(Contributed - by John Lee - 03/09/08)

Brief:
For some reason me imagination was always captured by paper rockets such as t' Centuri Vulcan. T' use o' paper opened up so many interestin' possibilities for shapes beyond mere tubes and cones with fins. Blimey! Because that love o' paper rockets has stayed with me as a BAR, I recently tried t' clone t' Centuri Vulcan, me childhood nemesis. Avast! That project, shiver me timbers, and its successors was nay without its problems. One o' those problems involved parachutes.

T' original Vulcan had if I remember correctly, me hearties, a pretty standard 12" plastic parachute like be commonly produced by Centuri and is still produced by Estes and many other manufacturers today. Ahoy! This posed several problems for me, shiver me timbers, some o' perception and some o' construction.

I don't like plastic chutes. Well, blow me down! I never have liked puttin' them together. Ahoy! I have never like their frailty. Arrr! Blimey! I don't care for t' way that any escapin' hot gas generally spells disaster. For that reason, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and because I am lazy, I usually purchase ready made nylon chutes. Avast! Those chutes generally take up more room, shiver me timbers, even in t' thin mil varieties. Avast! Therein lies t' subsequent problems: thar be nay a whole lot o' room t' pack anythin' in a Centuri Vulcan.

I tried an Estes 12" chute. No matter what I did, matey, it never deployed. Aye aye! At best, t' nose cone would pop off and t' chute would come part way out. Avast! Even so, t' rocket would always recover as a "tumble" that rarely hurt this rocket but did hurt me pride.

My next move was t' cut out t' spill hole in t' middle o' t' chute. Blimey! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! That meant that it did nay have t' be packed quite so tight but still no luck. Ya scallywag! T' Vulcan must love its chute so much that it is loathe t' let it escape from t' confines o' t' body tube.

I figured somethin' even smaller be needed. Ya scallywag! Since t' rocket had routinely survived tumble landings both with and without t' nose cone blowing, I did nay figure that a 12" chute be mandatory. I resolved t' seek a small, probably 8" mylar chute I could pack into a tight space and still have hopes o' bein' deployed. I turned t' T' Rocketry Forum t' post a question about sources.

I got several replies for which I was grateful and then a private message from t' proprietor o' Hartle Engineering. Aye aye! He offered t' send me, free o' charge, a selection o' t' chutes he makes. Aye aye! Since these are plastic chutes, I was happy t' get somethin' but nay overly thrilled. Avast! I sent me address and waited.

Then t' chutes came in and me perceptions changed.

Construction:
I be sent a variety o' Thermal Rider parachutes. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Included in t' selection were 2 each o' 6", 8", 10", shiver me timbers, 12", and 16" chutes. Ahoy! Blimey! There was also a 24" chute included. They came in an assortment o' colors.

Each chute package contained a simple instruction sheet, a plastic canopy that was pre-perforated for t' shrouds, a set o' reinforcin' rings, and a quantity o' line for t' shrouds.

T' first thin' that jumps out at you upon seein' t' chutes is that they are nay your normal plastic material. They are a bit thicker and have an interestin' texture t' them. They are already cut out and they are definitely a lot tougher than your run o' t' mill plastic chute. Each corner is pierced t' accept a shroud line. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! These are nay big holes as would be expected with a hole punch but are small, ya bilge rat, just a bit larger than t' diameter o' t' shrouds themselves.

Assembly o' t' chutes is easy. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! You choose t' size you want and open it up. Begad! Arrr! You will find a length o' shroud line held in loop by a small fragment o' launch lug. Well, blow me down! Begad! You need t' cut your shroud t' t' appropriate length. Ya scallywag! I will point out here that it is best t' count how many you will need and nay assume. Aye aye! I made t' mistake o' assumin' and learned t' hard way that nay all o' t' Thermal Rider chutes are hexagonal. Avast! Almost all o' them are but t' 24 incher I received is octagonal. Arrr! Avast! That meant that I wound up short one shroud line.

After t' shrouds are cut, arrr, matey, me bucko, set them aside for a moment and apply t' reinforcement disks t' t' corners. Begad! T' central hole o' t' disk should be approximately concentric with t' hole provided in t' chute itself. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Press t' disks on firmly t' make sure they adhere well.

Now t' shrouds are revisited as they are tied t' t' corners o' t' chute. Avast, me proud beauty! I used bowlines t' do this but thar are undoubtedly other ways as well t' tie them on. Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! You do nay want t' loop t' be too big and neither do you want it t' slip and close in upon t' corners.

That does it. Arrr! All that is left is t' install it in your rocket usin' your method o' choice.

Flight:
On me first opportunity t' log some flights after receivin' t' chutes, I made sure that I had packed t' 6" in t' Vulcan. Blimey! Ahoy! After t' rocket reached apogee, I had t' novel experience o' seein' a parachute deploy and t' whole assembly fall gently t' earth. Avast! Well, me bucko, blow me down! I probably could have gotten an 8" in thar but 6" was all that be needed.

T' 12" chute I entrusted t' an entirely new rocket. Ahoy! Ahoy! It went into a FlisKits Stingray. Again, it did what it be supposed t' without problem and t' rocket be flown twice that day.

I was goin' t' try t' 24 inch chute in a Hawk's Hobby Super Sprite, shiver me timbers, but I did nay get t' time. I have no doubt though that it would have performed admirably.

Recovery:
PROs: inexpensive (even if you don't get them for free), strong and durable, me bucko, wide color assortment, me hearties, no cutting, high quality.

CONs: you still have t' put it together.

Summary:
These are great chutes available in a wide selection o' sizes and colors. Ahoy! Avast! They are strong and easy t' put together.

Plastic chutes are still nay a favorite o' mine, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, but they do have their place. These are t' finest plastic chutes I have seen.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5