I'm wondering about the relative merits of two smaller chutes versus a single larger one to be motor deployed at apogee in a F/G/H LMR project.
It's a rear separation model that splits into fin can-forward airframe sections. I was considering a smaller chute for each section, with the harnesses attached by a long tether. I don't really want to chase down two sections per flight. I'm cheap and the smaller chutes would have application in other rockets, but a larger chute would be dedicated to this rocket only, for a while, at least.
I know that single chute recovery dominates in my application so I think that I'm overlooking an obvious problem or two. Any comments?