Talk:Mk2-R Radial-Mount Parachute

More drag through more mass

Because of the way the drag coefficient is calculated, the 50% greater mass of the radial chute gives it 50% more drag than the Mk16 parachute, so one isn't preferred over the other. --einsteiner

Hi looks about right. Although you need to account for other parts additional to the parachute like the Mk1-2 Command Pod. It gives you a drag coefficient of either 18.2650602 (Mk2-R) or 12.3902439 (Mk16) which is about 67 % the drag of the Mk2-R. (PS: sign with --~~~~ and it will also add time and date of your comment) — xZise [talk] 03:22, 29 August 2013 (CDT)

Thanks for the signature tip. Since terminal velocity only depends on drag coefficent, it is the mass of parachutes you have, not any one specifically. In this forum thread ThePsuedoMonkey generated some nice plots of terminal velocity vs the fraction of your craft that is parachutes (by mass). It's sobering to realize you need 3 tons of parachutes to safely land a 10 ton booster! --Einsteiner (talk) 14:24, 29 August 2013 (CDT)

In theory it also depends on the complete craft. There is the drogue parachute: “Remember that drogue 'chutes are about 1/3 as effective as the other parachutes per unit mass.” Also not all parts have a coefficient of 0.2. Okay most of them do, but that is only an estimation. So simplified you are correct: It only depends on the parachutes' mass compared to the mass of the rest. But using the drag formula strictly gives you different values (usually a lower touch down speed when you are not using drogue parachutes). — xZise [talk] 14:56, 29 August 2013 (CDT)