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regulator

How many jumps did you have before you started jumping your own pack jobs?

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Here is an inside secret. Shhhh .... don't tell anyone.

If you already have survived a serious mal... you are way ahead of the many of us who have never had one. You have "Been there, done that".

There of lots of us who wonder about what it will be like and how well we will resolve it.

You already know... B|B|B|

Smile, Breathe, Relax.:)

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

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So I'm getting my own rig (its being shipped to me soon) and I was wondering if any of you remember what your jump numbers were before you started jumping your own pack jobs. I plan on jumping my own pack jobs between 25 to 50 jumps.



I avoided packing rental gear, in part because it changed every week, and in part because some places already charged for the pack, or required that their packers do the last pack job, so it didn't give a lot of opportunity if I came out to do two jumps.

However, the consequence of this is that when my rig was finally put together, I had very limited memory from my packing class. I traded rides to the DZ with a new arrival to the area for some review at his place.

Packing will be slow and tiring until you get (and maintain) consistent practice. Even if you use a packer to get more jumps in during the day, it behooves you to do the first or last pack. That way if you're at a boogie or a smaller DZ, you're not stuck waiting for an hour to get it packed up.

(and yes, the guys at static or non US DZs are laughing a bit at this thread. In the pre turbine era, everyone packed nearly all the time)

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Jump number eight was my first solo pack job with supervision. I was packing with lots of help beginning on number three.

I did seven static line jumps with T-10's over a span of three years, then did jump number eight as my first clear and pull, and also my first jump on a Para-Commander. That's the first one I packed myself. One jump, three firsts.

My first square jump was at about jump number 25, and was also the first time I packed a square.

Back in the day packing was part of the jump and was expected. In fact, folks who were off the rope had earned their place in the DZ hierarchy, and often helped pack the student T-10's. We didn't have "professional" packers for our mains, and heck, many DZ's didn't even have a legal rigger for the reserves.

There have been lots of changes in the sport since I made my first jump in 1979. Most of those changes have been super good, but the reluctance of students to pack for themselves and the willingness of instructors to let the packing lessons slide, counts as a big negative in my book.
Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

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you beat me...

i had 2 jumps when i started jumping my pack jobs.

packed hundreds and hundreds,, hell, thousands of cheapo's and T 10's so others could make a first and sometimes ONLY jump...

i liked it too. cause you always needed someone to 'hold tension',, a good way to have whuffos or newbies help out... and after the 4 line check was good, fast flaking a round, was an art...:o:P:$;)
hahaha.

To the O P ...
nowadays everything has changed.. the ramair is a complete different packing event...but the techniques are established and with the right teacher, easily taught, and packing is fundamental to skydiving, or at least IMHO, it should be,,,:|
Do learn it, practice it it often, get good at it, and then keep on learning OTHER things...

I often thought that packing technicians are a GREAT idea, for staff rigs, and tandem rigs and AFF rigs, and most all of the gear that is part of a student program...( just from a ' tracking ' and maintance point of view, that makes sense )
but for sport gear,, gear jumped by fun jumpers and 'weekend warriors, it seems sensible that doing one's own pack job and getting comfortable with the rig, leads to good kharma between the parachute and the parachutist...!!!;)B|
it builds confidence, gives us something to do between loads, saves some dough...
and SPARES many MANY a packer who is simply to nice to say,, " No I can't make a 10 minute call"...

self sufficiency is a good thing.

jt

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I'm just not confident enough that I remember everything from my packing class a year ago for my A License. I plan on doubling (if not more) the amount of jumps I have already (since I've got my own gear now and not renting). But I want to be very sure of my abilities before I start jumping my own pack jobs.



Nothing about falling from an aircraft has anything to do with your packing skills. The jump and the pack are two separate events. Jump numbers and packing skill are not directly related.

If you're feeling uncertain about packing get together with your rigger with a 12-pack and have a refresher.

.02
"Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

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I packed after my first jump (student rental) and I think I jumped my own packjob (though I got the mandatory checks) before I had five jumps.
"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
~mom

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So I'm getting my own rig (its being shipped to me soon) and I was wondering if any of you remember what your jump numbers were before you started jumping your own pack jobs. I plan on jumping my own pack jobs between 25 to 50 jumps.



I starting packing for myself on my 13th skydive, which was after 7 AFF jumps in which students don't pack for themselves and 5 on rental gear before they let me jump a rig without an AAD.

There's no good reason not to pack for yourself once you have your own rig. Saving $5 a jump and being able to get back in the air soon rather than waiting for a packer are great reasons to pack for yourself.

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My first jump was my own pack job as we got weathered off and had to do something instead of just sitting around! The next day I jumped my own packjob! As if gear fear on your first jump isn't bad enough! :P It was checked off loads of times along the way though.

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I didn't pack my 1st jump. When I said I wanted to make a second jump they said something like....

Well, you better start packing then. The first ones on us but if you want to keep jumping you have to learn to pack cuz ain't no one going to do it for you.

Seriously. Paid packers were unheard of. The instructors and jumpmasters packed for the first jump students but they wouldn't do it for you after the first jump. They were perfectly willing to show you how and supervise.

Different times for sure.
Onward and Upward!

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If you need some practice packing, I'll let you pack mine. If you can get it in the bag and close the container (and I'm sure you can), I'll go jump it. Then you'll know the pack jobs work just fine!Wink



I planned on packing three or four thousand times before ever jumping my own packjob. One of the packers let me borrow his rig to practice on, and just after I finished my second-ever packjob he swept it up, put it on his back, and started heading to the plane.

"Wait, wait," sez I. "I don't know what I'm doing!!!"

"Nah, I watched you," sez he. "It'll be fine, I've got a backup!"

I sat horrified on the ground as the plane climbed to altitude. I held my breath as each canopy opened. Where the hell was my friend?

Long story short... it was fine. That being said, I was very glad someone else jumped my packjob before I had to (somewhere around jump 12 I think).

To those that say there is no point in jumping a few times first, I think there IS value in not having a million things running through your head. There's a lot going on in those first few jumps. Waiting for 50 jumps to pack your own? Yah... that's likely overkill.

Also, I think knowing how a canopy opens, first hand, is very important. When I can't pack my own rig, my first choice is always a packer who also jumps. No offense, but I've seen a couple of crucial packing errors come from non-jumpers. Anyone can make a mistake... I was guilty of forgetting to cock my pilot chute last year... but I've only seen a non-jumper forget to uncollapse a slider.

Why is one mistake more forgivable in my opinion? And what does it have to do with jumping?

Not cocking your pilot chute can lead to a scary moment or two, and in rare cases could lead to messiness if the main doesn't come out.... but an uncollapsed slider can (and has) broken necks. I don't know of a single jumper that has experienced even a slightly snappy opening that will forget to take care of their slider.

Please, please, please know that I have, and do trust non-jumpers to pack. And there are jumpers that I wouldn't let near my rig if they packed for free. The point is more what one learns by jumping.

It is certainly possible to overthink the process. And probable that jumping one's own packjob is more intimidating than it needs to be. Thank goodness I only practiced twice and not three thousand times like I planned....

However, I don't think it's fair to say that jump experience has no bearing on understanding how a canopy opens... or driving home which steps are more important.

Take nbblood up on the offer to pack for him, and let him jump it once so your nerves are calmed... but then get out there and do it!

Even if you resort to using a packer on busy days or for newer canopies... there is the argument that learning to pack can help someone decipher a malfunction and react more effectively.... so when it comes to risk management maybe we should pack before we ever jump at all! How's that for multiple takes on the same issue!

Zoinks!

-eli

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i was packing tandems and sport rigs before My first jump, when I started my course the weather was bad for 3 weeks so that is waht wi did in the meantime.

I may have even packed my first jump but not too sure.
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

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but the reluctance of students to pack for themselves and the willingness of instructors to let the packing lessons slide, counts as a big negative in my book.



Can I get an Amen!

I started packing my own while still a student. Still do. Always have. Most I did for myself in a day was 16. I've watched people scratch from a 20 minute call because they couldn't pack and I don't mean first year wonders. No excuse for that
Hiring a packer because you have the money is one thing. But you better damn well know what the packer is doing and should be able to do as good a job. Maybe not as fast, but as good. Anybody who can't needs to get on their knees and start building up the pack job numbers and let the jump numbers take a rest for a minute.

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Learning to pack was part of my FJC back in 1988 at Fort Campbell. It was a week long, and met every night, with half of the course spent learning to pack. It was a requirement to jump your own pack job from the first jump on. Once you packed 10 under supervision, the instructors cleared you to pack unsupervised. The idea was that if you did not have the knowledge of and interest in taking care of your own gear from day one, you didn't need to be there.

True, this was a military club, so maybe that model does not work commercially, but it did produce good skydivers who knew their gear and had confidence in their own ability to pack and maintain it.

CDR

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OK im not gonna lie (but I probably should) my first packjob was my A license check dive. My next pack job was around jump 80.

Why? cuz I can be a lazy fuk and had the money. But once I started jumping my own gear, jump 78, I had a packer friend teach me again.

But until recently I was still using a packer about half the time at the DZ cuz it took me so long, but I realized I will only get faster/better by packing myself as much as possible.

So now I do all my own packing (last 30 or so jumps)(btw I packed a step-thru once and will never make that mistake again, did not realize how ez it is to do once that sucker is in the d-bag)

BTW, my 20 year old daughter just jumped her first pack job today at Elsinore, and I got to jump with her!!! She had already done her check dive just needed to jump her own pack job! It was a blast...I waited 8 months for that jump!

Enjoy your new gear!
"Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

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Hi reg,
Since jump #1. It was either pack the rig or you don't jump! Also had to have at least some gear. The club had a couple of reserves (Chest Type) and I sniveled a 28' Double L from a friend till I got the mod sewn in my canopy.
SCR-2034, SCS-680

III%,
Deli-out

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I started packing on my third jump.

My son started packing when he was 9 years old. He had over 2500 pack jobs before he made his first jump at age 17. He packed the tandem that was used for his first jump.

He felt really uncomfortable when he went through AFF in Deland and they wouldn't let him pack his own rig untill he graduated AFF.

It was the only thing that he didn't like about his AFF training. In his words "I can't beleive they won't let me pack my own rig...... this is bullshit".
Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

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