Is it true that Estes can't sell a parachute with printing on it any more? I'll cut the end off a bag of Wonderbread before I use a plain white parachute. (Yes,and use the end of the bread bag for a parachute).

Yep, product saftey restrictions from China. Paint had some stuff in it like LEAD

I think that the unprinted parachutes were just a temporary thing while they worked to get into compliance with their printed versions. I sincerely doubt that Estes will ever abandon the use of patterned parachutes.

MarkII

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SAM # 0011

Well then, I guess when I say
" that flight went over like a Lead Parachute"
theres actually some truth to it?


Remember kids don't suck on your parachutes? New stickers Do not eat?
.

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http://hotrodrockets.weebly.com/
Ring Master of the Flying Circus!

At this point i would buy a kit without a parachute. I hope that the "holdup" is more than parachutes

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craftsman, builder of exotics

Oh, but plastic parachutes are so tasty! (Extreme sarcasm)

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"Men and steel are alike. When they lose their temper they lose their worth." - Chuck Norris

Why? Have you actually tried it? They are very visible against a blue sky and they're not bad even in overcast conditions. This is speaking from experience - both my own and others I have flown with as recently as earlier today. The plain white ones work just fine.

There is a possible bright side to this. One day unopened kits with the plain white 'chutes may be collectors' items! Also, is Quest similarly affected or do they have their 'chutes made elsewhere?

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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

All of this fuss over a few white parachutes?! Sheesh....!

I never knew, after all of these years, that I was doing it wrong. I never even thought about selecting a rocket kit based on the color of its little plastic parachute. How was I to know that it was the most crucial element in the whole kit? And that the lack of a printed pattern on their 'chutes was more than enough reason to skip the whole company? I mean, what was I thinking for all of that time?!?

MarkII

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SAM # 0011

At last, *now* we know why MMI (Model Missiles, Inc.), the world's first model rocket company, went out of business. I always thought it was because their parachutes were square instead of the proper hexagonal or octagonal shape--I would never have dreamed it was because their 'chutes were plain red plastic with no printed patterns! :-)

Which brings up an interesting question: Were Estes' very first parachutes also a plain color or colors with no printed patterns? (I know that they sold black plastic 'chute material at least as far back as the late 1960s.) I think Centuri's plastic 'chutes (they also sold silk 'chutes in their early days) were always imprinted with patterns, even at the very beginning.

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR