|
Question: I need help with the chute and deployment of it. Clueless about this, but it is important as length of time in the air is important. Your website is blank on the chute portion. Is there a reason for this? Where can I get some information on how big a chute, made out of what, and how it gets triggered to open. Thanks, S.
Response: I'm embarrassed that my chutes page is empty, to be honest. It's empty mostly for the fact that chute deployment is very difficult. I've used several techniques but none of them are reliable enough that I've taken the pictures and done the full write-up on. It seems like 40% of the time, I end up with lawn darts. Of course, in Georgia USA, we have so many trees that it is important to get the rocket back onto the ground as quickly as possible so it doesn't drift off into the trees. Many times, I don't use a chute but this means I go through bottles like crazy.
For competition, they don't allow for metal on the rocket so a Tomy timer is out of the question. This leads towards using a "speed flap" to trigger the deployment. Take a look around the web and you'll find some sites with a speed flap detailed out. I'll work on getting a work up on the speed flap onto my site.
I recommend using plastic bags from local grocery stores. It is very thin and light and reasonably strong with enough reinforcement. Remember, the bigger the chute, the greater the chance that the chute will "jam" in the upper vessel container. It's all a trade off. I do recommend making several chutes at one time so that when one rips up, you can quickly install a spare.
|
