Rigger rating.....

[TheMarshMan1 0]

Just out of curiosity- what type of training and how long does it take to get your Sr. Rigger's rating?

[PhreeZone 20]

Requirements are fairly simple.....
20 Supervised reserve repacks signed off, some sewing skills and passing a practical and written test.
I'e been working on mine ofr over a year, but all the reserve repacks I've got are the ones on mine and only a few others. I've got the sewing down and stuuf, but that seems to be the hard part for most people.
If your really intested in getting your Rating, Skydive Chicago is offering a week long course that will qualify you, or you can mentor off a local rigger for a few months if you can find one willing to teach.
I want to touch the sky, I want to fly so high ~ Sonique

[riggerrob 643]

If you look in the classified ads in either Skydiving or Parachutist Magazines, you will see a series of ads for rigging schools run by Dave DeWolf, Cathy Schlater, Tom Dolphin, et al. These rigging schools typically run 9 or 10 days in January or February. While the perfect candidate can do all the required practice in 9 days, the rest of us mere mortals prefer to apprentice under a local rigger for a few months ahead of time.
Hint, if you want your local rigger to take you seriously, show up with an armload of Dan Poynter's books and completed answer sheets for the first 2 or 3 chapters in the Rigger's Study guide.
There are two other options: Rigging Innovations and the military.
R.I. will invite you to the American School of Parachute Rigging in Eloy for about 3 weeks. They will reach you everything you need to know to pass the FAA test and then some. This is way more information than a Senior Rigger needs to practice his trade. For example: who gives a fleep about the closing sequence on a military surplus B 4 container? I laugh B 4s out of my loft!
The final option for learning rigging is to sign your life away to the military for three or more years. In the military you will learn all the intimate details of one parachute system (it might be 64 foot cargo chutes) and will learnt he prerequisites for the writing the FAA exam. However, military experience won't prepare you to be a civilian rigger unless you are fortunate enough to be posted to the Golden Knights or a Military Freefall School.

[TheMarshMan1 0]

Hey..thanks for the help guys. Now I have another couple questions....If I were to go to the USAPR out in Eloy, AZ for my Sr. Rigger's rating...how much experience should I have before I go? Should I spend some time in a loft just watching, or would just studying the materials be sufficient? I'm familiar with FAA rating tests (been there done a few of those)...so I kinda know what to expect from the test as far as the oral/written/practical go. And for my last question- if I did go to this school and get my Sr. Rigger's rating...what would my options be as far as where I could work? Do a lot of dropzones have an ongoing need for riggers or is it something that would be a lost cause?
Thanks in advance....Happy New Year and Blue Skies!!
-Marshall

[skybytch 273]

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Should I spend some time in a loft just watching, or would just studying the materials be sufficient?

I'd do both if at all possible. Find a rigger who doesn't mind explaining as he/she works and hang out for a few pack jobs; you'll learn alot. Get real familiar with the Parachute Manuals; you don't need to know all of it, you just need to know how to find what you need when you need it. Put some time in on a sewing machine if you don't sew already - mom's are usually good for a basic lesson or two.

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what would my options be as far as where I could work?

Pretty much anyplace you want to. The loft at Perris is almost always looking for riggers and I'm sure lofts at other large dz's are the same. If you're serious about rigging a big dz is where you want to be at first anyway; you'll see more and work on a bigger variety of equipment there than you will at a one Cessna dz.
pull and flare,
lisa