PARACHUTE anyone ?

Maybe someone has encountered a small scale parachute ?

I'd like to add a safety parachute to the Arducopter !! help me decide....

As part of the project is to use an expensive DSLR on the copter,

My GF said i must have some kind of emergency parachute... after joking at it, i thought deeper -

I'd rather feel much safer having a parachute as backup to all electronics (even though i plan on 6 or 8 motors)

Just imagine an emergency button that will immediately turn off all motors and shoot a parachute.

questions:

as parachute takes some time to open (=some free fall height), the benefits are sure and obvious for a 100m fall.

but if i'm around 5m above ground, (which can still be nasty to the DSLR) - would i have enough "falling time" to open the parachute and having enough braking force ?

think i better make one by myself ? is it rather simple as cutting and connecting wires to a cloth,

or it is more complex design that i could hardly achieve and i better get a ready one ?

i came across this as the only parachute i could find:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-40-SPEED-RUNNING-POWER-CHUTE-training-parachute-/220760637799?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33665c0167

It looks sturdy and well balanced & stuff... it's totally affordable !

they say the 40" version has 7KG resistance. i'm safe on this side, i dont want a much bigger one.

how about the opening technique ?

i could stuff it in a small plastic tube attached to the top of the dome, using a small solenoid or servo to kick it out...

how do i ensure it opens reliably ? i guess it depends on the folding inside the storage tube...

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Comments

Jeffrey Torella March 27, 2011 at 10:50am

dicks sporting goods same one as pictured football training gear area they can help
Moderator

Brian March 27, 2011 at 10:15am

At one point I was going to use a chute to slow down the landing speed on a fast plane. I got a Starter chute from a friend who sky dives. The starter is the small chute that pulls the larger one out when they pull the cord. They are very high in quality and must be replaced at regular times so if you poke around a local sky dive club or school you are bound to find a used one on the cheap. I'll dig up a picture.
Bernard Michaud March 27, 2011 at 10:14am

I'am interested to know the additionnal weight of the parachute system.

Thanks ..
ARHEXA March 27, 2011 at 10:06am

Marting, bingo !

and i see a parachute has already been done !!

do you have more info about the used parachute ?

of course it will have an independent battery, independent radio system (maybe two frequencies),

along with a power relay that will immediately disconnect the main LIPO from all the electronics.
ARHEXA March 27, 2011 at 9:55am

Thanks for replies,

This is for a quadcopter so tearing wings is not relevant...

Matthew, cool example,

but somehow i feel that my quadcopter might fall much faster and harder than this light plane...

you have to agree that an airbag sounds more complicated than a parachute,

plus the airbag should be below the camera, and the quadcopter might flip over during free fall, ending in crashing on the non-airbag side....
Matthew Coleman March 27, 2011 at 9:29am

How about using an airbag instead?

Video of UAV airbag landing at 1:22

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRr4AVZgr0Q&feature=related

Thanks to brian for showing me this in a previous thread
Zak March 27, 2011 at 8:39am

Interesting. They (hobbyking) offer some parachutes, but they are more for paragliders. (Strangely, they don't have any airframes built on paragliders, but I digress on that point.) Looking at the forums on line, apparently when some people used them in an emergency, they ripped of their wings. I will be interested in what you come up with. I'm considering - eventually - building a ppc like uav, but we'll see.

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