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

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

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

I don't like plastic chutes. Ahoy! I never have liked puttin' them together. Arrr! I have never like their frailty. Aye aye! I don't care for t' way that any escapin' hot gas generally spells disaster. Avast! For that reason, arrr, me hearties, me hearties, and because I am lazy, arrr, matey, I usually purchase ready made nylon chutes. Aye aye! Ahoy! Those chutes generally take up more room, ya bilge rat, even in t' thin mil varieties. 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. Avast! No matter what I did, it never deployed. At best, t' nose cone would pop off and t' chute would come part way out. Begad! Blimey! Even so, ya bilge rat, 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. Well, blow me down! Arrr! That meant that it did nay have t' be packed quite so tight but still no luck. Arrr! Blimey! 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 was needed. Well, blow me down! Since t' rocket had routinely survived tumble landings both with and without t' nose cone blowing, I did nay figure that a 12" chute was mandatory. Ahoy! 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 be grateful and then a private message from t' proprietor o' Hartle Engineering. Begad! He offered t' send me, ya bilge rat, free o' charge, a selection o' t' chutes he makes. Arrr! Since these are plastic chutes, shiver me timbers, I be happy t' get somethin' but nay overly thrilled. Ahoy! Arrr! I sent me address and waited.

Then t' chutes came in and me perceptions changed.

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

Each chute package contained a simple instruction sheet, me bucko, arrr, a plastic canopy that was pre-perforated for t' shrouds, me hearties, a set o' reinforcin' rings, arrr, 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. Blimey! They are a bit thicker and have an interestin' texture t' them. Begad! They are already cut out and they are definitely a lot tougher than your run o' t' mill plastic chute. Begad! Avast! Each corner is pierced t' accept a shroud line. Well, blow me down! Begad! These are nay big holes as would be expected with a hole punch but are small, matey, just a bit larger than t' diameter o' t' shrouds themselves.

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

After t' shrouds are cut, set them aside for a moment and apply t' reinforcement disks t' t' corners. Aye aye! Begad! T' central hole o' t' disk should be approximately concentric with t' hole provided in t' chute itself. Avast! 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. Begad! I used bowlines t' do this but thar are undoubtedly other ways as well t' tie them on. Well, blow me down! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! 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. Aye aye! 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, me hearties, I made sure that I had packed t' 6" in t' Vulcan. After t' rocket reached apogee, I had t' novel experience o' seein' a parachute deploy and t' whole assembly fall gently t' earth. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! 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. It went into a FlisKits Stingray. Ahoy! Again, matey, it did what it was supposed t' without problem and t' rocket be flown twice that day.

I be goin' t' try t' 24 inch chute in a Hawk's Hobby Super Sprite, arrr, matey, me hearties, 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), shiver me timbers, matey, strong and durable, wide color assortment, matey, me hearties, no cutting, me hearties, high quality.

CONs: you still have t' put it together.

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

Plastic chutes are still nay a favorite o' mine, but they do have their place. Begad! Well, me bucko, blow me down! These are t' finest plastic chutes I have seen.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5