Packing the canopy

[DOA 0]

Hi,
Excuse me for asking, but at what point do we pack our own canopys? Yep, I'm a newbie. Planning to do the AFF in Florida, end of June. But I see nothing on the licence "map" a,b,c,d, etc that mentions canopy packing?

Phil.

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When I learn new stuff, it pushes the old stuff out of my brain!

[Reginald 0]

If you are looking at a USPA A License card then you are missing it. I forget the exact language but it specifies packing and jumping a main.

"We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

[Gandhi 0]

There's no set point whereby you can start packing, in fact you can become a packer all the way up to becoming a master rigger (top 'rank' in rigging) which allows you to pack reserves, and carry out some pretty major work on equipment, without even doing a single jump..

in the UK, unless you're a British Parachute Association member, you cant pack student canopies on your own (they have to be checked)..

typically i think most people tend to learn during their consolidation jumps or shortly afterwards.. that said, it took me over 100 jumps before i got round to it! i'd bought a brand new canopy and they're a bit tougher to pack, so i left it to the pros!

enjoy you're AFF, you'll be skint forever, but you'll be loving every minute of it!

quote 'you are to go around... next time extend your landing gear'

[Nutz 0]

You have to learn to pack to get your A. It is on the card. You can dowload the card here: http://www.uspa.org/publications/forms.htm#licenses It is the last thing on the first page.

Good luck!

"Don't! Get! Eliminated!"

[larsrulz 0]

Quote

If you are looking at a USPA A License card then you are missing it. I forget the exact language but it specifies packing and jumping a main.

Yes and No. The A-license proficiency card requires you to pack a main without assistance, but no where does it say you ever have to jump your own packjob. Many dropzones will require this so that one can gain confidence in both themselves and the gear, but USPA never requires this.

I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF

[174fps 1]

Quote

Hi,
Excuse me for asking, but at what point do we pack our own canopys? Yep, I'm a newbie. Planning to do the AFF in Florida, end of June. But I see nothing on the licence "map" a,b,c,d, etc that mentions canopy packing?

Phil.

If you go to the BPA site and download the BPA ops manual section 2

FAI A License requirements state, --- ability to pack main parachute.

[jasonRose 0]

I just finished getting my sign off on main parachute packing for my A license yesterday. You do have to pack a main canopy without assistance in order to get your sign off. The first pack job I did took me a hour and half, my instructor said it was the slowest pack job he had ever seen before. It took me about 15 try's until I felt semi comfortable packing without help.

One of the big problems I had when learnig how to pack was every one has there own style of packing which was a little confusing when I packed with differn't people. If I had it to do all over again I would have just stuck with one packing style until I got my sign off. I'm still learning my own style which will take a lot more packing to get it down solid.

Practice makes perfect!!
Listen to your instructors they know a hell of a lot more than I do.
BLUE SKY'S
AFF ROCKS, BE SAFE
Jason

Some day I will have the best staff in the world!!!

[kelpdiver 2]

Quote

I The first pack job I did took me a hour and half, my instructor said it was the slowest pack job he had ever seen before.

how many has he watched?!

[DOA 0]

wow, thanks everyone. I presumed you wouldnt pack you own canopy for quite some time. Seeing as if u get it wrong it'll cause a slight problem

Again I'm stunned at the resposibility of this sport. Which attracts me even more, but th e 30 day current A jump rule doesnt ! I live in the north UK, where its nearly always cloudy or raining !

Phil.

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When I learn new stuff, it pushes the old stuff out of my brain!

[mr2mk1g 10]

The currency rule in the UK is based around re-training sessions not necessarily jumps... ie time runs from your last re-train not your last jump.

Relevant period is 1 month but you can go without for up to 3 months (with a longer retrain) before you're charged (generally). Beyond that you're likely looking at the full first jump course fee again.

[Joellercoaster 6]

Quote

but th e 30 day current A jump rule doesnt ! I live in the north UK, where its nearly always cloudy or raining !

Which is why you might want to do your A somewhere else.

I'm going abroad next month for mine, and I'm confident it will still work out cheaper, but more importantly I won't have to worry about the weather so much.

(Famous last words, I know - this will turn out to be the only time in history Lillo has cyclones, or something.)

Doing my entire license in the UK, on weekends (and public transport!), sounded like a very furstrating process indeed.

Back on-topic for just a second, I first did AFF in Australia, and they charged us $12 or something for a packing class, taken whenever we felt like it and as many times as we needed. There were people in the class with no jumps yet, and a guy with about 30, and the rest seemed to be in between.

--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?