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JerryBaumchen 1,048
Hi Andre,
QuoteI know a ripcord has to be TSOed when made by a rigger or a company. I know most of the riggers don't have the equipment to make rip cord but that can change if the steel cable is going to be replaced by a 1000 lbs Spectra line by the FAA since swaging ball and pin could be replaced by finger trapping and bar tacking.
One more time: A rigger cannot make a reserve ripcord no matter what the material is. Only the TSO-authorization holder may make a reserve ripcord.
Now, with the possibility of a Spectre-line reserve ripcord, it 'might' be possible for a rigger to replace the line under his rigging license, but as a rigger I would not do so.
And I do know that there are quite a few riggers in the field currently making reserve ripcords; all of them illegal.
JerryBaumchen
PS) I hold a TSO-authorization for a ripcord; anyone wanting one can contact me. Shameless plug.
billvon 2,396
Correct. And if the rig was out of date they go after . . . the pilot. On every flight, the pilot is responsible for every single person in the plane. Many pilots thus are responsible for tens of thousands of people over the course of a year. Any one of them screws up and goes in with an out of date rig, he could lose his ticket.
And unlike riggers, often that means that a future (potentially lucrative) career is down the tubes.
But that has nothing to do with how much riggers (or pilots, or doctors) should get paid. They should get paid by how much people value their services, and by how little riggers are willing to charge for their work.
> But then again, if some of us get screwed by the courts, the rest of us
>will just quit rigging.
If it bothers you, then by all means, quit rigging and do something else. If you like rigging, and it's worth it to you, then by all means rig. Up to you.
>So as Steve alluded to earlier please go get your ticket if you
>are disgruntled with riggers.
?? I'm not disgruntled with riggers. (Or pilots, or doctors, or Crazy Larry, or Scott Miller.)
>When's the last time that you heard of a rigger hooking it in?
Crazy Larry has banged himself up pretty good on occasion.
QuoteWith the 6 months repack cycle coming, 150$ a year means 75$/repack (for an average of 2 repacks) you are exactely at the figure I mentioned ie. the cost of 3 jumps (25$ /jump). Everything is alright as far as I am concerned.
How much is a jump ticket at Paraclub Champlain?
QuoteQuote>$32.50 an hour (assuming 2 hours for an I/R) is not a good wage?
>If you can do it for 40 hours a week . . .
There's the rub. It's possible to do a repack in 2 hours. But add in shipping cypreses back to Airtec, emailing UPT with pictures of minor harness damage for their opinion (and waiting for their reply) replacing corroded reserve links, dropping off a rig with the guy that absolutely positively needs it this weekend, resetting a flap grommet, getting new cypres batteries and waiting for the PD143-in-a-PD126-container packjob to settle so you can close it - you can't really do 20 in a week.
Well, you probably could if you had someone to handle all the other stuff. But suddenly you're making half of what you used to.
You're being silly Bill the $32.50 ($65) is ONLY for an AIR, anything else is charged out accordingly ON TOP of the $32.50.
if you are going to argue the point at least do it honestly
+1
You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers!
Quote?? I'm not disgruntled with riggers. (Or pilots, or doctors, or Crazy Larry, or Scott Miller.)
How could anybody not be disgruntled with Crazy Larry?
QuoteCrazy Larry has banged himself up pretty good on occasion
But not to bad!
You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers!
If this is the same Crazy Larry I know of, I'm totally flabbergasted that he is a rigger.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239
fcajump 153
I find it interesting (and not surprising) that most calling a price increase (for ANY reason) as improper are not riggers.
On average I spend ~2-3 hours performing the AIR on a rig. AND pay for rent/general materials / heat / transport (sometimes) without additional fee. I train / coach / inform / answer questions and hold seminars for rig owners. I read trade mags, DZ.com, owner manuals, FAA publications, etc to keep up. I fund my own way to PIA Symposiums and to various Master Rigger's locations for additional training, mentoring, consultation. I've paid for my own training, gear, machines etc. None of these charges are passed on. Its just "part of the business".
Give me a rig I've not seen before and I take 1.5 to 10 times as long with it, depending on how long it takes to get a manual, SB, etc.
NO good rigger gets paid what (s)he is worth... though some do manage to live on it. If this was just a job (and not a mental condition ) 90% of us would quit. Factor that into your "free market conditions" price...
No, I'm not going to raise my prices this year because of the rule change. Though I will spend more time than it is worth educating myself and my customers on something that cuts my business volume and yet for which I have always been in favor.
I AM going to raise my rates because I haven't in YEARS and now is as good a time as any.
If someone else wants to raise their rates because of the rule (or for any other reason) then that's fine too. If they raise too much for the market forces, they'll either lower them again or go out of business. Its called a free market folks, get over it.
Jim
"Part-time" rigger, full time professional who is more than willing to send you down the road to the next rigger... oh wait... he quit after 2 years when he realized how much work it was after all...
You said it very well here. And I second your statements. Please let me expound a bit further.
As a rigger that has been around, takes the time (and makes the expenditures) to be a well educated and caring rigger, I often feel that our services are under appreciated.
And I've bent over backwards so many times to help out a jumper in need of a rigger only to get no thanks from them. The feeling of under -appreciation gets to me sometimes. Just like this thread is doing to me right now.
So to all of those non-riggers that are strangers to me, that need me to replace a line by tomorrow, or need a repack cuz you hired the cheapest main packer that you could find, I say go buy your own bartacker(s). Go get your own ticket. If you are so willing to bitch about what I charge, please develop the skill set that it takes to do the work yourself. It ain't rocket science.
Either way the FAA will ask me to inspect your gear when you don't do some things right.
And oh yeah, riggers do hold FAA certificates. We are held to a legal standard that skydivers are not. Riggers take on a responsibility that joe skydiver hasn't. But you are welcome to........try.
Aaron
ozzy13 0
I not sure why all you riggers are getting upset. OP asked a simple question and people answered. Im not saying that you guys dont have a hard job. Im not saying that I got out of a jam once or twice because of a rigger.
Im saying that I dont think the prices should be raised based on doing the same job. Nothing has changed accept the time frame that you will be doing that same job.
I hope/know my rigger does a great job on my repacks. Thats why I use him.
To go into all the stuff you guys do as a rigger is silly. That has nothing to do with the OP. If you want to raise your prices go ahead. Dont sit here and cry on how hard you work and that you deserve more money. It sounds like if you wanted to make more money you should be doing something else!!! Blue skies
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