Saturday, August 23, 2014

What Makes A Better LPR Parachute? Part 1

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.
Flexible, rubber plates are used and the graphics are handled differently.

The parachute has a historic look. It resembles the recovery parachutes from the Apollo missions.
The NASA parachutes had 64 gores, this parachute has only 32. When looking at a 18" parachute with 64 gores it can mess with your eyes and become an optical illusion.

The parachute can be made as a 12", 15" or 18" size. Shroud lines to make the 18" chute are included, you simply cut shorter lines for a smaller parachute.
Three different spill holes are indicated, a 3", 4" and 5".

The reinforcement ring locations are set farther to the outside edge of the parachute. Some vendor parachutes have the ring locations too far away from the edges.
The dashed cut lines are thinner, the cut lines shouldn't detract from the looks of the parachute.

Some LPR parachutes seem thin at 1 mil or one thousandth inch thick. I wanted something stronger and decided on a 1.5 mil poly sheet.
See next post for Part 2

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