Ez2cDave
Well-Known Member
Altitude will have the greatest effect, in my opinion . . .Thanks for the informative responses. I learned a lot.
One question I have is how to quantify the effects of temperature and elevation on the final altitude achieved. The Northville team minimized drag on their design to limit these variables but did not detail how to model them in their mass-altitude plot. Are temperature, elevation, and humidity effects low enough to ignore?
Thanks,
Walter
As Altitude increases, Air Pressure decreases . . . As Air Pressure decreases, Drag decreases . . . As Drag decreases, Altitude INCREASES.
As Altitude increases, Air Pressure decreases and Descent Rate INCREASES . . . As Descent Rate increases, Duration decreases . . . As Duration decreases, the Area of the Parachute must INCREASE to offset the change.
An extreme example would be launching a model from Death Valley ( 122 deg F and 282.2 feet BELOW Sea Level ) and then launching the SAME model from the top of Pikes Peak, in Colorado ( 22.5 deg F and 14,115 feet ABOVE Sea Level ) . . . The difference in performance would be quite large !
Dave F.