I'm still digging into a cold-release mechanism (or minimally pyrotechnic) for main chute deployment, and while I've found a couple items (Blacksky's & Defy Gravity's) neither is quite what I want... overkill for my application. The DefyGravity tether looks like it would blow my 4" rocket apart, and Blacksky's rig seems overly complex (and pricey). Lacking any other method I'll use a parachute burrito, but I have a "vision" of what I want to accomplish, and that isn't it.
I've a couple ideas, but one key thing I don't really know.... what is the actual load on a parachute during descent? Is it simply the weight of the rocket? I understand that transient stresses and shock loading will be more than that (perhaps substantially more), but the working, constant load is my interest. If the load is simply the weight of the rocket, then a cold release mechanism for a rocket weighing 5 pounds is not a big deal.
Has anyone ever done a system in which the main chute is deployed but reefed, acting as a drogue until deployment altitude, when a sliding reef is released and the chute allowed to fill? Not sure it could be easily accomplished, but heck, I figure it doesn't hurt to ask,...
Can anyone point me to a "parachute geeks" book or page so I can get seriously silly about this issue? I've looked at many of the rocketry related sites but have not found the depth of info I desire.
TIA for any suggestions.
Kevin OClassen NAR 13578