riggerrob 643
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Roger's recollection of the temporary pins brought to mind another sound reason for professional riggers to pack reserves and examine and maintain equipment.
In the late '70s an experienced European skydiver arrived at Z'hills - his first time in the States - and went moderately ballistic when told that he had to pay for a reserve repack.
"But I have malfunction last month and pack it myself in Holland!" he hollared.
"Sorry, pal."
"But I repack it only last month!"
"Sorry, Max."
"Okay! Okay! But I pull it," he demanded.
"No problem. You pull it."
So a really steaming Max put the rig on and fired the reserve. And found himself staring at the handle as the ball swedge went bouncing merrily across the floor of the loft. If I remember correctly, he had lost his reserve ripcord when he'd used the reserve a month earlier, and a local rigger had made a new one for him. Consensus was that the ball swedge had been over-tightened, resulting in a hairline fracture. A much-chastened Max happily paid his $15 and brought back two cases of beer.
In the late '70s an experienced European skydiver arrived at Z'hills - his first time in the States - and went moderately ballistic when told that he had to pay for a reserve repack.
"But I have malfunction last month and pack it myself in Holland!" he hollared.
"Sorry, pal."
"But I repack it only last month!"
"Sorry, Max."
"Okay! Okay! But I pull it," he demanded.
"No problem. You pull it."
So a really steaming Max put the rig on and fired the reserve. And found himself staring at the handle as the ball swedge went bouncing merrily across the floor of the loft. If I remember correctly, he had lost his reserve ripcord when he'd used the reserve a month earlier, and a local rigger had made a new one for him. Consensus was that the ball swedge had been over-tightened, resulting in a hairline fracture. A much-chastened Max happily paid his $15 and brought back two cases of beer.
Quotejust an obversation and i know most likely wrong but dont you guys think this thread is going to make more problems rather than help the average skydiver/student read this? i would of thought its going to scare a lot of people.
I can say for certain it scares me. I am also glad it is posted here. I am planning to work on my riggers ticket when I can find time and reading things like this will decrease the chance of me cutting corners for the sake of speed. I hope I never stop learning and can avoid being an example given in one of these threads. You need to trust your rigger enough to not worry about using your reserve. Understanding your gear can make it easier to trust the person.
"... this ain't a Nerf world."
I opened my brothers reserve for repack to find that the previous rigger had hand tacked the apex to the container by mistake!!
10 Man Speed- No Show Exits
Unstable 9
I've never found anything left in there by mistake, but I have seen one Truly unique thing....
A jumper at our DZ has an old Vector 2, made of Parapack, rather than cordura. His basement flooded, but because of the 'slick' feel to Parapack, he didn't know his rig was soaked. He continued to jump it, and naturally the main was aired out and he never even knew it was wet. He gave me the rig to repack 1/2 way through a boogie, and when I opened it, the Reserve parachute was COVERED in green, black, brown, and yellow-ish mold ~ I figured that the material itself wasn't molding (synthetic), but what we say was mold on organic compounds that came in with the water...
A jumper at our DZ has an old Vector 2, made of Parapack, rather than cordura. His basement flooded, but because of the 'slick' feel to Parapack, he didn't know his rig was soaked. He continued to jump it, and naturally the main was aired out and he never even knew it was wet. He gave me the rig to repack 1/2 way through a boogie, and when I opened it, the Reserve parachute was COVERED in green, black, brown, and yellow-ish mold ~ I figured that the material itself wasn't molding (synthetic), but what we say was mold on organic compounds that came in with the water...
=========Shaun ==========
pchapman 279
Quotethe Reserve parachute was COVERED in green, black, brown, and yellow-ish mold
How were pull tests??
(Which gets at the issue of the mold degrading the nylon vs. just being on it.)
BrianM 1
Quotethe Reserve parachute was COVERED in green, black, brown, and yellow-ish mold
... so what did you do with it?
"It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg
Unstable 9
QuoteHow were pull tests??
(Which gets at the issue of the mold degrading the nylon vs. just being on it.)
We didn't actually do a pull test then. We tried to clean a small area, and when we realized the mold was in all the layers of the fabric, we grounded it. I actually have that reserve in my closet still. It worked out well ~ our DZ has just bought new student reserves, so we sold this jumper a reserve (Sharpchuter 245) for $200, washed his container, and replaced a lot of parts after a VERY thorough inspection.
=========Shaun ==========
PhreeZone 20
Saw a GREAT one this last week. I was in a loft and they were packing a reserve that on inspection of the data card said something like "Noted 6 holes in canopy cell". Sure enough there were six holes in the canopies cell that the rigger did not patch. At least the rigger noted the defects found even if he did not fix the holes. 
I couldn't stop laughing since they were debating writing on the repack card things like "Patched holes previous rigger found and did not fix" or other witty replies.
Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery
Parachutemanuals.com
And tomorrow is a mystery
Parachutemanuals.com
QuoteSaw a GREAT one this last week. I was in a loft and they were packing a reserve that on inspection of the data card said something like "Noted 6 holes in canopy cell". Sure enough there were six holes in the canopies cell that the rigger did not patch. At least the rigger noted the defects found even if he did not fix the holes.
I couldn't stop laughing since they were debating writing on the repack card things like "Patched holes previous rigger found and did not fix" or other witty replies.
NICE!
How big were the holes?
"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message
Mike Gruwell has a great Wall of Shame...things found in reserve packs.
My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239
mchamp 1
Any photos's or more ridiculous stories?! 
For info regarding lift ticket prices all around the world check out
http://www.jumpticketprices.com/dropzones.asp
http://www.jumpticketprices.com/dropzones.asp
This thread makes me want to learn more about my gear, thanks for posting guys.
I popped my reserve for repack over the weekend and played around with it with my rigger present. Didn't find anything fun though, no lucky charms, maybe next time. 
I found a spot of pancake syrup on a reserve once.
Last repack I did I found the reserve link hat with one of the tacking threads poked through a line. Not major but I have found a ton of little things like that.
Last repack I did I found the reserve link hat with one of the tacking threads poked through a line. Not major but I have found a ton of little things like that.
_________________________
goat
derka jerka bukkake jihad
goat
derka jerka bukkake jihad
When I was just starting to learn how to pack reserves, I noted that one of the SLINK's was installed improperly. It was routed thru the lines once, but the riser twice.
Only one riser had it misrouted. It had been repacked by the same master riggers several times since the last wash/reassemble. Just so happened that I was learning under them.
Talk about the look on their faces.
It was MY rig, that I had been jumping. 
Needless to say, it just motivated me to get my ticket even more.
"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message
Unstable 9
QuoteWhen I was just starting to learn how to pack reserves, I noted that one of the SLINK's was installed improperly. It was routed thru the lines once, but the riser twice.
That's Kinda a big deal.....,
=========Shaun ==========
QuoteWhen I was just starting to learn how to pack reserves, I noted that one of the SLINK's was installed improperly. It was routed thru the lines once, but the riser twice.
Only one riser had it misrouted. It had been repacked by the same master riggers several times since the last wash/reassemble. Just so happened that I was learning under them.
Talk about the look on their faces.
It was MY rig, that I had been jumping.
Needless to say, it just motivated me to get my ticket even more.
Really, repacked?
Matt
An Instructors first concern is student safety.
So, start being safe, first!!!
So, start being safe, first!!!
missbrz 0
QuoteWhen I was just starting to learn how to pack reserves, I noted that one of the SLINK's was installed improperly. It was routed thru the lines once, but the riser twice.
Only one riser had it misrouted. It had been repacked by the same master riggers several times since the last wash/reassemble. Just so happened that I was learning under them.
Talk about the look on their faces.
It was MY rig, that I had been jumping.
Needless to say, it just motivated me to get my ticket even more.
glad I have a reliable rigger that will NEVER let any of that kind of stuff happen to me
piisfish 140
well not on his own rig at leastQuoteglad I have a reliable rigger that will NEVER let any of that kind of stuff happen to me
scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM
Quotewell not on his own rig at leastQuoteglad I have a reliable rigger that will NEVER let any of that kind of stuff happen to me
"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message
Quote
Really, repacked?
I'm fairly certian that it was atleast pulled out of the free bag, had weights placed on it over night, then put back in the next day.
Notice, I also said repack, not Inspect & Repack.
"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message
QuoteQuoteWhen I was just starting to learn how to pack reserves, I noted that one of the SLINK's was installed improperly. It was routed thru the lines once, but the riser twice.
Only one riser had it misrouted. It had been repacked by the same master riggers several times since the last wash/reassemble. Just so happened that I was learning under them.
Talk about the look on their faces.
It was MY rig, that I had been jumping.
Needless to say, it just motivated me to get my ticket even more.
glad I have a reliable rigger that will NEVER let any of that kind of stuff happen to me
Me too... Give me his name and a way to contact him so I can have a rigger I trust as well!
"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message
vanair 0
Ah yes, the big reason I got my ticket was my Safety-Star had the brakes tied wrong. Meaning the brakes would have released during opening. This was 1980. Never ran into anything major in others.
QuoteWhen I was just starting to learn how to pack reserves, I noted that one of the SLINK's was installed improperly. It was routed thru the lines once, but the riser twice.
Only one riser had it misrouted. It had been repacked by the same master riggers several times since the last wash/reassemble. Just so happened that I was learning under them.
Talk about the look on their faces.
It was MY rig, that I had been jumping.
Needless to say, it just motivated me to get my ticket even more.
Knowing where you jump, and who your rigger is, I am not surprised that Paiser did that.
I only find problems - inside reserve containers - maybe one percent of the time and few of those problems would be fatal.
Ergo, hesitating - before pulling a reserve ripcord - is worse than a waste of time.
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