do you pop your reserve for repacks??

[Beachbum 0]

The rigger I had used since I got into this moved this summer, and the new rigger has had me do something which I think is a VERY good idea when repack time rolls around. He has me put the rig on and pop the reserve. This is good in more ways than one ... gets me more familiar with getting the handle loose from the velcro, etc., and also with just how hard I have to pull to activate it. Does anyone else's rigger have them do this? If not, you might consider requesting that they let you!

As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

[freeflir29 0]

Quote

Does anyone else's rigger have them do this? If not, you might consider requesting that they let you!

My current rigger usually complains about it but I do it anyway. Everyone should....especially if you haven't had a reserve ride on THAT rig. You need to know what it's like to pull your handles. Time before last it kinda scared me when I just tried to yank on the Cut away without peeling it first. Slipped right out of my hand. I definately practice peeling FIRST now.
316 jumps sport...72 military static lines......0 reserve rides. Hopefully the reserve rides column will stay this way!!!

[heftee 0]

Good question.
My Dallas rigger has us do that as well. He's the one that told me it was a good practice. I'm not sure why they would get mad about it, but mine encourages it. It is a good thing to do. I had my first cut away/reserve this weekend - it still took me two hands to cut, but I had practiced like that just in case, so all was good.
Definitely do it at repack time.

-------------------------
"If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane."
David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

[PhreeZone 20]

Why get mad? If the rigger is'nt going to pack it for a few days thats now parts that they have to keep track of, that take up more room and stuff like that. Personally i think those are stupid reasons for getting mad about it.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[flyangel2 2]

What I've done a few times is rig my rig up to the hanging harness (I know hard to picture, but it can be done) so that I'm hanging in my rig doing the emergency procedures. Let's you know where the handles really will be. For more fun, have someone spin you.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[Dumpster 0]

Absolutely! Every time I give it to him (I usually drop it off at his shop-) I go through the whole procedure- cutaway and pull, and all the parts are right there, ready for inspection and repack.

Easy Does It

[Sonic 0]

I do - first time I did it was on a student rig that needed repacking, and it gave me confidence knowing how easy it is to pull. I have a pad for my reserve handle and I wasn't sure about pulling it until I tried it on the first repack, and again it made me feel better aobut my kit.

-----------------------------------
It's like something out of that twilighty show about that zone

[smooth 0]

I haven't with my current rig but I will for my next repack!! Thanks for the reminder!

As mentioned by others, it's good practice -and- it also gives you some reassurance that it at least was reclosed and resealed.... not pencil packed.

[freeflir29 0]

Quote

it also gives you some reassurance that it at least was reclosed and resealed.... not pencil packed

And that the last time it was packed it was done right. IE the PC launches correctly....

Quote

If the rigger is'nt going to pack it for a few days thats now parts that they have to keep track of, that take up more room and stuff like that

She likes me better if I stuff it in my "A" bag after I'm done. Then it isn't all over the place. She's just bitchy like that....I wouldn't love her any other way.

[tigra 0]

My rigger works out of his home. He's got kids and pets. So, the only time I go ahead and pull all the handles is when I know he's going to work on the rig right away. More often than not, I leave it with one of his kids on a Sunday night and pick it up the following Friday or Saturday morning. And, yes, I know, I could shove it all in a gear bag, but I don't like leaving my reserve unpacked like that. That's just me, I guess......

[murrays 0]

I know one person who died when she had a total on her reserve. The design flaw may have been caught if she had pulled her15{ks. I know another woman who nearly bounced due to a hard pull caused by poor rig design.

Today's one pin containers have pretty much eliminated the chances of the above occurring as these were older two pin containers.

However, I know another woman whose arms were to short to dump her reserve....she discovered this when dumping her reserve for a repack.

So, do I think that you should dump your reserve for a repack...ABSOLUTELY!! Especially for lowtimers...get yourself in a hanging harness, cutaway and pull your reserve. I always put my rig on and fire that reserve off when it's time to repack.

I think it's good for people to watch their reserve being packed and to ask questions of their rigger. Knowing your rig is a good thing.

Murray

[hookitt 1]

I have every one who leaves their rig with me pull their handles. I've even used mine in a safety review. It completly reinforces proper peel and pull techniques. I have them do it like they mean it in real time. Several users have been very surprised and have since modified their emergency procedure practice.

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

[darkvapor 0]

>>It completly reinforces proper peel and pull techniques. I have them do it like they mean it in real time. Several users have been very surprised and have since modified their emergency procedure practice.
--

My rig is so new, its not time for a repack yet, however, I did realize how hard it was to pull the cutaway handle without peeling when I went to clean and check my cutaway cables for the regular 30 day inspection and cleaning... I decided to put the rig on when I pulled the handle. I would recommend people try it. Especially since I would venture to say that most people don't take the time to maintain their cables as recommended between repacks.

[billvon 2,991]

I always pop my reserve at repack time, but then I also inspect and repack it. Something I highly recommend even if you're not a rigger. The effort to read the packing manual, inspect the reserve, pack it and close the container will teach you an enormous amount about your rig. (Of course, get a rigger to repack it as usual afterwards, and tell him what you did.)

[RTB 0]

Good idea.
I would be careful about having a non rigger close the reserve though. You don't want to use unnecessary force. Preferably have a rigger watch.

[DaMan 0]

What do I do with all the left over parts?!?

Just kiddin' , but it's a great idea for a rainy day...

Z-Flock 8
Discotec Rodriguez

Too bad weapons grade stupidity doesn't lead to sterility.

[CanEHdian 0]

Yes.

On one repack that I didn't pull due to exchange circumstances, thinking no big deal for this time... I realized later that it was the first repack with my new pillow reserve handle! What did my rigger do for me? He drove across town with his wife, on their way to a dinner somewhere past my area and dropped in early for me to slap it on and do it! That's priceless.

Note: I don't just pull the reserve handle, I execute my emerg procedures.

I've also noticed that I don't necessarily peel velcro and then pull (2 steps)... but rather, I do it all in one motion, grab-twist_wrist-pull (across the body) which effectively 'peels as you pull' - very smooth, no problems at all.

This is probably what everyone means and I misread it... please correct me if I'm wrong, it's an important issue.

Cheers,
CanEHdian

Time's flying, and so am I...
(69-way, 108-way and 138/142-way Freefly World Records)

[Danger 0]

Having 2 rigs makes me able to use one rig for myself to pull the handles before a repack. The other rig I get someone just off student status to pull the handles.

This method keeps me current and gives a junior jumper the opportunity to test their procedures and give them a feel for it.

Danger

[riggerrob 643]

CANehdian, I have not been ignoring your private e-mails. My computer does not know how to open them.

I always encourage customers to pull their reserves in the loft when they are due for repack.
I explain the process in detail and conclude with: "at the end of this process I expect to see a pile of handles and your reserve on the floor."

They put on their rig and I start saying 4,000', 3,500', 3,000', 2,500', etc. Most of them pull their main handles, then I yell at them about hard openings, big holes, broken lines, flames, etc. while spinning them around the room. Most of them respond by pulling more handles.

The ones that I don't understand are the ones who just stare at me while being spun around the room and told about scary malfunctions. I seriously doubt if they would respond correctly to a real malfunction.

Any thoughts people?

[hookitt 1]

Quote

The ones that I don't understand are the ones who just stare at me while being spun around the room and told about scary malfunctions. I seriously doubt if they would respond correctly to a real malfunction.

Any thoughts people?

Ive done that too.. Mostly the jumper thinks.. "What the phuck are you doing"? so they do nothing. You explain it to them and try again... In real life, they execute the emergency procedures.

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

[faulknerwn 38]

I have always dumped my reserves on all 4 of my rigs every repack. I'll let other people do them as well if newbies or someone else is around who's never had a ride, but my reserve is always dumped.

W

[winsor 236]

Quote

The rigger I had used since I got into this moved this summer, and the new rigger has had me do something which I think is a VERY good idea when repack time rolls around. He has me put the rig on and pop the reserve. This is good in more ways than one ... gets me more familiar with getting the handle loose from the velcro, etc., and also with just how hard I have to pull to activate it. Does anyone else's rigger have them do this? If not, you might consider requesting that they let you!

I just short of require customers to fire their reserves before repack. I pack emergency rigs for glider pilots, and some of those guys are amazingly blase about their last-ditch safety equipment.

I also prefer to have the owner stick around for the inspection and repack. Some people have the idea that a reserve has magical qualities that a main does not, and I think it is a good idea to demystify it as early on as possible.

Know your equipment, and use your main as though it's all that stands between you and disaster - since it may well be. The reserve is just another parachute, and it may malfunction too.


Blue skies,

Winsor

[councilman24 37]

I want all my customers to practice their procedures and pull it also, but I prefer they do it in front of me. First, it lets me critique their technique and answer any questions. Second it lets me examine the reserve before they pull it, for things like a loose PC, poor canopy distribution, signs of abuse, etc. etc. It also lets me see any problems with the pull or deployment that the customer might not recognize. Also, I examine the rig quickly to see if their is extra work that needs done that the customer doesn't know about. i.e. cypres service or battery, safety stow, grommets, broken stiffeners. And I don't have to worry about how they've handled the canopy while it was open.

As for storage, I use dedicated plastic garbage cans for cat proof storage.

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

[billvon 2,991]

>Some people have the idea that a reserve has magical qualities that a main
>does not, and I think it is a good idea to demystify it as early on as possible.

Good point. A lot of people think their reserves are much more reliable than they are. I think the primary reason you don't see more double mals is simple statistics - even if you average 1 mal per 500 jumps, and your main and reserve are equally reliable, you'd need to make something like 120,000 jumps to have a 50/50 chance of having a reserve mal.

Of course, a reserve does have the benefit of being packed by someone who has been certified to be a somewhat competent packer, and this means that for new jumpers their reserve may well be more reliable. But if you had a competent packer pack their own main, and their main was similar to their reserve (i.e. a Tri-160 main and a PD160R reserve) I don't think you'd see much reliability differences during normal use.

[freeflir29 0]

Quote

if you had a competent packer pack their own main, and their main was similar to their reserve (i.e. a Tri-160 main and a PD160R reserve) I don't think you'd see much reliability differences during normal use.

How often does that happen these days? I don't see it too often. The majority of cut aways I see are on eliptical mains with line twists being the #1 cause. I think my reserve is INHERENTLY more reliable than my main simply because it is a square canopy, not an eliptical Stiletto.