yeah, thanks I found a kite shop, hang-em-high...I guess it got me thinking. I wasn't sure if stitching really weakened fabric, I thought it did. I seem to remember the parachute cord was stitched into channels. But I think they were on the top of the chute and there were many cords to distribute things. It does appear that tyvek is cheaper than nylon. ----- Original Message ----- From: "William Chops Westfield" To: Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2003 6:47 PM Subject: Re: [ot]: tough fiber envelope > this is kind of what I was thinking about, you might know, does stitching > weaken it in any significant way? > > Probably. Similar to the way that stitching weakens any fabric, I would > think... > > > I was thinking of what it might be worth to use it for parachutes. But > maybe it's too strong or too expensive or maybe too heavy. > > Well, the availability in kite stores implies that it's light enough for > flight. In fact, at www.intothewind.com, the tyvek they sell is reported to > be pretty close to exactly the same weight as their "3/4oz" ripstop nylon. > I don't know exactly how the strength comparison goes. The tyvek is MUCH > cheaper than "1st rate" ripstop... Tyvek tends to lack the "springyness" > that causes a ripstop chute to "pop" open so easilly. I'm not sure how > important that is in larger chutes/rockets... > > BillW > > -- > http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList > mailto:piclist-unsubscribe-request@mitvma.mit.edu -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList mailto:piclist-unsubscribe-request@mitvma.mit.edu