At what point do you waste a perfectly good pack job

[shmali 0]

So you are teaching new kid to pack on your rig (cause it's smaller) so she can get her A lic finished. At what point would you pull it out and do it over.

When:

Pineappe Death Juice, If you have to ask you'd rather not know!

[hookitt 1]

Right around 3000 feet.

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

[hookitt 1]

I'll do it over after I land... or let her "Practice Packing" some more and give it another go.

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

[jsaxton 0]

That's the best answer I can think of

[FrogNog 1]

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So you are teaching new kid to pack on your rig (cause it's smaller) so she can get her A lic finished. At what point would you pull it out and do it over.

When:

Dude, this is what reserves are for!

The slider-out-the-wrap thing almost got me, but if I see that happen to anybody learning to pack, I'm going to delicately but strongly suggest they back up a few steps and try it again, and I'll show them how I try to keep that from happening. So that will never get to my container.

And if it does, because I lost sight for a few minutes, that's a time to prove how brave I am. (The odds are still in my favor. Besides, I'm supposed to be on top of my EPs no matter how well my main is packed.)

They say we're supposed to give back to the sport. Well, due to the number of people who have (and will continue) to jump my learning-to-pack pack jobs, I could give back like this to others.

-=-=-

I think jumping your vs. someone else's pack job is like eating in a restaurant vs cooking yourself. When I cook myself, I have a guaranteed superb level of hygiene in that meal. When I eat at a restaurant, I just try not to think about it and enjoy the fact that I'm not cooking.

Sneaking back to the kitchen is like opening and peeking in a student canopy hanging on the rack before you put it on and jump: good chance you're going to see some stuff that doesn't meet your comfort level, but that is technically quite safe.

Meow!

-=-=-=-=-
Pull.

[towerrat 0]

man, when I was learning to pack, I ended up jumping some stuff that would curl your hair.These days, I've come to realize that there isn't a whole lot to screw up unless you try. I have stuffed my canopy in the bag with my foot, literally. I have had people walk away shaking their heads saying "man, I can't believe you are going to jump that." I don't worry so much, although my packjobs are very good now.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

[kitof1976 0]

if it's in in the bag and the line stows look alright that's good enough for me... I got to that conclusion after my first own pack jobs! I mean you should have seen the burrito looking pack jobs I have stuffed in my container!!! it alway opened!!
I am definitely not anal about packing. I figure the odds are on my side...

"We see the world just the way we are...

[Nightingale 0]

when do you waste a perfectly good packjob?

when you didn't watch the student to make sure it was a perfectly good packjob.

at least, that would be my feeling. If I'd watched and everything looked okay, that's one thing, but leaving someone who's very inexperienced to pack without being watched, that would make me awful nervous.

[AndyMan 7]

When craichead was learning how to pack, I let her practice on my rig. The deal was that if she could get it into the container, I'd jump it.

She got it in, I jumped it, it opened and I didn't get to use my reserve. I had supervised part of the pack job, but in reality I was just making sure I was available to answer questions.

The only case where I would've redone work is that if she'd let it get away from herself while trying to bag it, I would have flaked it again.

I never contemplated opening a completed packjob.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[pilotdave 0]

I loaned my rig to a rigger to teach a packing class to a bunch of guys in my college skydiving club once. I wasn't there, so I had no clue who last packed it or how sloppy he was. When I showed up at the DZ with it, they asked if I had repacked it. I asked why I would do that, and to their amusement, I went ahead and jumped it. Opened just fine, just like always.

Dave

[Newbie 0]

personally i think you should do whatever gives you complete peace of mind and don't let anyone influence you otherwise. If you want to yank it out and do it again, go ahead man. If someone says "what are you doing?! That's what the reserve is for", ignore them and pack that shit how you want it, it's your main that's deploying up there.

If you are happy they did a good job, jump it - but make that decision on the ground - the last thing you want is to be dangling out the door wondering if you should have done this that or the other down there.

Just my thoughts...

"Skydiving is a door"
Happythoughts

[ZoneRat 0]

I'd let her pack it. And I'd begrudgingly jump it. Again and again. Of course it would never be quite right. This opening was a little fast, that a little long...

I'd keep her practicing until she managed 25 perfect 650', on-heading openings...

Then I'd approve her to pack my rig as much as she wanted... You know... just to lock it in... after 100 perfect pack job... I'd even start to pay her. $5.25/ pack!!!

THATS how nice a guy I truly truly am.

“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

[FIREFLYR 0]

Hey ..if your going to tell her she's good to pack her own with her new "A " liscence, it might not be a half bad idea to see if it opens.I'm sure you've got a lot better chance of dealing with a malfunction properly than she is.
eh?

"One flew East,and one flew West..............one flew over the cuckoo's nest"
"There's absolutely no excuse for the way I'm about to act"

[FrogNog 1]

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If you are happy they did a good job, jump it - but make that decision on the ground - the last thing you want is to be dangling out the door wondering if you should have done this that or the other down there.

I totally agree. I have a personal rule against worrying about my packjob above 4k AGL.

-=-=-=-=-
Pull.

[shmali 0]

Hehe i like that, always watching out for the less experienced .

Anway I wanted to thank everyone for the opinions and comments etc. Gives me some new things to think about.

Pineappe Death Juice, If you have to ask you'd rather not know!

[Designer 0]

If I,m really,really bored and wanna touch my parachute.Last weekend repacked it twice.

[kyros1 0]

This damn thing wants always to open

I always check some points:

1. Slider in position
2. Clear lines
3. Clear line stows
4. Clear bridle routing

[lazy 0]

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If I,m really,really bored and wanna touch my parachute.Last weekend repacked it twice.

yup me too

[dropoutdave 0]

Hand up here, me too!

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May Contain Nut traces......

[riddler 0]

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Right around 3000 feet.

That's a great answer, hookitt.

Students are intimidated by the idea of packing. I think it stems from movies and television where the bad guy packs a parachute for someone else and it doesn't open. Packing isn't rocket science - keep the lines straight, and in the middle, and it will almost always open fine. Everything else we do is to make the openings nicer and prolong the life of the material.

I let students pack my main whenever they want (while I watch). Then I jump it (usually with them). Sure, I've had a few bruiser openings, but most of them are fine, and I want to stress to the students that packing is not a big deal - focus on a few important things, like setting the brakes correctly, and keeping the lines in the middle. Everything else, they'll learn over time. Heck, I still don't know much about packing - I'll keep picking up tricks and techniques the rest of my life, I'm sure.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[skyyhi 0]

Clay, I had to laugh after reading your post. . .my roommate was letting me pack his rig the other night and I said "are you going to repack this after I am done?" (it was my first time packing). He said he would check my pack job around 3000 ft tomorrow and repack later if needed. . .

It took a while for me to get what he was saying. . .

________________________________________
Take risks not to escape life… but to prevent life from escaping. ~ A bumper sticker at the DZ
FGF #6
Darcy

[freeflygoddess 0]

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Packing isn't rocket science

Well unless you jump an original Sabre and don't want to be slammed to death....

[genoyamamoto 0]

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Right around 3000 feet.

I will remember this. You want a free pack job on that napkin-sized piece of fabric you call a canopy?

Gotta go... plaything needs to spank me
Feel the hate...
Photos here

[Nightingale 0]

My AFF instructor told me about a guy at Perris (whose name I can't remember) who teaches packing, lets the students pack his main, and, as long as the thing's in the bag and in the container, no matter how messy, he goes and jumps it to help the students' confidence.

First person who ever jumped one of my packjobs was me. It was SCARY, especially since Eddie and Doreen kept me from killing myself (or at least causing a certain cutaway) at least twice while I was packing it. I was nervous and made a couple of stupid mistakes.

The second packjob, nobody watched me, and I did it perfectly... pressure was off.

[shmali 0]

Quote

Quote

Packing isn't rocket science

Well unless you jump an original Sabre and don't want to be slammed to death....

Rolling and tucking the nose into flakes a bit. And then rolling the f*** out of the tail wrap and the rest as usual and works fine on my sabre 150
Although she can be quite unforgiving if not careful

Pineappe Death Juice, If you have to ask you'd rather not know!