All Rocketry Blogs

Model Rocket Building: Parachute Cutting TIP (2010-09-12)

Years back, I can remember the frustration of cutting out a thin plastic parachute with a pair of dull scissors. The old instructions simply said: "Cut out the parachute." TIP: Never bother ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Parachute Attachment TIP (2010-11-28)

Awhile back I read a forum post about tangled shroud lines, asking how to untangle them. You can eliminate some tangled lines by moving the parachute attachment point away from the nose cone. With ... [Read More]

Rocket Dungeon: Mega Review: Parachutes (2011-01-24)

This post presents reviews of various parachutes, several of which were received via EMRR.  A couple are out-of-production (OOP) and are only included for historical purposes. RocketChutes - ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: TIPS: Cutting Out Parachutes (2011-09-17)

I've never understood why parachute instructions direct you to cut out the parachute with scissors! I can't cut through the sheet plastic even with my best, sharpest scissors. The thin plastic just ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Mylar Balloon Parachutes (2012-03-07)

Over the years I've made many parachutes out of black trash bags. They've always worked well and are cheap compared to pre-assembled parachutes. The forums have mentioned making parachutes from mylar ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Parachute Tape Disk Reinforcement (2012-07-03)

Sometimes in a parachute kit you'll get paper reinforcement disks. It's easy enough to check, try and tear one. Paper tears, the plastic disks won't.   Paper disks should be replaced. ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: For NARCON - Did You Ever Try To Design A Parachute? (2014-02-28)

I'd always liked the look of the red and white parachutes used in the Apollo program. A rough count looks like there are 64 alternating red and white gores. The Estes Saturn V kit (and the ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Parachute Reinforcement Disks - Single or Double? TIP (2014-03-28)

Most kit parachutes are around a 1 mil (1/1,000th of an inch) thick. Polyethylene sheet parachutes can stretch and tear so reinforcement rings are needed. Some kits include the cheaper paper ... [Read More]

Odd'l Rockets: What Makes A Better LPR Parachute? Part 1 (2014-08-24)

Last September I started drawing what I hoped would be a better LPR parachute. It turned out to be a bigger task than expected. Printing on poly sheeting is not the same as printing on paper. ... [Read More]

Odd'l Rockets: What makes a Better LPR Parachute? Part 2 (2014-08-27)

Some vendor parachutes have paper reinforcement rings. Those can easily tear. The rings included in the Odd'l parachutes are plastic. The red and white colors are highly visible from the ground. The ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Old Centuri Parachute Instructions (2015-11-07)

From the older Centuri Black Widow instructions I found these parachute instructions. I knew Estes sold parachute material in square sheets but didn't know Centuri supplied square sheets in their ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: What's Up With (Some) Estes Parachutes? TIP (2016-05-02)

I really like the retro look of the Estes kit parachutes. It's the same checker board pattern I found in my earliest Estes kits. The plastic sheet seems thicker than they used to be, a good thing. ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Larger Semroc Parachutes (2016-11-23)

I've run across larger Semroc parachutes in some of the bigger models. Most Semroc kits come with 1 mil. printed 12" chutes. This 16" yellow parachute came in the Starship Excalibur model. The ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Folding Parachutes TIP, Part 1 (2017-02-19)

A Patreon supporter asked about how I fold parachutes and what is my success percentage. Here's how I do it - My success rate is almost 100% with a rare melted spot. Look at the instructions from ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Folding Parachutes TIPS, Part 2 (2017-02-20)

Here's how I'd pack a 18" chute in a shorter BT-60 sized model. Sometimes a packed chute can't be long and narrow. On a squatty model you won't have room for wadding, parachute and the nose cone ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Ed Mitton Snap Swivel Connection TIP (2019-06-23)

For the longest time I've been tying the parachute shroud lines to the small loop on a snap swivel. It's not the easiest way to attach them. You've got to tie the line ends onto the small loop ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: I Wish They Didn't Do That - Part 3, Tape Disks (2019-11-28)

Some smaller vendors supply parachute kits you assemble. If you can tear a tape disk before making of the parachute - the tape disk will tear under the stress of the ejection charge. If it tears, ... [Read More]

Improbable Ventures: How to build a fiberglass rocket, part 13: parachutes (2020-07-08)

Rocket recovery The recovery system in a high power rocket is extremely important. Needless to say, launching a large rocket extremely high into the air is pretty fun. But that thing is going to ... [Read More]