[quote name='ElWanderer'][COLOR=#333333]
It's been reported that a mk1 pod with a heatshield is too heavy and aerodynamic to slow down effectively unless you reduce the amount of ablator during ship design
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[quote name='EditorRUS'][COLOR=#333333]
Heat shields are very heavy and you should shrug off some of ablator since you won't need it anyway
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[quote name='GoSlash27']
Attach the heat shield with a decoupler. Once you've gotten through the reentry heating and deceleration drops below 2 Gs, decouple the shield. You will slow in plenty of time to deploy chutes after that.
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I really like this workaround, it works well, thanks.