I have some results of my efforts on this. The first thing I would suggest is anyone who owns this car should stretch the spring. This increases the momentum of the rocket (as well as the height it can reach. Secondly, it's important to experiment with the length of the red string. Too long and it allows the rocket to reach near the maximum of it's potential altitude, which results in it being less likely to pull the chute out. Too short and you don't get much glide time out of the capsule. I experimented with putting some pieces of lead solder wire inside the capsule to increase it's weight. This makes it come out of the rocket real well, but dramatically reduces it's glide/float time (so I removed it). But best of all, I think, is the little mod I put in to attach the string to the platform. Attaching it to the rails runs the risk of breaking them off. I tried attaching it to the support pieces under the rocket on the flatcar. It worked, but also yanks the rocket sideways. So.....in the photos below, you can see that I put a loop of string around the underside of the platform (around the "tube" that the screw passes through) and then up and out next to the plunger base. I attached a jewelry clip to the bottom of the red string which then easily attaches to the black loop. Good to go. See what you think.
Roger
