The plastic sheet seems thicker than they used to be, a good thing.
A while ago out of curiosity, I pulled on a shroud line to check its strength. It broke with light a pull. Some kits have chutes with weak lines, other kit shroud lines are stronger.
I've also noticed the pre-installed reinforcement rings sometimes have small tears starting.A ring was removed from the parachute and it easily tore in half!
I thought these were plastic, the surface is shiny. It turns out they are glossy paper rings.
All the shroud lines and rings will be thrown away. This chute will be cut down to 12" diameter.
TIP: Here's how I downsized to a 12" chute from the 18" parachute supplied in the Monarch kit.
A 12" ruler was set across the sheet centered on the spill hole center area. Notice which printed ring is under the ends of the 12" span.
Cut straight across with a sharp blade. Add new reinforcement disks and tie on new shroud lines for the smaller, 12" parachute.
Thank you for showing how to cut down a parachute. That's advantageous of Estes going back to the checkerboard pattern, as it can be used as a guide. Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteBut yes, there are problems with new shroud lines. Recently, I had one of the loops on a new Estes parachute come untied during flight. I tried to retie it but it broke. I am also replacing the shroud lines and adding Avery clear plastic reinforcements to the back of the holes.