slow and tangle. It is well worth studying. The lessons embodied in the methods are the result of other methods causing possibly fatal issues..., even if only of low probability. 1000 x low probability = someone dies.

How many rockets does one see coming down with chutes tangled, sloppy deployment, failure to deploy, failure to open, parts banging together...? Recovery is critical - safety critical - and the average rocketeer is pretty mediocre at it.

Ok, rant off! Rant is NOT aimed at anyone in particular, just the sorts of things I've seen way too much of at launches.

Gerald

 

[Banzai88]

Since I started folding all my flat sheets, hemispherical, and elliptical parachutes this way, I haven't had a single failure : [video=youtube;ZFhNqC9goXU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFhNqC9goXU[/video]

I'm sure that there are plenty of other solutions. This works for me and provides consistent, predictable results.

 

[Kip_Daugirdas]

I use masking tape (1 layer wrap) to manage all of my recovery when I'm dealing with tight bays where packing a particular way is necessary. It keeps your donut rolls, z-folds or whatever in place and makes a difficult process much easier.

Deployment issues? Never had one. I even tape the shrouds of my drogues to stage their opening.

I could see there being issues with some light models.

 

[Onebadhawk]

Since I started folding all my flat sheets, hemispherical, and elliptical parachutes this way, I haven't had a single failure : [video=youtube;ZFhNqC9goXU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFhNqC9goXU[/video]

I'm sure that there are plenty of other solutions. This works for me and provides consistent, predictable results.

+1 for sure...
I like Gene's method for folding chutes up too...
You'll wind up with a small package to stow and a reliable inflation...

Teddy

 

[Handeman]

I'd recommend against wrapping the chute the way it is shown in the last photo. It delays deployment and makes the deployment inconsistent. Often it will release off the side rather than the end and that results in a twist. Throw a twisted collection of lines and chute against another line and it may wrap it up while trying to untwist. Etc.

For those doing chute packing, I'd strongly suggest forgetting most everything you were taught at the hobby rocket scale. Most all of that is WRONG... Instead, read up on, and/or watch videos, from riggers. There it has to work right the first time every time, and open in a controlled predictable fashion. Not too fast and break a person's neck; not too slow and tangle. It is well worth studying. The lessons embodied in the methods are the result of other methods causing possibly fatal issues..., even if only of low probability. 1000 x low probability = someone dies.

How many rockets does one see coming down with chutes tangled, sloppy deployment, failure to deploy, failure to open, parts banging together...? Recovery is critical - safety critical - and the average rocketeer is pretty mediocre at it.

Ok, rant off! Rant is NOT aimed at anyone in particular, just the sorts of things I've seen way too much of at launches.

Gerald

+5 on that. I agree for the same reasons you state. Not anyone in particular, but just a general observation at any launch. It isn't just the chute deployment, it's the whole recovery system/cycle. Especially dual deployment. When you fly DD, the time between apogee deployment to main deployment can easily make up 75% of the flight time. Letting it spend most of it's flight in an uncontrolled fall where anything random thing can happen to it just doesn't seem smart to me. </Rant off>