Solo jump - do you ask for a pin check??

[Jeth 0]

I am wondering about this for when I get off student status. Right now my JM does it for me. But I have been watching other jumpers and most of them on my loads do not check each other's pin's. I have seen a few that reach back and check themselves. Or if its a group, they may check each other. But what if you are on the plane as a solo? Especially if you don't know anyone on the load. Do you ask a stranger to check? If you don't know them, do you trust them to check it right and tuck the flap all the way back in?

Just wondering. Thanks.

"At 13,000 feet nothing else matters."
PFRX!!!!!
Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109
My Jump Site

[tsisson 0]

I always ask, and I always check myself as well if I'm not wearing gloves...

[kelel01 1]

You shouldn't be embarassed to ask anyone for a pin check. If you can check it yourself, great, but I usually want someone to check the window on my collapsible PC as well.

Now, as for whether or not you can trust someone you don't know . . . I think that would just have to be a judgment call. I would trust someone who seemed to be an instructor before I would trust a student. And you can oftentimes tell them apart easily.

[LawnDart21 0]

The best thing to do is ask the LO before you get on the plane if he/she or someone they recommend can give you a pin check when you are nearing jump run. It solves the problem from the get go.

Also, you will never find a jumper unwilling to give a pin check, so don't ever be afraid to ask.

And if you go to the LO, you'll find the best suited person for the job.

--
My other ride is a RESERVE.

[jlmiracle 7]

Do these people who give themselves a pin check have eyes in the back of their head? I can feel my bridle, but as I pull my hand away my bridle might come with and I don't have eyes in the back of my head so IMO self pin checks (with the rig on) are useless.

Judy

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

[Scrumpot 1]

Hey, as long as my flaps are closed, and I can tell no bridal has been snagged or pulled in any way, so long as I have pin-checked visually just before boarding the plane, and have not "knocked around" or had any undue bumping etc. ...I close my rig TIGHT ENOUGH in the 1st place that I KNOW my pin has not gone anywhere. IMHO a "pin check" at that point is next to useless. ...And I'd rather NOT have anyone else then opening up my flaps, and POSSIBLY CAUSING something as a result either!

How's that for a difference of opinion?

Now that said, if there has been either excessive movement about the plane during climb, I know I've potentially snagged something and/or I KNOW the person about to do the check I will get one. Short of that... I don't need EYES ON, to feel "confident" about my gear, if already PROPERLY checked prior to boarding under these conditions.

Just another perspective.

Blues,
-Grant

coitus non circum - Moab Stone

[billvon 2,991]

> Do these people who give themselves a pin check have eyes in the back of their head?

No, just fingers. I check my main pin before I get in the plane, then I check the flaps, bridle and pilot chute before exit. Unless someone opened my flaps, messed with my pin then closed it again, then I can be pretty assured that the main pin is where I left it.

[Scrumpot 1]

Ha Bill! ...Beat you to it by one minute!

-Grant

coitus non circum - Moab Stone

[councilman24 37]

A pin check is NOT what you need. An equipment check is.

If someone asks me for a "pin check" before loading they get what amounts to the same equipment check that a JM would give a student.

Three rings assembled, routed, etc. right, chest strap routed right, leg straps routed right, Ripcord handle in place, cutaway handle in place, (RESIST pushing on the velcro every time. This can make the pull harder than necessary), PC in pouch but handle available, bridle routed appropriately, if checkable and applicable PC cocked, pin seated as desired (they can be too deep), loop in good shape, flaps secure, if possible reserve pin seated appropriately (they can be too deep) and ripcord cable free in housing. Plus some other stuff. (like aad on, altimeter zeroed, hook knife secure, etc, etc.) The USPA Safety day before the jump checklist is a good reference.

Now depending on who it is they may not stand still long enough. But much of this is done at a glance. More experienced jumpers I may not try to check some of the harder things. But only because I know them and there habits.

So, if you ask for a "pin check" and someone opens your main flap and says "yep you got one" ask someone else. At least for awhile. Probably better to ask for an equipment check.

In the airplane a check of the main and reserve pins may be appropriate after getting up. But I usually check this myself.

I rarely do allow someone I don't know to check my "pins" because too many people think they know what they are doing and don't. And I almost never let anybody check my reserve pin. I checked it before I put the rig on and don't want it screwed with.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[skydiverek 63]

I always thought "pin check" means both main AND reserve pins .

When you as someone to give you a "pin check", do you mean/expect both pins checked??? Both pins could move...

[Jeth 0]

Yep, thats true. My JM checks all of that. (Except she calls it a "gear check". )

But when I am jumping solo, I can check my 3's (buckles, rings, handles), my alitimeter, my helmet strap, feel that my p/c is tucked in, and feel that my flaps are closed. The only thing I really can't do is see whether my pin is still seated adequately. But I was thinking like others have said -- that if I checked it before loading and it looked good, and I didn't get banged around in the plane, its almost certainly still good.

I think I would most likely ask for a gear check when we are waiting for the plane in the loading area. I will make an effort to do that.

"At 13,000 feet nothing else matters."
PFRX!!!!!
Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109
My Jump Site

[billvon 2,991]

> I always thought "pin check" means both main AND reserve pins .

You cannot check the reserve pin on some rigs while wearing it (like mine.)

[sunshine 2]

Silly jeth. Always someone you can trust on the SDC planes. Nobody would think you were weird or stupid for asking for the gear check. BTW, i got a gear check sunday before i jumped. We all do it.

___________________________________________
meow

I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug!

[DrewEckhardt 0]

I've seen my main flap open on a number of videos that followed a pin check.

I've never seen it open when I haven't let anyone touch it.

An open main flap exposing the pin and bridle to a 160 MPH freefly breeze does not seem like a good idea. So I just reach back and feel my skydiving closing pin. When the guy behind me manages to open it I tell him to close it.

On a belly-to-earth jump the main flap is in your burble so it doesn't matter much. Another skydiver is more likely to catch something that will cause you trouble than he is to do something bad.

[skydiverek 63]

Quote

> I always thought "pin check" means both main AND reserve pins .

You cannot check the reserve pin on some rigs while wearing it (like mine.)

Well yeah, but what about other 90% of rigs? Do you expect to have your reserve pin checked too if you ask for a "pin check"?

[HeatherB 0]

Quote

but I usually want someone to check the window on my collapsible PC as well.

Do you check it before you board the plane?

[billvon 2,991]

>Do you expect to have your reserve pin checked too if you ask for a "pin check"?

On my reflex - no. On my icon - yes.

[crotalus01 0]

i get a GEAR check, which includes a pin check, before every jump. the one time i didn't get a gear check (my first solo off AFF) i forgot my fucking altimeter....

As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD...

[freakygirl 0]

Quote

I always thought "pin check" means both main AND reserve pins .

When you as someone to give you a "pin check", do you mean/expect both pins checked??? Both pins could move...

everyone at our dz (to my limited knowledge) says that even if you are confident that nothing could have happened to your pin or flaps, it still doesn't hurt to get a pin/gear check. you're just going to sit there until you get to altitude anyway, so why not spend a few seconds double/triple checking everything?? they told me/us that it should be part of your pre-dive mindset the same way that you visually run through the entire dive beforehand. it doesn't cost you anything and probably will only help, not hurt you. the only exception i see would be if someone checking you got caught on your gear somehow and the plane had to go around again b/c you missed the spot trying to disconnect from your pin/gear-checker person. but how likely is that?? moral of the story: might as well be 100% sure, not just "yeah, it's probably fine since no one has touched it." even if you're careful, you just never know.... better to be safe.

[nael 0]

I check all my gear before I board the plane. Just prior to jump run I check my own reserve pin and get someone I trust to check my main pin. I also like them to check that the PC is cocked at this point although since I've already checked it on the ground it is just a back up for my piece of mind.

Never be worried to ask someone for a pin check, it's your life on the line, and that's gotta be worth more than being embarrased or nervous to approach someone.

I was asking for full gear checks every time I jumped up until about 25 - 30 jumps just to double check I knew what I was doing. It never hurts to double check. When I trusted myself enough, I no longer asked for gear checks as I could confidently do it all myself, but as someone else said - no one will ever refuse to give you a pin or a gear check. No one wants to see you hurt.

www.TerminalSports.com.auAustralia's largest skydive gear store

[nael 0]

Quote

Quote

> I always thought "pin check" means both main AND reserve pins .

You cannot check the reserve pin on some rigs while wearing it (like mine.)

Well yeah, but what about other 90% of rigs? Do you expect to have your reserve pin checked too if you ask for a "pin check"?

I always specifically asked for my reserve pin to be checked also, up until I was shown how to do it myself. I'd rather do it myself, it's easy to feel that the pin is in place, and with my Javelin people tend to bend the reserve flap up to open it, as oposed to opening it from the side of the flap, which isnt good for the flap.

www.TerminalSports.com.auAustralia's largest skydive gear store

[sunshine 2]

Quote

Just prior to jump run I check my own reserve pin and get someone I trust to check my main pin.

How? What kind of rig do you have that you can check your own reserve pin?

___________________________________________
meow

I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug!

[Orange1 0]

Standard procedure on our DZ - EVERYONE gets a pin check.

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[livenletfly 0]

solo or not shouldnt make a difference on pin checks. you can still take the plane and all souls aboard to the ground with a premature deployment on exit. freeflyers can be killed on a premature opening as well no matter who's out there.
just my 2 cents.
personaly i mostly do my own pin checks. i check my reserve and cyprss only once in the begining of the day. my main, i keep a very tight closing loop and check it before i put my rig on, and then feel back there before exit along with my handles and chest strap.
i dont like getting pin checks from people i dont feel are smart heads up and gear knowlegable. ive seen people screw up the bridle and or not properly closing the main flap. this to me is more dangerous than me checking my own gear. mostly i trust myself more than anyone else, so i like to know my pin bridle and cover are how i want them.

>

[phoenixlpr 0]

IMHO its not about the jump type, its about the jump plane. What to do in case of C206? If I sit in for the last and jump out for the first? I check my pin before get my rig on. I check my pin-flap and handles in the plane.