Taking Dewolf's rigging course in a few weeks. Any tips would be great.

[goingdown31 0]

I've been a packer at my DZ for about a year now, and I decided I want my ticket. Has anyone taken his course before? What should I do to prepare myself? Any advice in general would be great.

Thanks, Blues!

[woppyvac 0]

DONT BUY CHECK KNEE PADS!

Woot Woot!

[goingdown31 0]

.....Any particular reason?

[theonlyski 8]

Quote

.....Any particular reason?

If you haven't done your repacks prior to the course, you'll do them during the course most likely.

If you do 4 a day, for 5 days, you should be good and sore... but the other problem is you're not able to focus on the learning at hand and practice sewing skills that many riglets have issues with.

"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

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

I didn't take Dave's course, so this is general info -

To echo 'Ski, have your 20 packs done, so you don't have to worry about getting them done during the course.

Know your knots.

Know the regs.

Know how to sew. I don't mean being an accomplished seamstress (tailor, whatever). I mean have a good solid understanding of how the machine makes a stitch, how thread and bobbin tension affect the stitch, how to fill and insert a bobbin and how to sew two pieces of fabric together.

This is all stuff you can learn during the class. But it's stuff you can easily learn before, and knowing it in advance gives you more time and opportunity to learn more "rigging" stuff.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[goingdown31 0]

Thanks for the replies. I am going to do some repacks before the course, but as far as sewing goes I'm clueless at the moment. I have been studying the written part for a few weeks now, and feel pretty confident about it.

Thanks again,
Blues.

[SStewart 13]

It does not matter if you have your twenty packs done before the course, you will still have to do them during the course under supervision and have them witnessed and signed off by Dave or his instructors.
Many folks show up with the twenty packs signed off and are surprised to find out that it doesn't count and they still have to do them.
Well, it may count in that you have a head start with practice but that is all. If you already know how to pack a reserve the 20 should go pretty quickly and then you can concentrate on other stuff.

When I took Dave's course I had hundreds of reserve packs both round and square, chest and back, and he still made me do 20 more.
All you need is to be able to pack a main canopy, they will teach you the rest.

---former DeWolf student and instructor

Onward and Upward!

[theonlyski 8]

Quote

It does not matter if you have your twenty packs done before the course, you will still have to do them during the course under supervision and have them witnessed and signed off by Dave or his instructors.
Many folks show up with the twenty packs signed off and are surprised to find out that it doesn't count and they still have to do them.
Well, it may count in that you have a head start with practice but that is all. If you already know how to pack a reserve the 20 should go pretty quickly and then you can concentrate on other stuff.

When I took Dave's course I had hundreds of reserve packs both round and square, chest and back, and he still made me do 20 more.

Doesn't count according to who? Pretty sure the FAA would disagree with that one.

"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

[ctrph8 0]

There is SO much to learn just to get the basics down. It is entirely possible to go there and learn what you need to learn but I'd suggest doing as much learning as you can in advance so you can focus more time on the concepts that are giving you trouble and less on the other stuff.

Start sewing! Have someone show you how to do a basic patch and go wrestle with that for a while. The more you do, the better. You don't need a big commercial machine to practice (although it would help). You just need to get the patch done correctly when you are learning. My first patches were UGLY!

There is an iPad/iPhone app called Groundschool that was helpful in learning the FARs. It is not perfect but it really helped me digest that information.

Get both Pointer's manuals and Sandy Reid's book. Get familiar with how to find information. They are going to ask you questions that you will have to look up.

The tests may differ a little from examiner to examiner but in my test I didn't just have to perform a task, I had to prove by some FAA document (usually those books) that the task I just completed was done correctly. Assume that you will have to have the instructions out for every task and be able to find the information.

High five for starting this! There is a lot to learn but it is worth it.

Quote

I've been a packer at my DZ for about a year now, and I decided I want my ticket. Has anyone taken his course before? What should I do to prepare myself? Any advice in general would be great.

Thanks, Blues!

[fcajump 164]

Quote

I've been a packer at my DZ for about a year now, and I decided I want my ticket. Has anyone taken his course before? What should I do to prepare myself? Any advice in general would be great.

Thanks, Blues!

Come WELL rested, with an open mind and willing to unlearn what you thought you knew and learn better/cleaner than you might have done before. I showed with zero reserve experience and it was a long but very rewarding week. A good sense of humor will go a long way too.

Jim
Master Rigger (back/seat/chest)

PS -
Tip #1 - if you're concentrating REALLY hard to do something, and hear snickering... double check the basics before looking up... yes, you have an audience...
Tip #2 - if you've never seen a reserve free-bag... the line stow pouch goes down (floor side) and is NOT big enough for the canopy...

Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

[ctrph8 0]

The course requirements can be more stringent than the FAA requirements to take the test. If you run a course, you can set it up any way you like. I think he does it that way so that everyone learns his method of packing and inspecting.

[Genego 2]

Learn tensile strengths of materials. Heard Handsome Dave ask a (female) rigglet what the tensile strength of type 13 webbing was, and she replied after a few moments thought "Wicked strong".

The more book learning you can do before hand, the better off you will be. It's easy to study the FAR's, and other material when you can't do anything else. The course will teach you the mechanics of packing and sewing, but the FAA written test is going to be on the FARs. If you've got that down already, then that's one less thing you've got to try to cram into the course.

Nylon is hygroscopic, readily absorbing moisture from the atmosphere. It will also readily absorb moisture from your hands, some lotion at the end of the day isn't a bad idea.

You'll have a great time, Handsome Dave has forgotten more about rigging than most people know. You can open a Poynter's Manual at random point to a picture of some esoteric hardware, and Dave will say, "Ya, I got one of those right over here."

1. Dave loves jokes, so come prepared with your best.
2. Don't leave your rig unattended around the loft, back in the day we managed to put every shot bag in the loft and a fire extinguisher in a student packed NB6 rig before he had it checked by an instructor.
3. Sewing patches with a hangover is a bitch, be forewarned.

Another former DeWolfe student and instructor.

I live with fear and terror, but sometimes I leave her and go skydiving.

[kingbunky 3]

buy knee pads, volleyball pads work best. read all the material you were sent prior to the course. twice. take the sample tests. have fun!

another former handsome dave graduate.

"Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart."
MB4252 TDS699
killing threads since 2001

[fencebuster 7]

A good pair of comfortable kneepads.

Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208
AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I
MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger
Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

[dpreguy 14]

going down 31

My advice:
The best thing you could do is to go to faa.gov and download the PTS "Practical Test System" for the first 6 Areas of Operation=Senior rigger. For each area of operation you will find tasks. Do as many as you can BEFORE going to any course. You are responsible for all of those tasks in your Oral and Practical test. If you aren't even knowledgeable about the PTS tasks, taking a rigging course will be like running a race, not knowing where the finishing line is. If you don't access the PTS tasks prior you will be showing up at the course-all wide eyed-but surely playing 'catch up' the whole way.
I have a piece of Cordura with labels of tasks I have my students complete. It is a start. Doing these tasks and attaching them to a piece of cloth is also recommended in the Parachute Riggers Handbook. This handbook, along with a Poynter II, and a materials sample book (all available from Para Gear) are the minimums I would recommend owning-before you even go to the course.
By doing as many of the tasks as you can prior, you will be familiarizing yourself with sewing machines and tools.