Ping Pong Parachute B/C

[SciolyMaster]

So SoCal just posted a rule clarification:

Q: "Can a weight like a washer or a lgob of clay be taped to the ping pong ball. Not glued, but taped so it can be removed. Is this considered altering the ping pong ball? Is this legal?"

A: "No, a weight of any kind may not be added to the ping pong ball."

So apparently taping strings are allowed but taping anything else isn't. Next thing you know they're gonna ban parachutes smh

LMFAO this is hilarious
tbh it's probably counterproductive to add weight to the ball, but still

[lavarball]

So SoCal just posted a rule clarification:

Q: "Can a weight like a washer or a lgob of clay be taped to the ping pong ball. Not glued, but taped so it can be removed. Is this considered altering the ping pong ball? Is this legal?"

A: "No, a weight of any kind may not be added to the ping pong ball."

So apparently taping strings are allowed but taping anything else isn't. Next thing you know they're gonna ban parachutes smh

LMFAO this is hilarious
tbh it's probably counterproductive to add weight to the ball, but still

If you thought adding weight to the ball was a bad idea then you’re behind

[xiangyu]

So SoCal just posted a rule clarification:

Q: "Can a weight like a washer or a lgob of clay be taped to the ping pong ball. Not glued, but taped so it can be removed. Is this considered altering the ping pong ball? Is this legal?"

A: "No, a weight of any kind may not be added to the ping pong ball."

So apparently taping strings are allowed but taping anything else isn't. Next thing you know they're gonna ban parachutes smh

LMFAO this is hilarious
tbh it's probably counterproductive to add weight to the ball, but still

If you thought adding weight to the ball was a bad idea then you’re behind

Hmm really? In my experience adding weight achieves the same effect as a smaller parachute. How does it make it better?

[CookiePie1]

LMFAO this is hilarious
tbh it's probably counterproductive to add weight to the ball, but still

If you thought adding weight to the ball was a bad idea then you’re behind

Hmm really? In my experience adding weight achieves the same effect as a smaller parachute. How does it make it better?

I think it's really relative to how heavy the parachute canopy and strings are as compared to the ball itself. Maybe if you have a huge heavy parachute it might need some weight on the ping pong ball, but if the parachute is light then the weight of the ping pong ball itself is probably sufficient to stablize it.

EDIT: The weight of the ping pong ball is probably to maintain enough tension in the parachute cords so that the weight force is slightly greater than the drag force on the canopy. If the canopy creates a ton of drag (more than the weight of the ball) then the parachute would probably collapse or something like that.

[jaggie34]

LMFAO this is hilarious
tbh it's probably counterproductive to add weight to the ball, but still

If you thought adding weight to the ball was a bad idea then you’re behind

Hmm really? In my experience adding weight achieves the same effect as a smaller parachute. How does it make it better?

It should decrease swinging of the parachute, but the cost of the added weight likely *outweighs* the benefit of less swinging

[sciencenerd123]

So SoCal just posted a rule clarification:

Q: "Can a weight like a washer or a lgob of clay be taped to the ping pong ball. Not glued, but taped so it can be removed. Is this considered altering the ping pong ball? Is this legal?"

A: "No, a weight of any kind may not be added to the ping pong ball."

So apparently taping strings are allowed but taping anything else isn't. Next thing you know they're gonna ban parachutes smh

LMFAO this is hilarious
tbh it's probably counterproductive to add weight to the ball, but still

If you thought adding weight to the ball was a bad idea then you’re behind

I use a big parachute and I just add tape to my ping pong to make it heavier since nothing else is allowed.

[CookiePie1]

Well 4.b. requires that teams justify their pressure selection using past trials (which should indicate their device can tolerate that pressure), and 5.c. requires the ES to verify they actually pressurized the device to the stated pressure. Also, since hitting the ceiling incurs a large penalty (Tier 3), I don't think in most spaces that an extremely high pressure would offer any advantage...

well, it all really depends on the rocket and the location. For example, at MIT, the celing height was 55 feet. That's really high, and for many teams, using a very high pressure might very well be worth it to try and get as high as possible. If your rocket is very heavy or not aerodynamic, then you might need a higher pressure to get it up to your desired height.

[Teykn]

Any recommended launchpads to buy? I’m mainly looking for one that can measure the PSI since that’s an important factor that has to be recorded.

[sciolyperson1]

Any recommended launchpads to buy? I’m mainly looking for one that can measure the PSI since that’s an important factor that has to be recorded.

Nerds inc launcher (common standard for most competitions) + external psi gauge (usually more accurate than ones directly attached to launcher)

[Teykn]

Any recommended launchpads to buy? I’m mainly looking for one that can measure the PSI since that’s an important factor that has to be recorded.

Nerds inc launcher (common standard for most competitions) + external psi gauge (usually more accurate than ones directly attached to launcher)

Any specific external psi gauge you can recommend? Not a lot of specifications on the size of the piping/tubes for the nerds inc launcher.