I will try to explain the way I did it in my engineering class, I was given the same material (2 sheets of newspaper) and 12" tape (not as much as I want). Professor asked me to create one without a parachute.
I made a "cone" out of one sheet of newspaper (like a rocket). Then I used the 2nd newspaper (cut them in pieces and made balls which I called "foam around the egg") to make a shell for the egg, so it doesn't break. The point of this was for the sharpest corner (if you are looking at a V ... you want the bottom of V to drop first) to touch the ground first. The egg was safely covered somewhere in the middle of the V. Once it hit the ground, of course the bottom of V shape messed up. But the egg was fine. I dropped it 3 times, once from 3rd floor, once from 4th floor, and once from 5th floor (not to mention with the same egg). It was a success. Since then, I never felt the urge to use parachute anymore.
Good luck with your project. I hope I was able to help even a bit (I hope you understood what I was trying to explain). If you need any help, please don't hesitate to send me a message on chiefdelphi or Aim.
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Originally Posted by Billfred
One of the sheets has to be a parachute. This is non-negotiable for success--there's no way to do it without slowing down the egg.
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I do have disagree with you Billfred on this topic. But I am not saying that you are wrong. You have your own way to do things, I have my own. I have made one (the way I explained) and it worked (it didn't break even after dropping from 5th floor), I didn't slow the egg down, it dropped as fast as it could. But the egg didn't even have a crack. As I explained above, You do have to make sure that the basket/cover/shell/whatever you want to call it is "comfy" enough for the egg to sit.
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Originally Posted by sciguy125
If you made a cone for the basket, it could act as a cushion if it crumples correctly. You'd have to somehow make sure that it falls point straight down.
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Agreed Phil. That is the key to this project. You HAVE to make sure that it falls pointing straight down. The sharp corner has to hit the ground first.