Wes
Nitro Member
Was watching the event from Norwalk late last night on the DVR and noticed and alarming issue with more than a few nitro cars. The most glaring example was Hot Rod Fuller's car in his second round pass. As he crossed the finish line you could see the pilot chute start to exit the pack. Approximately .7 seconds later it finally cleared the pack and began to blossom. It stayed blossomed for just about a half second then started to fall limp. It bounced off the wheelie bar three times then actually started traveling forward towards the right rear tire. It struck the tire surface which threw it backwards enough to start to catch real air. The pilot chute then had enough pull to yank the main chute and shroud lines out of the pack. I timed 1.9 seconds between the time you can see the pack start to bulge (or when Rod pulled/pushed the lever) and when the main chute started to blossom. That's too long. Do the math and you can see how far down track Hot Rod traveled before the cute started to help slow the car.
Potential remedies include location of the chute packs, angle of the chute packs, and air lauchers. It would appear that Hot Rod's packs are too close to the car and are not allowing the pilot chute to catch air. The same can be said about the angle. If the pilot chute is being deployed straight out from the pack then it will be flying in a vaccum and unable to catch air. A more upright angle is needed. Air launchers are commonly used on Pro Mod and Pro Stock cars where the packs are mounted in a huge void and the chute needs all the help it can get to get into the 200+ MPH air flow. Why not install them on Top Fuel and Funny Cars?
NHRA noted that they were going to look into better materials and possibly having and SFI spec regarding mounting and deployment mechanisms. They also need to look at the overall design from the pack to the pilot chute to the lines to the main chute. Looks like the teams could beat them to the punch by solving some of the simple issues by using existing technology...like air launchers, "alternative" designs (Stroud!), and a lot more attention to where and how the packs are mounted.
Potential remedies include location of the chute packs, angle of the chute packs, and air lauchers. It would appear that Hot Rod's packs are too close to the car and are not allowing the pilot chute to catch air. The same can be said about the angle. If the pilot chute is being deployed straight out from the pack then it will be flying in a vaccum and unable to catch air. A more upright angle is needed. Air launchers are commonly used on Pro Mod and Pro Stock cars where the packs are mounted in a huge void and the chute needs all the help it can get to get into the 200+ MPH air flow. Why not install them on Top Fuel and Funny Cars?
NHRA noted that they were going to look into better materials and possibly having and SFI spec regarding mounting and deployment mechanisms. They also need to look at the overall design from the pack to the pilot chute to the lines to the main chute. Looks like the teams could beat them to the punch by solving some of the simple issues by using existing technology...like air launchers, "alternative" designs (Stroud!), and a lot more attention to where and how the packs are mounted.