Lost art of flat packing

[Dutchboy 0]

My daughter is looking to start packing soon at the local DZ. They prefer flat packing for student and rental gear. I think there isnmerit to their arguments for flat packing sometimes. We made a little video for anyone who cares to learn more. Keep in mind this is geared toward students and is not necessarily a tips video.

https://youtu.be/heARYyRbv9I

[skydived19006 4]

Over 20 years ago a few of us Kansans were on a Florida trip. One of our group was flat packing and an audience gathered around him, they'd never seen it!

Experience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else.

AC DZ

[linestretch 0]

I still flat pack reserves....though it ends up like a pro pack all stacked on the nose.

my pics & stuff!

[DBCOOPER 5]

Yea, Don's PREPARE for RESERVE OPENING flat packing school.

Replying to: Re: Stall On Jump Run Emergency Procedure? by billvon

If the plane is unrecoverable then exiting is a very very good idea.

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Dutchboy

My daughter is looking to start packing soon at the local DZ. They prefer flat packing for student and rental gear. I think there isnmerit to their arguments for flat packing sometimes. We made a little video for anyone who cares to learn more. Keep in mind this is geared toward students and is not necessarily a tips video.

https://youtu.be/heARYyRbv9I

People have been calling them "flat packs" for some time, but there is a "stack pack" (like manufacturers still have instructions for as an option for packing a reserve), and there is a "roll pack".

I did not watch the video, but perhaps you want to specify which of those types it is.

http://www.skydivestlouisarea.com/instruction/PDReserveManual.pdf, section 6

http://www.skydivestlouisarea.com/instruction/ParaFliteRollPacking.pdf

Few people seem to know about the "roll pack". Even PD calls the "stack pack" just a "flat pack".

[sundevil777 102]

The stack pack was also called factory pack, if I remember correctly.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

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sundevil777

The stack pack was also called factory pack, if I remember correctly.

Yep!

[dudeman17 335]

And when somebody thought they were 'inventing' the PRO pack, they were really just cleaning up the good old fashioned trash pack.

[gowlerk 2,190]

Rumour is that John Sherman came up with the idea of packing a ram air canopy standing up.

Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

[dpreguy 14]

I think that honor goes to Jeff Jonston

[headoverheels 333]

Dutchboy

My daughter is looking to start packing soon at the local DZ. They prefer flat packing for student and rental gear. I think there isnmerit to their arguments for flat packing sometimes. We made a little video for anyone who cares to learn more. Keep in mind this is geared toward students and is not necessarily a tips video.

https://youtu.be/heARYyRbv9I

Standing tension, anyone?

[Unstable 9]

A local Dropzone taught students to Flat (Stack) pack first as a prerequisite for pro packing. The logic actually made a lot of sense and a lot more sense when I started teaching people to pack.

With the flat pack, one individual can teach and keep an eye on many student packers. And if the student packers get stuck, they can simply walk away, review with someone, and come back to where they left off!

While it may not make sense when packing lessons are delivered 1-on-1, but we would do larger static line classes ad then in the coming weeks need to teach 8+ people to pack at the same time.

=========Shaun ==========

[jimmytavino 16]

I have been safely flat packing, since my first "square jumps " in 1974... and since I bought a second hand Cloud,,, in 1979.....
STILL Do...
I carry a packing mat AND drag mat with me, and set up in a shady area, soas to "not intrude " on the regular packing mat...
Yes I Do "Move " my mat around, as the sun overtakes any Early morning Shady spot...
thousands of pack jobs.... Just as quick as PRO Packers, and often quicker..Some people call it " flat Packing " I call it " Pre-PRO ".
I have always been a proponent of a Few things Two of which ARE
1. If it Ain't broke, Don't Fix it " and 2. "to each , his Own "
ymmv. jmy

[Bob_Church 7]

When did we start calling "Trash Packing" "Pro Packing"?

[frontfloater 0]

Like jimmytavino, I've been flat (or side) packing all my life (39 years in the sport). I never saw any reason to change, although when asked, I have to concede that it's a little more likely to result in an off-heading opening. But if you're so close to someone else for that to matter, you're not tracking well enough.

The other disadvantage is that in a crowded packing shed, I do feel like an obstruction when people drop their kit either side of me and I have to ask them to give me more space.

From a safety/reliability aspect, I believe it is better. When pro-packing started to become popular, I asked an experienced instructor about it. He said that flat packing (almost) can't go wrong, provided you do a basic line check at the start ; after that, there's not much you can do to stop it opening. So it is (almost) fail-safe. But with pro-packing, you have to remember to do certain things ; otherwise, it will malfunction (ie non-fail-safe). As a trained risk assessor, that's a no-brainer choice.

BOB

Oh, I forgot - the other (3rd) disadvantage is that as you get older, your knees and ankles start to hate flat packing.

And the 4th disadvantage (nobody expected the Spanish Inquisition!) is that it is really hard to flat-pack a zero-P canopy ; especially if it doesn't have packing tabs. So I still use F-111 canopies.

[jimmytavino 16]

definitely Yes. to packing tabs
My clouds All had them The RW Challenger(s) which I jumped for over 1,200 jumps... Malfunction - Free,
had them and when I changed mains to The PD Spectre(s) about 15 years ago,,,, I was happy to see That THEY also had them...
This gave me some silly sense of assurance, that it WAS OK to continue packing as I always had...
Plus ,,, in a world of all too frequent conformity, I Like being Different
jmytavino

[Dutchboy 0]

I don't have packing tabs on my rig. One of the riggers has said she would sew some on. PD stopped offering that option recently.

[frontfloater 0]

I guess the "buy a tiny main then uber-load it" brigade will tell us that packing tabs add drag. Maybe someone who is good at maths and aerodynamics can tell us what percentage ... ? Then we can compare that figure with the major amount of extra cussedness it caused when manufacturers stopped fitting 'em.

[pchapman 279]

It's also a bit weird to put packing tabs on anything that's more than a little elliptical, as the line attach points no longer line up, although I guess it could be done.

I was at a DZ where for many years all their Sigma tandems were flat packed. It was a slower job but doable. One just manually grabbed cells without worrying about missing tabs or differences in line attachment locations. Getting the air out meant involved rolling one's body from tail to nose. A bit dizzying.

(I have flat packed an FX 88 a few times for fun, but it is a bit comical trying to pack something with a tiny chord but which is so thick with crossbrace material, and being ZP tends to stay full of air. It worked but I think that because of the messiness, unless one really took a lot more time compared to a regular flat pack, a pro pack would be a more reliable...)

[skytribe 17]

Dutchboy

I don't have packing tabs on my rig. One of the riggers has said she would sew some on. PD stopped offering that option recently.

I believe PD stopped making them with packing tabs by default - you can still request they put them on if you want to side pack.

[Dutchboy 0]

Recently they said they won't put them on even if you ask!

[skyjumpenfool 2]

As I remember, Pro packing came as a result of "Trash" packing?

Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."