Old Altitude Claims?

Lets take the Centuri Screaming Eagle as an example:

From it's introduction in the 1973 catalog, Centuri claimed "Out of sight with a C". From 1974 through 1978, the Screaming Eagle could reach 1,500 feet. From 1979 on it lost 300' altitude, down to 1,200 feet.

Here's even more altitude estimations from the Screaming Eagle kit instruction sheet:

On the same rocket, altitudes predictions changed over time. There wasn't much consistency.

I remember seeing my first Estes catalog and thinking: "A 50 cent rocket can get to 2,000 feet?"

How could they know? There were no small altimeters then. And who could or would challenge the claims?

They probably "guess-timated" using the Altitude Prediction Charts, the old Estes TR-10.

Simple "Dual Deploy" for LPR and MPR Rockets?

Soon to be released from Jolly Logic - 

THE CHUTE RELEASE

"Chute Release is designed to be extremely easy to use. As a first step, you attach the tether to one of the parachute shroud lines (so that you don’t lose your Chute Release). Then, you gather the bottom of your parachute together and wrap the (rubber) band around it and snap the pin into the other side of chute release. That holds your parachute closed until you want it to open. Then you use the buttons to set an altitude. You can pack your chute however you like after that, including rolling it up."

So as I understand it - 
The parachute does eject as normal but the Chute Release holds your parachute closed, wrapped in a rubber band. The reefed chute acts as a closed drogue. 
When the Chute Release unit senses the preset altitude, the rubber band is released and the parachute fully opens.

"A nice benefit of Chute Release is that you can use a larger chute than you normally would. You can choose your chute to give a soft landing without worrying as much about how far it will drift on winds aloft.
It won’t fit in every rocket. Practically speaking, the smallest rocket tube that it will fit will be the 41mm (1.64″) BT-60 (Big Bertha) size tubes, and perhaps the international 40mm FAI size. Unless/until we can design a smaller Chute Release, we’ll market this as more of a medium-to-high power product, for motors F-K, since that’s a range that reaches higher altitudes and still usually relies on simple motor ejection."

In a word - BRILLIANT!
Less drift, and no need for a complicated second BP ejection charge.
To see the product development, CLICK HERE