Just follow your master rigger's advice!?

[UnusualAttitude 0]

So, I recently spilled some sprite on my rig.

I posted in the rigging forum, and the best advice I can get from anyone is..."just follow your master rigger's advice."

And, I probably will, since my DZ has a great one.

But what if he's wrong? After all, he's just a person. I sense that there just isn't much rigging knowledge among non-riggers in this community, and that bothers me.

My parachute is the only thing saving my life, I should know just as much as the rigger does about it.

What do you think?

P.S. - If you know anything about what to do if I've spilled sprite on my rig, please let me know

[mnealtx 0]

What part of masterrig's advice didn't you care for? He gave you instruction in how to clean it and also advised you to talk to your rigger about it.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[crotalus01 0]

He's a rigger, you're not. Yeah he's just a person but damn, if you don't trust him to tell you how to clean spilled soda from your rig, how the hell do you trust him to inspect and repack your reserve???

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

[UnusualAttitude 0]

To clarify: I do respect my master rigger's advice, and I do respect the advice from riggers I receive on this forum.

What I'm referring to is "blindly" accepting rigger's advice, vs. crosschecking it with knowledge I have myself, since they are only human.

And if I am to crosscheck it with my own knowledge, which seems reasonable to me since it's a life-saving device, where I should acquire that knowledge, short of becoming a rigger myself.

[mnealtx 0]

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short of becoming a rigger myself.

That is, in a nutshell, your answer.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[Glitch 0]

Crotalus01

I understand what your saying, but I also understand where he's coming from. I blindly follow no-one, and learned the hardway that just because someone has a riggers ticket it doesn't mean they are trustworthy, know what the hell they're doing, and/or should possess the ticket.

There was a thread on it with specifics, but it got lost in a black hole; although I'm sure a mod could retrieve it if necessary.

Randomly f'n thingies up since before I was born...

[JustChuteMeNow 0]

I am a rigger but just like doctors there are good riggers and bad riggers. Most riggers just like doctors seek advice and second opionions if there are areas where they are unsure. In my opionion no one can learn how to be a truly knowledgable rigger by attending a one week crash course on rigging. That is not to say that people who get their rigging ticket through this method are bad riggers but that most would recognize that they still have a lot to learn. Hell most riggers are constantly learning and this is no different than any other profession.

Riggers can and do make mistakes just like doctors and second opionions depending on the issue are good things. For example, most people don't need a second opionion from a doctor on minor medical advice but do get a second opionion on major medical advice. Gear advice is no different. Most jumpers wouldn't hestitate to follow advice concerning how to clean up sprite but might want a second opionion about other issues.

However, getting a rigging ticket is a great way to start learning about every aspect of your gear and this certainly makes for a better understanding of this sport.

As a side note, master riggers have at a minimum been rigging for 3 years and have done over 200 pack jobs. Most are very knowledgeable and know their stuff.

Think of how stupid the average person is and realize that statistically half of them are stupider than that.

[wmw999 2,444]

I am a (inactive) rigger, but if you study your equipment, and think about the physics of how it works, and you think about the materials it's made of, most questions can be answered fairly reasonably. Then you check your answer with a current rigger, and expand your knowledge, and check your reasoning. Do it enough, and you'll be one of the guys that people go to with questions about equipment.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Fast 0]

I know a lot about my gear, but I also pretty much follow my riggers advice to the T. The point is that I made sure I chose someone I could trust.

I have watched my reserve be inspected / packed - hell I have even watched other peoples gear get packed. She always takes care of the stuff I need and does all the little things I forget to do.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[billvon 2,990]

>But what if he's wrong?

The consequences range from nothing, to damaging your gear, to getting killed when your gear fails. Which is why riggers get a fair amount of education before getting their ticket.

You have several choices if you're uncomfortable with this:

1) Learn more about your gear so you can better make your own choices.

2) Get your rigger's ticket and make the calls yourself. (I think most people learn how much they don't know about gear when they do this.)

3) Learn who to get advice from. We are fortunate in skydiving; we can call someone like Sandy Reid directly and get advice about rig repair. (The equivalent would be calling Bill Gates for advice about OS design.)

[bofh 0]

Quote

So, I recently spilled some sprite on my rig.

I posted in the rigging forum, and the best advice I can get from anyone is..."just follow your master rigger's advice."

I believe the advice was to follow "masterrig"'s advice, that is, the person with the username "masterrig" that wrote what you should have done in the very same thread.

[UnusualAttitude 0]

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we can call someone like Sandy Reid directly and get advice about rig repair.

Who is Sandy Reid, and how would I go about getting in touch with her? :)

[rushmc 23]

Quote

>But what if he's wrong?

The consequences range from nothing, to damaging your gear, to getting killed when your gear fails. Which is why riggers get a fair amount of education before getting their ticket.

You have several choices if you're uncomfortable with this:

1) Learn more about your gear so you can better make your own choices.

2) Get your rigger's ticket and make the calls yourself. (I think most people learn how much they don't know about gear when they do this.)and look out for the riggers that know it all. There is a danger in not knowing (and admitting) what you don't know

3) Learn who to get advice from. We are fortunate in skydiving; we can call someone like Sandy Reid directly and get advice about rig repair. (The equivalent would be calling Bill Gates for advice about OS design.)

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[hookitt 1]

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Who is Sandy Reid, and how would I go about getting in touch with her? :)

Sandy Reid

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto