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What out-of-the-ordinary things do you do for safety?

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Example:

Somebody posted that they put all new rubber bands on their dbag after a weekend of jumping. Seems like a reasonable thing to do. Got some others?

You can have it good, fast, or cheap: pick two.

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Example:

Somebody posted that they put all new rubber bands on their dbag after a weekend of jumping. Seems like a reasonable thing to do. Got some others?



I don't see a need to replace ALL the rubber bands after a weekend of jumping unless they are not in a good shape. I do like to replace them when they look like they are about to break.

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For safety ?? I sometimes let a packer pack my parachute :D



Dito that!!!! they don't call me The "non packing" Don Man for nothing... have had very few cut aways since i gave up packing...:P


The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.

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not sure that's always a gain for safety. Do you pick particular packers? What about visiting elsewhere?

The variation between soft and hard openings was greater for me with packer jobs (esp at boogies) than it is when I do it. I still may pay some of the time, but it's not about safety, other than indirectly because I'm not so exhausted by the last jump.

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Man, you know I can just not buy into using a packer. They didn't exist for the first 15-18 years of my career. I'm faster, not necessarily for the pack job itself, although I'm propably as fast, but my rig isn't waiting in line.:P

I want to know whats on my back. I want to look at the rig. I just don't get it.

What really bugs me are the people that don't even know how to pack. A quote I heard from someone with 150 jumps. "I think I had to pack once to get my license but it hurts my hands.":S It probably shouldn't bother me. If they have the money I guess I shouldn't care. But even when we didn't have packers I got upset at jumpers who didn't know how to put their three ring together.>:( And didn't WANT to know.


Hmmm, maybe this is a poll. Do riggers use packers less often than non riggers?

As for safety, the biggest thing I did was become a rigger. I had a 1400' reserve total (pulled at 1700'). There were 5 or 6 little rigging errors. Probably none of them were the direct cause but they may have contributed. The rigger that packed it had 39 malfunctions. But this was kind of like Jack Benny being 39, he had stopped counting. But all of his reserve rides were on chest mount rounds and mainly canopy transfers.
The other riggers in the area I didn't trust any more than him. Or they didn't want to do sport rigs.

But not just a rigger, a curious rigger. I've been to all the rigger conferences/PIA symposia since 1989 except one and helped with several. I've brought back several new techniques and special pieces of knowledge to the riggers here that might of got here eventually.

And the safety aspect isn't juet knowing my reserve. It's knowing about the gear in general and being able to recognize problems and fix them.



Another aspect for safety has been investing in an AAD. I jumped for about 15 years before the cypres was widely available. AAD's existed but were not considered reliable enough NOT to fire when not needed. I had a friend die after being knocked unconcious exiting a DC3. Almost the whole DZ of experienced jumpers were on the 24 way with her. Many said they were going to get an FXC. Many more said they were going to get a hard helmet. (She was wearing a frap hat.) NOT ONE FXC or hard helmet was purchased because of that fatality.:|

I've never needed my cypres but several friends have. And I'm glad they're still here. I used to describe skydiving as the only activity where you were guaranteed to die unless you took an deliberate, positive action. Driving down the road and taking your hands off the wheel and feet off the pedals, you might/probably won't die. I'm sure there are other cases almost as sure, but without an AAD you are going to die once you leave the airplane unless you DO something. And that was part of the atraction of the sport. The selfreliance required. I don't get to say this anymore.

Day to day safety? Know your gear, know your limits, and leave your ego at the door.
I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

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You do have a rabbit foot, don't you?



Nah, that's completely outdated. Nobody does that anymore.

I touch tailwing*) before boarding and stare down at the DZ before exit looking for "the perfect 45 degree angle"...
.
There used to be a ritual that involved virgins blood, twirling rings and burning chickenfeathers but... O well... :P

(I wonder if I can keep getting away any longer with only replacing broken rubber bands when they actually break during the packjob. Anybody willing to send me some fresh virgins, just to be on the safe side?)

*) Briefly touching the tail(wing) before boarding BTW is the best safety ritual anybody ever taught me.... :)

"Whoever in discussion adduces authority uses not intellect but memory." - Leonardo da Vinci
A thousand words...

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I don't do it (a mate does) - check the yellow things are really through the stingy things after opening. I suppose it makes sense - you don't want to find out they are, but only just, at 500ft...

---------------------------------------
Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club
www.skydivebristoluni.com

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Guest 1010
>I had a 1400' reserve total

Care to share what you did to survive that situation?

You can have it good, fast, or cheap: pick two.

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Guest 1010
>Why replace them before they break?

I've noticed that the rubber bands stretch out in a non-uniform manner, in addition to some becoming nicked and so forth. I use small bands for all the non-locking stows and I like my lines tight and uniform without double stowing. Rubberbands are cheap.

:)

You can have it good, fast, or cheap: pick two.

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2 reasons that I can see. 1, A bungie that looks like breaking probably will break, and will take much less force to do so than it's brand new tight fitting neighbour, and this imbalance is likely to cause twists. 2, If bungies break whilst you are beating up the container in order to close it, that must have potential for causing line dump. I like to be environmentally friendly (if you exclude burning obscene amounts of aircraft fuel), but I reckon the planets rubber reserves will still last out if I get a couple of jumps less out of each bungy.
Better drowned than duffers. If not duffers, won't drown.

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I don't do it (a mate does) - check the yellow things are really through the stingy things after opening. I suppose it makes sense - you don't want to find out they are, but only just, at 500ft...



yep, I always do that too, a mini gear-check after opening

You can have it good, fast, or cheap: pick two.

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I PLF whenever I'm not absolutely certain of the landing.

Wendy W.
There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

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ok guys, this is the relation to my Rigger. She is the only one that packs my rig. I am always first in line because 1. I drive her to the DZ. 2. I was the one to teach her how to pack. (I have packed in the past for the DZ) 3. I pay her well. and 4. My opening are very consistent.

I have the kind of relationship with my packer that if something does open strange, I can let her know. Sometimes she blames it on me but most of the time she will investigate closer and make adjustments. Then let me know what she did so i can give her back input of wether is was positive or negative.

For some people like myself, I have 2 rigs, one has a Xaos and the other a VX. Both are heavily loaded and my openings for the most part are on heading and smooth. I do alot of AFF and Tandem jumps and it pays to be abel to debrief or brief a student while your rig is being packed. I pay dearly for this service but in the long run I'm not rushed to pack in order to get on the plane and I can give more time to my students while still on the ground.

In short what works for some people may not work for others.


The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.

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Ever since an amigo jumped without her chest strap fastened I've found myself checking the strap before I deploy. Then I think "You pussy!"
"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

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