0
heidihagen

learning to pack - starting to fear a cutaway

By heidihagen, in The Bonfire

Recommended Posts

tbrown    26

tbrown
i'm just worried about what it will look like! the lines start moving from the center when i start to put it in the bag. our packer taught me the knee trick as well!!! i'm also scared of a really hard opening.



Heidi there's just no gettting around it, jumping your first pack job is one of life's scarier experiences. Of course it's going to open, but try telling that to your natural survival instincts, they don't think so.

bACK IN THE OLD DAYS (Oh god, here I go again...), we did our first pack job on our first freefall - usually around our 6th jump. Talk about double stressed. First million dollar question was whether we could keep it together enough to pull the string, then behind Door #2 was the BIGGER question of whether it would open or not. Mine did, of course. It's pretty hard to screw up, as long as your line groups are straight, slider is up, etc.

And it will take you a few jumps to get over that feeling, even though the second time should be a lot better. But give it five or six jumps on your own packing and you'll be fixed for life. You'll TRUST your own skills. You'll understand that packing isn't rocket science (except maybe for reserves, which we leave to the rocket scientist riggers anyway) and that you can basically throw the thhing together, even in a big hurry, and it WILL open. It's a feeling called confidence and there's nothing like it.

As for having to cutaway, it won't happen on your first packjob, I'm 99.9% sure of that. Nowadays on the gear we're jumping, you may just luck out and never have to do it at all. BUT seriously, it is part of the deal. It can happen on any jump and we have to always be ready to do it. We have the biggest fun because we're willing to take the risk. In the old days, on the old gear and a deranged attitude, I had too many cutaways. Nowadays, older and "wiser" and jumping thhe new gear, I haven't had one yet, but that could change this weekend and if it does, I'll be ready.

So don't sweat it either way, you're gonna do just great !

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

jose    0

jose
Bah, its bound to happen. It took me nearly 600 jumps to have my first chop. Keep yer head, know your EP's and practice them like you want to do them in real life. Shit happens and it happens real fast. I dumped at 3k, and by the time I got rid of my main, I was already hearing my hard deck siren at under 2k.

Want video? http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=2417

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

nate_1979    9

nate_1979
Just think, who cares most about your canopies opening?

The answer to your fist question is probably the same person that will give you the best pack jobs :ph34r:

I actually HATE jumping what I didnt pack now.

FGF #???
I miss the sky...
There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't.

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

The111    1

The111
I had 2 cutaways in my first 200 jumps, but both had nothing to do with the packjob. On my 50th jump I spun myself into linetwists at about 2k (long AFTER opening), something I did not know was possible at the time. I chose to cutaway because I was so low, and since the linetwists happened during an aggressive toggle move, the brakeline was locked down and the spiral worsened. Then, on my 14th wingsuit jump, I got linetwists I again decided to cutaway from, but these were due to my body position during the wingsuit deployment.

I have yet to have a bonafide malfunction where the parachute refused to open as advertised. I have packed for myself since I got off student status, and I am pretty neat with my packjobs, but it is really nothing you should worry too much about. You're probably going to do a better job than those paid packers who packed your student rig anyway. :D
www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

Salsa_John    0

Salsa_John
Heidi,

Though I am always concerned about having a mal, I practice my EP's so I feel fairly comfortable about cutting away. My only concern is if I will pull hard enough and fully but, having read some threads here, I don't think that will be an issue.

I just jumped my second pack job this Saturday and landed in the peas :D

I have found jumping my packs, I have some of the softest opens. I think this is due to my newness to packing and being really anal about things being just right. I know someone who has 10000 jumps with over 9000 self packs with no mals.

I did pack a pc in tow but caught it on my prejump check, I guess I owe myself beer.;)

"You did what?!?!"

MUFF #3722, TDSM #72, Orfun #26, Nachos Rodriguez

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
0
Go To Topic Listing