Ping Pong Parachute B/C

[SergioEdwards]

I actually did this event as a trial two years ago and we were only allowed to load to 40psi. I found that this gets it up pretty high and we got about 13-15 second launches. I'm hoping to get 30ish second launches this year! good luck everyone!

I am helping to coach this event and we are not getting over 5 seconds. Can you provide any tips? What is more important the bottle or the parachute?

Generally, my first priority would be to get your rocket to a point where it deploys consistlently, 100% of the time regardless of the room height or psi used. Then, you can work on optimizing your parachute to get the slowest descent rate possible.

What design are you using right now?

The design we used has a short bottle with the parachute in a canister with a removable lid, this allows the rocket to arc and the ping pong ball to deploy mid apex. I've found that with this design you can launch at almost any PSI. You might have to weight on a certain side to get the rocket to go to one side 100% of the time. Keep me updated on how your launches go!

[Airco2020]

I actually did this event as a trial two years ago and we were only allowed to load to 40psi. I found that this gets it up pretty high and we got about 13-15 second launches. I'm hoping to get 30ish second launches this year! good luck everyone!

I am helping to coach this event and we are not getting over 5 seconds. Can you provide any tips? What is more important the bottle or the parachute?

I think the best solutions send the rocket up straight and fall back down straight to get out of the way of the chute. Draping the chute over the rocket nose allows it to open when the rocket falls.

[ajimenez]

Right now we have a 1 liter bottle with no fins, a upside down up that has a funnel attached with string that sits in the cup. When the rocket falls the funnel falls out causing the parachute to deploy. The parachute is a circle with a 2" hole, about 24" with 8 shroud lines 30" long made from thin plastic.

[CookiePie1]

Right now we have a 1 liter bottle with no fins, a upside down up that has a funnel attached with string that sits in the cup. When the rocket falls the funnel falls out causing the parachute to deploy. The parachute is a circle with a 2" hole, about 24" with 8 shroud lines 30" long made from thin plastic.

I see. Have you been having good success with deployment? It sounds like your rocket might not always fly straight due to the lack of fins. As for the parachute, if it can fall stably without the middle hole, it might be good to get rid of it.

[ajimenez]

That's a negative on the successful deployment. We have tried folding, rolling up, sitting on top and draping over but nothing has been consistent. In our tests yesterday we had deployment a few time but it was very late almost halfway thru fall about 10-12 feet off the ground.

[Airco2020]

That's a negative on the successful deployment. We have tried folding, rolling up, sitting on top and draping over but nothing has been consistent. In our tests yesterday we had deployment a few time but it was very late almost halfway thru fall about 10-12 feet off the ground.

A lot of people are having success with the tube method. There are some Div B videos on YouTube I think I saw that will give you an idea of how it works.

[builderguy135]

One rule that was being enforced at NJ states was the rule that said you can only launch a rocket if it had a log (implying you need a separate log for each rocket you bring) and they refused to let us use our second rocket. I reread the rules and can confirm that this is true, but has anyone had this enforced anywhere else at any competition?

[CookiePie1]

well, you wouldn't even have to deal with that if you did your flight log correctly. Lmao it doesn't even matter if the data is real, it just has to be there. But that's a spirit of the competition thing I assume.

[TheChiScientist]

well, you wouldn't even have to deal with that if you did your flight log correctly. Lmao it doesn't even matter if the data is real, it just has to be there. But that's a spirit of the competition thing I assume.

Yea as a Supervisor I would only check for the log. As long as it seems to be in order there is no reason to stop launch unless the rocket violates construction parameters.

[Kyky]

One rule that was being enforced at NJ states was the rule that said you can only launch a rocket if it had a log (implying you need a separate log for each rocket you bring) and they refused to let us use our second rocket. I reread the rules and can confirm that this is true, but has anyone had this enforced anywhere else at any competition?

Yes, I know that this was enforced at FM invy. I can't say that I saw it elsewhere, because for the majority, I saw a lot of teams only bring one rocket. And at regs, it does not seem to be enforced.