More on Packers

[PhreeZone 20]

On the tipping... did you tip your instructors going through AFF? Probally not.. that was a set fee that you paid. I can tell you that an AFF-i has layed down more money getting that rating then any packer has in "Packing classes" and the SFF-I is under more stress then any packer could ever be.
The thing that irks me is people charging for "Packing Classes". Thats something that was taught to me for free, I do and will again teach others for free and I hope they teach some one for free.
And If a packer is willing to bump your rig to the front of the line just since you are willing to pay more for it.... I would'nt want to deal with that packer. First come first serve....
If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will....

[nacmacfeegle 0]

Okay, my take on the packing thing...
When I was down on my luck, I packed to pay for jumps, I would hitch hike / bum lifts to the DZ etc. Hell's teeth, I was getting a better hourly rate for packing than I could get for engineering anyway, just not that many hours....
Times, and my own personal fortunes have changed. So when I see a packer, who is also an up jumper, I will pay them to pack for me, and tip them. Its one of my little ways to 'put some back' into the sport, spread the love kinda thing. I know what its like to try and make your way in skydiving when you have very little budget to allow you to jump / live / drink beer.
I don't use packers that don't jump very often, and usually manage at least one jump with my packer.
I've even met packers at boogies who were travelling round the European circuit and had them come stay at my place in Aberdeen, using it as a base to explore Scotland.
I am able to pack for myself, have done so for years, but its nice to chill, unwind, dirt dive etc while your shit is getting sorted.
I also find I can make more skydives per day if I use packers.
My time allocated to skydiving is very limited, so I want to make the most of it, finances permitting, of course.
Of course, this is just my take on things, I am lucky to able to afford such luxuries, but the money is going to a 'good cause' (a down on his/her luck jumper) in my opnion.........
Cya
D
Gravity Rat # 37
Remember, we can do everything right, and still get hurt.

[billvon 3,070]

>how many of you use packers???
It's just not worth it to me anymore - it takes me under seven minutes to pack my rig (timed a few weeks ago) and it takes almost that long to drop off the rig at the packer, pick it up, do the extra check I always do when someone else packs it, and pay him/her.
Of course, I packed something like 500 rigs to pay for my first 50 jumps, so I had the advantage of learning early how to do it quickly.
-bill von

[AndyMan 7]

I will tip when it's my fault.... If I throw a backed up packer my rig, and say "dude, can you get me on a 10 minute call", and he does it.... awesome. That's tippable. Unfortuantley, that happens pretty frequently with me, so I usually end up tipping.
_Am
ICQ: 5578907
MSN Messenger: andrewdmetcalfe at hotmail dot com
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Yahoo IM: ametcalf_1999

[skreamer 1]

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I ALSO like being social in between loads.

Thats funny, because I find packing for myself to be both social and relaxing (and my packing is not the fastest or the best around). Its kinda like not ever wanting to jump from a little Cessna - there is a whole sense of camaraderie that you are missing out on. Chatting about the last jump while you and your friends pack IS part of the whole experience (IMHO).
Will
PS bottom line : 4 pack jobs = 1 skydive
"Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

[KATO33 0]

I always Pack for myself because I kinda Enjoy the challenge of trying to get the perfect pack(Looks good, fits good And opens Sweeet!!)
Blue Skies Black Death

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

Hell, Will,
THREE pack jobs equals one skydive at Perris or Elsinore this summer!
My webpage HERE

[skreamer 1]

Hey, Chuck, thats really nice, BUT skydives are $13 a go in Sweden......
"Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

[GrumpySmurf 0]

Aye, Chuck, I agree with you fully. I pack for myself - if it mals, it's my own fault and I have no one else to blame. It's my life that depends on how that parachute is packed, not the packers.
The only way one will become quick at packing is to practice, practice, practice.

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[FallinWoman 1]

I used a packer this past weekend. It wasn't my first time, but i usually pack for myself.
Out of 14 jumps, Nate packed 8 of them for me. He did a great job, was quick, and was great about talking to me about how to get the openings as slow as possible. I tipped him at the end of the day.
I think that I tip most people who provide a service, especially if they do a particuarly nice job.
Anne

[Sebazz1 2]

I can pack for myself pretty fast. Gotta love Stiletto'sOne guy I really have to mention is our senior packer. Sunset Bill. He'll out drink and out pack anyone!! He knows how to make them soft................
Sebazz........

[hookit 0]

I RARELY use packers. For me packing is a part of the sport. I usually enjoy the packing process (somewhat) and I definitely enjoy it when I pack myself a nice soft opening. I also enjoy knowing that I'm solely responsible for any poor openings I might have.
The time I'm most tempted to use a packer is after the sunset load after a long day of jumping. It's sure hard to get motivated to pack it up again!
I'd be curious to know what percentage of malfunctions occurred when the services of a packer were used vs. when jumpers packed for themselves.

[gale 0]

My two cents:
I'm a student trying to learn how to pack and I just have to say it's an awesome responsibility knowing that someone elses life can depend on what I'm doing.
A friend of mine just had a NASTY mal / hard cutaway and I can't imagine how bad the packer must feel about that.
I guess what I'm saying is I'd be scared to pack other people's stuff and scared to let someone else pack mine. I guess some of this will wear off with time but right now the responsibility seems awesome.
So, it seems like if you've found a packer you like and trust maybe throwing them a couple of extra bucks is a good idea. Assuming, of course, that you use them in the first place.
Gale
Isn't life the strangest thing you've ever seen?

[Iflyme 0]

For the record, I pack for myself, and I enjoy it! I won't use a packer unless something changes... as far as learning to pack, several people offered me lots of help as I was learning -- and I will do the same as my experience increases. And tipping? I'll tip at a restaurant, but no where else. I don't get tipped for the work I do... I figure tipping is for people who are underpaid by their employer...
Lots of good responses in this thread -- thanks!
Frank
"There's nothing new under the sun"

[Sebazz1 2]

It's not like $5 is all that much anyway. Throw the dude or dudette a couple extra bones for cryin out loud. Our packers either do it for a living or to help them get through school. Either way these folks are integral to our DZ and we need to show them our appreciation. So tip or I'll key your car just like I keyed that packers car for giving me 1/2 a line twist.
For the record: I have never keyed a car in my life.
Sebazz........

[nacmacfeegle 0]

Hey Gale, very valid points on safety and responsibility, but just about every body relies on somebody else for things that are expected to save their lives.
What about the mechanic that changed your tyres, or serviced your brakes.
The guy cleaning windows up on the 13th floor (if it exists..).
The driver of that car that just passed you in the other direction.....
The electrician that wired up your shower...
Don't mean to put 'the fear' on you or anything, but think about all the things that could hurt you in everyday life as well......Kinda puts things into perspective huh?
Cya
D
Gravity Rat # 37
Remember, we can do everything right, and still get hurt.

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

I have only ever been tipped once in my life for any skydiving instruction I have given (it was a tandem, and I tried to refuse it), so I don't see any reason whatsoever to tip a packer who, at least at my dropzone, generally makes at least as much as I do by day's end for something that I was capable of doing when I was six years old. Wanna tip somebody? Tip that 150 pound tandem master who just suffered through wrassling a 250 pound fat woman out the door of a cessna and had her pass out under canopy!
Chuck
a 153 pound tandem bitch who regularly gets stuck doing a good Wally Gubbins tandem impersonation. gimme a dollar!
My webpage HERE

[ChromeBoy 0]

[kid chasing you with a bike]I want my 2 Dollars![/kid chasing you with a bike]
What movie was that from?

[nacmacfeegle 0]

Man, you got all the sympathy I have to spare, here ya go...
It must be hard touring with the PPPB swoopy thing, and all those tiresome trips to the Keys.
Sell me your lifestyle, and you'll never have to worry about tips again.
BTW I don't get tips either, I'm just overpaid........Like, I wish.Cya
D
Gravity Rat # 37
Remember, we can do everything right, and still get hurt.

[Sebazz1 2]

I have been tipped occasionally by my tandems. I thank them profusely and move on. It is not expected by me or our packers. I just think it's a nice gesture. Of course I am a feel good sensitive tree hugging type so my words will probably fall deaf on most
It's just that I get paid to jump. Thats friggin sweet!. These guys watch us jump then wrastle our canopies into a little itty bitty d-bag. That sucks If I had to pack and make a bunch of tandems I'd be dead.
Again our packers have been doing this for years and are really profesional. I'm talking and extra $1-$2 for every two to three personal pack jobs. The DZ can cover for the staff gear.
Sebazz........

[gale 0]

I hear you. Like I said in my post, this is new and scary. I imagine some of that will wear off with time. (Like on the first jumpo when I thought I would get sucked out the door of the plane, I definately don't worry about that one anymore!)
Gale
Isn't life the strangest thing you've ever seen?

[hisgoofyness 0]

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[kid chasing you with a bike]I want my 2 Dollars![/kid chasing you with a bike]

I'll take "Better Off Dead" for a $1,000.00
Only one of John Cusack's best!
hisgoofyness
"650 acres of grass and 5 acres of pavement, why did you land on the taxiway..." RG

[jceman 1]

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I have only ever been tipped once in my life for any skydiving instruction I have given (it was a tandem, and I tried to refuse it)

As strange as that is, I was actually tipped once for catching tandems! We did 108 tandems one weekend, in high winds at that. and on Sunday, we were putting one of the TMs up on the Cessna between Otter loads to get them all in. At the end of the day, that particular TM tipped me for catching him on all 12 of his tandems that day. I, too, tried to refuse it, but I didn't want an ex-SEAL mad at me, so I took the tenner!
As for packers, I have not tipped any for normal service, but I have when they have found stuff that I have overlooked, or done something extra for me. I can pack, in fact I packed all but two of the canopies I jumped during my AFF progression, but I feel I'm old enough and have enough money to share it with someone who needs it more than I do. Besides, packing hurts my knee too dang bad, and does nothing for my twice broken back.

[freeflir29 0]

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, I was actually tipped once for catching tandems

The way those guys make me sprint for hundreds of yards at a time they should be tipping me....LOL
"Here I come to save the BOOBIES!"

[Billy 0]

I hate friggin packing!
with a bad knee, back, neck, and shoulder it is the worst part of jumping for me,, I've only used packers twice, at the Easter Boogie in Eloy an at Kamloops last weekend,, wish we had'em at our lil DZ,, I do enjoy the social aspects and the whole process of packing but it just hurts,, I tipped Anne last weekend a good bit an got a nice hug,, she is headin to Europe in a few months an could use the money,, even if it was Canadian,, she was excellant