JonRocket.com’s new Parachute Selection Tool helps you browse our selection of hundreds of parachutes from several manufacturers to chose the right ‘chute for your rocket.
Enter the approximate weight of your rocket and the web page displays parachutes of the appropriate size to return your rocket safely to the ground.
Check boxes on the side of the page make it easy to narrow down the list by manufacturer, material, shape, and color.
While the Parachute Selection Tool helps you find a parachute, you will still need to determine which is the best choice.
The color, of course, is mostly just a matter of taste. But you might consider how the color will affect visibility of the parachute in the air and on the ground.
The material is important mostly because it affects how tightly the parachute packs to fit inside your rocket. Plastic, Mylar, and Thin Mill parachutes are able to fit in a smaller space which is important for smaller rockets or if you wish to use a larger parachute for a slower descent in a fragile rocket or one used for parachute duration contests.
The shape of the parachute can also be a matter of taste but also affects how stable the parachute and rocket are during descent. If they are more stable, there is iess concern that the rocket will sway under the parachute and hit the ground harder. So, you may be able to use a smaller parachute allowing the rocket to fall faster and drift less.
Standard parachutes usually have a hexagonal or octagonal shape. More expensive ones, such as Top Flight’s Crossfire, are made of individual gores giving the parachute a hemispherical or semi-elliptical shape. This results in a higher coefficient of drag and a more stable descent.
X-Type parachutes offer better stability. Unlike round parachutes, which tend to swing the rocket side-to-side, the X-form design allows air to vent consistently through its corners which eliminates the swing. This keeps the payload dropping straight down relative to the moving air mass and lessens the possible impact when the rocket reaches the ground.