ZigZagMarquis 9 #26 July 10, 2006 I think it just down-right sucks that some folks out there in the skydiving verse are getting money out of newbies to teach them to pack. If a student is willing to hangout until late in the day or come around during a time when its slow, someone on the DZ should be nice enough to show them how to pack. Its not like 99.9% of us had to pay someone to teach us to pack, we ought to pass it on. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lastchance 0 #27 July 10, 2006 I,m very surprised that any dropzone would charge you to leearn to pack. If you can't find someone to teach you for free and you want to pay money to learn, invest in Billy Webers film PACK LIKE A PRO. $20 in para gear. Or get the Survival Series which includes 5 different films with pack like a pro for $60 I may be getting old but I got to see all the cool bands. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dorbie 0 #28 July 10, 2006 Cost me $50 to learn how to pack, only the riggers would teach that stuff to students & I didn't think twice about it until I read this thread It's one thing to learn to pack from a range of people or a rigger but another to think you've been taught after a lesson from a single random jumper on the DZ. It's not clear every willing jumper would do a competent job instructing and most probably don't even know what they take for granted every time they pack. P.S. for example would you cover 3-ring maintenance and assembly when showing someone how to pack, I was. What about warning the student about collapsible pilot chutes? And there's a list of other stuff that's not 'obvious'. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrewEckhardt 0 #29 July 11, 2006 Quote If a student is willing to hangout until late in the day or come around during a time when its slow, someone on the DZ should be nice enough to show them how to pack. The problem is two-sided. Increasing numbers of new skydivers don't buy their beer. Since they don't buy their beer they don't become friends with the old skydivers who pass on information like how to pack to their newer skydiving friends. So they learn how to pack from people whose interest in skydiving is more commercial than recreational. That means packers and riggers who are teaching instead of getting $5 for a sport rig or $45 for a reserve. Quote Its not like 99.9% of us had to pay someone to teach us to pack, we ought to pass it on. A lot of us met the old skydivers in our first few dozen jumps when we bought our first case of beer for graduation or second case for new gear. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GreenMachine 0 #30 July 11, 2006 There are plenty of people at dropzones willing to show someone how to pack --- of course some of those people aren't great packers I have explained to many people at my DZ how to pack while I am packing my rig, I also answer questions, and will even through a new canopy in a bag for nice people BUT unless we are on a weather hold I do not want to spend 2+ hours teaching packing when I could be jumping. Hence, I offer people to come to my house on a non-jumping day and learn for free. I think people learn better when there are no distractions AND they write down the steps. My one-on-one classes go like this: I pack my rig and explain every step while they watch, ask questions, and take their own notes of the process. I then allow them to pack my rig as many times as they want to. During this time I will watch, then go do some chores around the house, come back, watch some more, answer questions, etc. These students typically become friends who are happy to buy/give me a beer, use me for coach jumps, use me for video jumps, and recommend me to their friends doing tandems. The compensation may take a while but investing in new skydiver friends is almost always a good thing.Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fcajump 164 #31 July 11, 2006 I teach for free (when/as time permits). Last time I taught it was at the jumper's house with both my gear and his, instructing both him and his roommate... Again free, but when he offered me a nice tip for the 3-4 hours I had spent, I quickly promised him that it his money would disappear into thin air asap... and it did that weekend in the form of a couple lifts to 13,500' (PS - just in case anyone thinks I pulled a fast one to get my gear packed... my rig started packed and ended the night unpacked... I like to use it for packing demo's as every cell and stab are different a color from their neighbors and the center is a unique color... much easier to demo on than a mono-color.) JimAlways remember that some clouds are harder than others... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZigZagMarquis 9 #32 July 12, 2006 ... and there you have it... we need more people in the sport for the BEER then in it for the MONEY! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest #33 July 12, 2006 Haha...I'll buy the beer for someone to teach me to pack!! Actually...I'll give the money to someone else to buy the beer. I like beer Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Squeak 17 #34 July 13, 2006 And this is how it should be. Nice wotk TomYou are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky) My Life ROCKS! How's yours doing? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites SKYOCEAN 0 #35 July 13, 2006 OK, I thought the Beer thing was just a saying. I don't drink beer ( it's sour) and who exactly am I buying beer for? Do they drink beer ? How do I know what brand of beer? If it's my instructor(s), is it a case for each? Do they all like beer? All the same brand? Is it the packers? The pilots? The manifest girl? The front office people? The student check in office? Can I expect not to make friends if I don't buy beer? Help me out here!I should have been a kickass drummer and a world famous first base man. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites ZigZagMarquis 9 #36 July 13, 2006 QuoteOK, I thought the Beer thing was just a saying. OMG... NO!!! Its not just a saying!!!! It starts when you get off status... you owe a case of beer... after that, when ever you do anything for the "first" time... first pack-job, for example... pretty soon you'll refer to the word "first" as the F-word and not FUCK... and you'll instinctively say "CASE OF BEER" when ever you hear someone else say "first"... even when around WHUFFOS... Quote...who exactly am I buying beer for? The Drop Zone & the Beer Gods. QuoteDo they drink beer ? YES!!! QuoteHow do I know what brand of beer? GREEN BOTTLES!!!! Quote If it's my instructor(s), is it a case for each? No... one case of beer to the DZ anytime you admit to doing something for the firat time or get caught doing something for the first time. Quote Do they all like beer? YES! Quote All the same brand? GREEN BOTTLES!!!! QuoteIs it the packers? Could be... as long as they're done packing for others for the day... QuoteThe pilots? Could be... just remember, 12-inches from Bottle to Throttle! QuoteThe manifest girl? YES!!! ... if she's cute... ... if she doesn't think you're cute... get her to drink beers until you're cute... Quote The front office people? YES! QuoteThe student check in office? YES! QuoteCan I expect not to make friends if I don't buy beer? YES!!... just kidding... QuoteHelp me out here! Once you owe beer, buy it and bring it onto the DZ... it becomes "fair game"... no longer your beer... free to anyone for the taking without reproach. Now... if we're talking buying your rigger a bottle for saving your life after you aired your reserve he or she paked for you... that's a different story... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Ron 10 #37 July 13, 2006 Come to Dallas, I'll teach you for free."No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Reginald 0 #38 July 13, 2006 Quote If it's my instructor(s), is it a case for each? Do they all like beer? All the same brand? Is it the packers? The pilots? The manifest girl? The front office people? The student check in office? Do a search for "beer rules" they can be a bit over the top but a case upon graduating AFF and a case when you get your A license is a good start. A couple of other cases is not a bad idea either. Personally I don't like beer (Mandy will tell you I'm a wine cooler kind of a guy but the reality is it's Whiskey). The beer is a way to socialize and meet people. One can just bring the beer and it will be tucked in the "school beer fridge" and handed out at the end of the night. Another idea is to bring a cooler of beer and hand them out at the end of the evening to everyone - staff, experienced jumpers, etc. It is a way to introduce yourself to people. It's a big DZ and even though experienced jumpers are going out of their way to meet new jumpers it's easy to get lost in the shuffle. They want to get to know new people so help them out by introducing yourself with "Hi, I'm Edward and I'm bring beer for my first whatever" Just so you don't think it is all students. Ernie (the chief instructor with 10,000 jumps) busted the beer line (landed 2 feet inside the spectator area) and bought a case of beer on Saturday night. I owe beer for my first titanium and when I get to jump again in a couple of months my first jump back from surgery."We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Ron 10 #39 July 13, 2006 QuoteMandy will tell you I'm a wine cooler kind of a guy Kinda goes with "nicely dressed" "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Prev 1 2 Next Page 2 of 2 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. 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. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
Squeak 17 #34 July 13, 2006 And this is how it should be. Nice wotk TomYou are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky) My Life ROCKS! How's yours doing? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SKYOCEAN 0 #35 July 13, 2006 OK, I thought the Beer thing was just a saying. I don't drink beer ( it's sour) and who exactly am I buying beer for? Do they drink beer ? How do I know what brand of beer? If it's my instructor(s), is it a case for each? Do they all like beer? All the same brand? Is it the packers? The pilots? The manifest girl? The front office people? The student check in office? Can I expect not to make friends if I don't buy beer? Help me out here!I should have been a kickass drummer and a world famous first base man. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZigZagMarquis 9 #36 July 13, 2006 QuoteOK, I thought the Beer thing was just a saying. OMG... NO!!! Its not just a saying!!!! It starts when you get off status... you owe a case of beer... after that, when ever you do anything for the "first" time... first pack-job, for example... pretty soon you'll refer to the word "first" as the F-word and not FUCK... and you'll instinctively say "CASE OF BEER" when ever you hear someone else say "first"... even when around WHUFFOS... Quote...who exactly am I buying beer for? The Drop Zone & the Beer Gods. QuoteDo they drink beer ? YES!!! QuoteHow do I know what brand of beer? GREEN BOTTLES!!!! Quote If it's my instructor(s), is it a case for each? No... one case of beer to the DZ anytime you admit to doing something for the firat time or get caught doing something for the first time. Quote Do they all like beer? YES! Quote All the same brand? GREEN BOTTLES!!!! QuoteIs it the packers? Could be... as long as they're done packing for others for the day... QuoteThe pilots? Could be... just remember, 12-inches from Bottle to Throttle! QuoteThe manifest girl? YES!!! ... if she's cute... ... if she doesn't think you're cute... get her to drink beers until you're cute... Quote The front office people? YES! QuoteThe student check in office? YES! QuoteCan I expect not to make friends if I don't buy beer? YES!!... just kidding... QuoteHelp me out here! Once you owe beer, buy it and bring it onto the DZ... it becomes "fair game"... no longer your beer... free to anyone for the taking without reproach. Now... if we're talking buying your rigger a bottle for saving your life after you aired your reserve he or she paked for you... that's a different story... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron 10 #37 July 13, 2006 Come to Dallas, I'll teach you for free."No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Reginald 0 #38 July 13, 2006 Quote If it's my instructor(s), is it a case for each? Do they all like beer? All the same brand? Is it the packers? The pilots? The manifest girl? The front office people? The student check in office? Do a search for "beer rules" they can be a bit over the top but a case upon graduating AFF and a case when you get your A license is a good start. A couple of other cases is not a bad idea either. Personally I don't like beer (Mandy will tell you I'm a wine cooler kind of a guy but the reality is it's Whiskey). The beer is a way to socialize and meet people. One can just bring the beer and it will be tucked in the "school beer fridge" and handed out at the end of the night. Another idea is to bring a cooler of beer and hand them out at the end of the evening to everyone - staff, experienced jumpers, etc. It is a way to introduce yourself to people. It's a big DZ and even though experienced jumpers are going out of their way to meet new jumpers it's easy to get lost in the shuffle. They want to get to know new people so help them out by introducing yourself with "Hi, I'm Edward and I'm bring beer for my first whatever" Just so you don't think it is all students. Ernie (the chief instructor with 10,000 jumps) busted the beer line (landed 2 feet inside the spectator area) and bought a case of beer on Saturday night. I owe beer for my first titanium and when I get to jump again in a couple of months my first jump back from surgery."We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron 10 #39 July 13, 2006 QuoteMandy will tell you I'm a wine cooler kind of a guy Kinda goes with "nicely dressed" "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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