Re: Parachute

[DOUG ODOM <popms@thegrid.net>]

Wes; My $.02 worth. The big difference between drag cars and LSR cars
is the size of the tire you have on the ground and the weight of the
car. I don't know of many drag cars that run 7 or 8 hundred pounds of
ballast. On the really fast LSR cars I would think they would copy the
Air Force or space shuttle type of parachute deployment. The other day
on TV I saw the space shuttle land and the chute was out before the
wheels touched the ground but it looked like it was rolled up so it
unfurled and got bigger the longer it was out. Is this a way to soften
the hit? 
                        Doug Odom in big ditch

Wester S Potter wrote:
> 
> List,
> 
> This braking parachute question always leaves me wondering why the drag
> racers can slow from 300 mph passes with a parachute time after time without
> very many incidents.  What is the big difference in slowing from 300 at a
> drag strip and slowing from 380 or so on the salt?  I'm sure I'm missing the
> point here somewhere but something is at work on tethers and chute design
> for land-speed applications that is primarily solved in drag racing.  The
> discussion early this year on how to find the optimum point for placing a
> tether connection made sense as I read it.  The cars that have problems on
> the salt are primarily placing that connection in the wrong place and
> disturbing the balance of the car at speed.  I realize that drag cars differ
> so little that once someone gets it right it's easy for everyone to do the
> same thing.  Not so with land-speed cars.  The basilc ability of getting the
> parachute to deploy and do it's job seems to be the same however.  The
> tether straps are able to handle the same loads on dragsters, ribbon chutes
> and the cross panel chutes hold up, what is so different on the salt?  The
> Burkland's car certainly had enough thought in the design area  for braking
> but now Tom has gone back to the drawing board to see what he missed.
> Obviously the deployment of the chutes was at speeds higher than he had
> intended.  What's the answer?
> 
> Wes