Reserve Repacks

[RkyMtnHigh 0]

Who do you trust to do your repacks?

I'm curious because I have been loyal to certain riggers because I have watched how thoroughly repack my reserve and other basic maintenance and observations.

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[diablopilot 2]

I "trust" no one.

I get involved, do much of my own work, and know that ANYONE can make mistakes.

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[azureriders 0]

I will second JP on the fact that I "trust" no one. With that said, I use a well established master rigger with tons of experience who has saved my ass four times now. Although I still do not trust him, I will let him pack my reserve with out my attendance. I will also let anyone with a ticket pack my reserve any where and any time that I need it packed with my attendance. What will my attendance do you ask? Although I have no ticket, I have read the owner's manual of all my rigs and reserves. The points that I did not fully understand, I asked my master rigger and now have a better understanding. So, yes I trust myself, even with no ticket, to observe most anyone who I am in need of to pack my reserve.

I can't find the actuall quote, but Walt Disney once said that any horse back rider should 'know' how to shoe a horse, even if they had no intention of ever being a farrier. I think the same logic applies here, and even more so.

[AndyMan 7]

Packing a parachute isn't rocket science. I'll let virtually any properly rated rigger pack my rig once. Whether or not they get repeat business depends on customer service.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

I trust myself to read the manual each time, pack it as carefully as any other rig without a reserve, and to get expert opinions on anything the least bit unright.

I've seen reserves assembled without slider stoppers, no torque stripes on hard links, no notation or evidence of service bulletin compliance, pop-tops that don't set flush, and reserve bridles which weren't routed according to the manufacturer's instructions. Some of that's unsafe, some just sloppy.

I know one person who jumped a harness that was hot-glued but not sewn together (after inspection, assembly, and repack of course). That's potentially fatal.

I've seen pictures of molar straps around reserves, brake lines routed through the wrong gromets, closing loops not routed through Cypres cutters, and pilot chute fabric stuffed under the decrotaive cap. Those sorts of problems range from definitely fatal to possibly.

It doesn't take much to get a rigging certificate, too many people are muppets, and people are unlikely to volunteer anything negative.

There are good riggers. I never knew closing loops needed replacing until my first rigger moved (he always replaced them when they were a little worn) or that everyone didn't provide an inspection checklist with tools in and out counts. The problem is that the word-of-mouth they get isn't too different from the ones that are just good guys people like to hang around with.

[DougH 270]

Me... with the supervision of my ticket holding friend.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[birdlike 0]

I trust a rigger who's recommended to me by fellow skydivers who are more experienced than I am (that's most of them), when they say he/she is good.

I try to go by established reputation.

Spirits fly on dangerous missions
Imaginations on fire

[Broke 0]

I will trust a rigger who is highly recommended by more than just a handful of people. Also one who has a very good attention to detail. Last time I got my rig repacked I shipped it to my new rigger. He has even taught me a few things that skydivers should know about their gear.

Divot your source for all things Hillbilly.
Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[jimjumper 25]

Myself! Get your riggers ticket. It's not rocket science.

[drjump 0]

In other words if your reserve does not work you would not take it back for another repack?

[AndyMan 7]

Pretty much, yup.


A reserve packjob is a great example of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. You simply can not observe the state of a packjob without disturbing the packjob. Most jumpers aren't willing (or qualified) to open up a rig to judge that quality of the work.

Picking a variety of riggers who've been trained and certified makes no more, or no less sense than picking one and sticking with him.

An truism of the stock market is that Past Performance does not equate to future performance. I think that applies equally here, too.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[pinkfairy 0]

I'd trust a new rigger if it was a jumper I knew, and I liked his/her attitudes and how he/she packed his/her main. I might ask to watch.

I wouldn't let a rigger I knew nothing about pack my reserve, but I'd let him/her do other tasks with my gear, such as attaching a new main or something like that.

Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet.

I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

[hackish 8]

I think a new rigger should be as capable of packing the reserve as any other.

The big experience difference I find is in looking at the rig and its setup and judging what is acceptable wear and what is not. More than once it's taken me longer than normal to assemble and pack a rig because I had to take it to the local rigger b for second opinions.

Opening some packjobs they're really wrinkly and sometimes the lines have moved a little. Some are so neat that they look like they were ironed and the lines sit side by side like combed hair. I am confident both would open. Some of the messiest ones were packed by old riggers and some of the neatest ones by newbies.

-Michael

[swoopgaz 0]

exactly right. I have a ticket to pack reserves and if someone without a ticket asks me to pack their reserve but they are gonna supervise me i'll tell them to find another packer. I don't know about anyone else but i'm not gonna have someone checkup/telling me how to pack a reserve who hasn't gone and done the ticket themselves

[irishrigger 32]

before i became a rigger myself,i always asked the more expirienced jumpers about a good rigger to use.there is certainly a lot of good riggers out there who do a very professional job.
unfortuntaly there is also some yahoo's and cowboys out there,and as this forum shows sometimes,mistakes are made by riggers.most mistakes are normally caught at the next repack by a different rigger and because the person was lucky enough not to have a cutaway.
i personally have done 2400 reserves repacks andhave 175 saves from those.looking back when i started,i asked myself the question,what am i looking for in a rigger?
here is what i do when someone comes to me looking for a repack.
i talk to the customer and ask him details about him,jumps,canopy sizes and how much do they know about there equipment.i always get them to pull there handles infront of me.i encourage the customer to stay and observe the repack,and i answer any questions that they have.a lot of people out there dont know much about there gear,and thats from student to expirienced jumpers.so i take time and explain things.
also the facilities for rigging.i try to ensure that my loft is neat and tidy,to make a good impression.know as some of yous know there are times where it is raining freebags and a loft can get mess up real quick.
but i also try to act professional at all times and friendly.
those would be some points that i would look for.but i do agree i would not take advice from a customer that does not have his/her ticket yet.i had one customer who honestly believed that her reserve gets repacked excactly like her main in about 10min!!! that was an eye opener to say the least and funny as hell.she left the loft with a differnet attidude i am glad to say.

so even today i would use another rigger if i had to,even though i have a master ticket myself,as long as they show me the same things that i do.

just my 2cents

rodger

[pinkfairy 0]

There was just recently a rigger over here who lost his ticket. Several other riggers had opened his reserve pack jobs and not liked what they saw, but the reason why the parachute association stopped him and took a way his license was that they found a reserve pack job with his name on it where the slinks that connected the reserve risers to the reserve weren't closed properly. I don't need to explain what would have happened if someone had tried to use that reserve. Now he's not even allowed to pack a main.

So no, I don't trust a rigger just because he has a riggers ticket.

And if my friend who is becoming a rigger wanted to pack my reserve, I'd like to watch. Not really that much to supervise, but mainly to learn. And he wouldn't mind that at all.

The rigger I'm using now would let me watch too. It's my gear, I decide who should pack it, and of course I'm interested in how it's done.

Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet.

I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

[repcool 2]

I am not so bothered about how many pack jobs a rigger has but more how many saves there have been. Anything more than a couple tells me that some folks owe their life to him and thats enough for me.

Another thing, it might not be good logic on my part but someone that repacks tandems is good in my book. I seem to see a lot of tandem chops and whoever is doing the repack is getting decent saves.

Of course, that doesn't account for the fact that the same person might be packing the mains!

[skybytch 273]

Quote

but I'd let him/her do other tasks with my gear, such as attaching a new main

Why wouldn't you do that yourself? Doesn't require a piece of paper...

Personally, although I have a piece of paper that says I can pack my own reserve, I currently choose to have it done by someone who has more saves than I have pack jobs.

[swoopgaz 0]

I agree with you and i do pretty much exactly the same as you do when some one brings me a rig to pack. The point of my comment was i won't let someone who hasn't gone and done they're ticket supervise me pack their reserve to tell me wether it is right or not. I encourage people to take part in it and learn about there gear

[morten 0]

I trust a certified rigger, who'll allow me to watch him packing the reserve, and explain to me what he's doing, while he's packing it.
It's extremely comforting to know the reasoning behind the (not so mysterious) mysteries of reserve packing.

[BIGUN 1,317]

I've had the same rigger since 1981.
His anal retentive diligence is appreciated by the entire community.
You don't get to just hand him money and grab your rig and go.
He will sit down with you and go over his checklist line item by line item with you and tell you what he saw, what he did to fix, what's coming up (batteries, etc.).
His tool count is even on his invoice.
It's like getting your blood test results from the doctor.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[Broke 0]

My new rigger notes when the next pack job is due on the data card. I like that a lot, because now I don't have to think about when it is due.

Divot your source for all things Hillbilly.
Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[BIGUN 1,317]

Yeah, well mine puts one of those little sharpie dots on the plastic portion of the reserve flap cover with the next pack date so I don't have to dig out my PDC... so there...

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[tbrown 26]

I look for a rigger who has a good reputation. then I establish a realationship with my rigger. It's like shopping for a doctor, dentist, or pediatrician.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !