foosball_movie

Hi.

After witnessing nearly a crash a day at my local field and noticing a reference to a parachute in another thread, I am wondering if there is a parachute recovery system available? After researching the recovery system for full size planes [link=http://www.brsparachutes.com/default.aspx]http://www.brsparachutes.com/default.aspx[/link] , it looks like it could be made with a small toy rocket and a parachute.

I've seen a video [link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtIL_VjBUGo]X1 rocket video with B-29[/link] in which a X1 plane is released from a B29 and then a rocket is ignited and it shoots up into the sky. So there is a way to make to the rocket part work.

capt17

The problem is most people don't realize they are going to crash until it hits the ground. It happens so fast you can't react to throw a switch and wait for a parachute to deploy and open? It might exist, but I don't know how effective it would be.

rwright142

I used to have a BRS parachute on my ultralight and it was deployed with a solid fuel rocket. I don't know how you'd get one to ignite in an RC plane? If you could, would the damage from the rocket ignition be as bad or worse than the damage from shaking hands with Mother Earth?

I have to agree with capt17 in that the crashes happen so close to the ground that you would not have enough time to react. Plus, if you could react in time, you may panic enough that you would not be able to reach the switch in time or would there even be enough time for the chute to deploy?

I think your time would be more wisely spent trying to figure out why there is nearly a crash a day at your local field and take the appropriate measures to ensure you don't make the same mistakes. Pilot error is the main reason for crashes and that includes mechanical failures. By that I mean if a hinge fails then it was not installed right, checked before the flight, or the plane was flown beyond it's structural limits.

Hope that made sense.

rlipsett

the thing with a parachute rescue system is if you had time enough to use the system you have more then enough time to correct the airplane unless you have a catastrophic aircraft failure

MadDriver

And I think it's safe to say that most crashes happen due to pilot error, and not a malfunctioning airplane... at least from what I've seen.

WILDCRASHWILLY

I'm not sure about this statement, and it won't matter to people that are not AMA members. However,,, did read somewhere where it is against AMA rules to have a ballistic device on an rc airplane,,ie. rocket motors. Again I'm not sure about this and since I'm at work can't verify my statement. I hope someone can verify this one way or the other.

Dave trimmer

yes it does, check out the oct 1994 issue of model airplane news(pg 42) he would puposely land them like that.

Edit: WAS NOT BALLISTIC

agexpert

My Feedback: (1)

I think every beginner, myself included, at leas THINKS of this question.

The truth is, as stated above, that if you had the time to deploy such a thing, you would have time to save your plane. Crashes happen due to disorientation and inexperience at the sticks for beginners. Crashes happen due to mechanical failures and a host of other reasons for more experienced flyers as well.

The best thing to do in any case is to learn to avoid the things that cause crashes as much as possible. A parachute system, no matter what design, has no hope of being practical in an RC trainer....ever.

Skill and experience are not so easily substituted, unfortunately. There is no short-cut to the learning curve, and the harder you try to make a plane 'crash-resistant', the less you will be actually learning to fly the thing.

I wish there were a shortcut to learning rolling harriers, but there just isn't.......DANG IT!!!


Best of luck to you man, just fly the thing as much as possible and this question will leave your mind all-together.

saramos

Even if there was a workable system, there's still the issue of weight.

ho2zoo

My Feedback: (5)

Yes it was done 10 or 12 years ago. A company marketed a system that had a parachute packed in a box mounted on top of the plane. I'm not sure I remember how it was deployed; I don't think it was a rocket but more like a spring that would kick the parachute out. It would activate when the pilot released a spring loaded switch. I remember the video showed a trainer in a power dive and the parachute popped out and floated it to the ground.

It's been discussed here before, but I'm sure the company is long since gone. Because of the reasons everyone has listed above; takes time to deploy, too expensive, too heavy, etc. Just not really practical.

Now what I'm waiting for is a transmitter with a 'pause' button![8D]

drewhosick

I would think you could put it underneath the plane with a trap door that opens up with a servo letting the chute out. So it might land upside down but it will save the plane most likely in the event of a wing falling off or a malfunctioning servo on control surfaces. Heck if you have the PCM thing you could set it to open if you loose radio control of the aircraft and just make sure your throttle also is set to cut in that case.

jak_kkaall

I've made a few parachutes over the years, from the smallest of half a meter diameter to one of almost 3m and I liked to throw a bottle of water and watch how it deploys and slowly descend. Now, after days of working I've managed to make my biggest chute of all and an functional release system in a gas airplane.
The chute is made from polyethylene the one that we cover the furniture when painting the house, but not the softest, it is very light material a sort of nylon that can be very hard glued. I've made it of 5m diameter so that an object (the plane in this case) of about 7-8kg will have no more than 2,5 - 3m/s descent rate. It was quite difficult to make it in a two bedroom apartment but not impossible. When I pack it its quite small.
The plane is Great Planes 27% CAP 232. The chute is mounted in the cockpit. Long story short: two servos pull 4 pins, unlocking the reinforced canopy. A spring pushes it up, the air does the rest, blows the canopy of the plane and inflates the chute. I've mounted the lines under the chute in an similar order as on the real chutes like in S shape and a soft paper on top not to get in touch with the chute.
Of course I didn't attached the chute directly on the airframe, I mounted 2 bolts in the landing gear wood block and an aluminium piece from them to the firewall which are the strongest places on the plane. From here two strong elastic cords (from an fitness extensor) go trough the fuselage to the cockpit and another two non elastic cords of different lengths with springs are the second and third impact absorbers. Also I've mounted a slider ring over the 32 lines like on real chutes so that it deploys gradually also reducing the shock. The shock cords go trough two O ring metal shapes that are attached to the internal structure so that if the chute is above the plane the stress will not go on the cockpit panel itself. The entire weight of it is about 600g from which the chute is 450g.
I've been dreaming at this system for many years but it seamed hard to realise. It was more like a challenge if I can do such a system. The system has been tested on the ground and it works, the canopy is blown out, and the chute is trown out and starts the inflation but because of the ground it can't fully inflate. I realise that there are situations in which a chute can save a plane, or not and I don't know if the structure of the plane would resist with all the measures taken but I know that if it can be used in one situation of lets say wing break or elevator break at some altitude the chute will make the difference between ''the plane survived with minimum or some damage'' and ''the plane is completely destroyed with all it's insides''.
This plane floats very well, it's been like a testing platform for me over the years, and I don't plan on making it lighter to perform 3D so for my sport flying the extra weight has little efect. My post is an answer to the person who started this thread and to those that, like me decided that for them it's worth making this project and carrying the extra weight. I've read all the threads about this and I'm aware about the scepticism. I'm not asking here anybody if it can be done or if it's worth doing it. I'm presenting it all done and working, I've made my decision if it's worth or not for me when I started building it. Maybe if I also had 10 gas planes I wouldn't bother on anything else than flying them. I'm addressing and want to inspire those that are interested. Thank you!