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Packing an isolated canopy

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I just order my rig today (12-14 weeks for delvery :S), got a cypress too but I still need to buy a main and reserve canopy. So I was thinking since it's gonna take so long to get my rig, maybe I should go ahead and buy my main and practice packing in the meantime. I usually don't pack very often at the DZ since it still takes me upwards of a half an hour and I'd much rather pay a packer and go jump on the next load. The downside is that I still suck at packing and don't see myself improving until I have some dedicated down-time to pack and repack a canopy until I'm fairly proficient at it.
So what would you say to me buying a canopy, laying it out with the lines attached to something sturdy (with some D-rings perhaps) and just go through the motions of packing it until its ready to go in the D-bag, then trying again. I would certainly take care not to damage the material but I dont wanna put any undue wear on it if Im not even jumping it either. Any suggestions?

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I think your biggest problem is going to be getting the canopy into the d-bag. Everything else is pretty simple. If you can get a canopy AND, a deployment bag of the correct size, to practice on, then go ahead. Otherwise, I think you may be wasting time. Then again, learning any part of the packing process is going to beneficial.
I'm behind the bar at Sloppy Joe's....See ya in the Keys!

Muff 4313

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Superb idea. I have always believed the skydivers need more pack jobs than they have jumps - especially in the beginning - but I've noticed they have more jumps than pack jobs. So use down time for something useful. And packing fills the bill nicely. Pack, unpack, pack, unpack... I would suggest doing it in stages: Lay it out, and get it right up to the point you would have to put it in the bag. Then just repeat this for a few hundred times then practice the part of getting it into the bag to closing. Just so the whole job doesn't frustrate you enough to give up early. Get someone to teach and supervise you a few times then have at it. Get advice from more than one person - but choose these people wisely. Pester the packers, riggers and BASE jumpers for insights & tips (ideas, not money).

I congratulate you for taking this initiative. For being willing to pack. I'm all for paying a packer. But I just have a hard time paying for something you use to save your life while remaining largely ignorant about the device itself. I allow that not all of us will understand the aerodynamics, flight properties or construction deceleration devices, but packing is Skydive 101 and anyone who treats packers as a commodity, as consumer goods, misses the point of it all anyway. Pay for a packer eventually if you want to, but at least be able to understand what's happening with your parachute while it's in the hands of someone else. Refuse to remain ignorant. Again, good for you.

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I would suggest doing it in stages: Lay it out, and get it right up to the point you would have to put it in the bag. Then just repeat this for a few hundred times then practice the part of getting it into the bag to closing.



A few HUNDRED times?

How many hundreds do you recommend?
" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

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Packing a canopy does put some wear on it. How can it not? Probably not going to wear it a lot unless you have OCD :)

Since the d-bag is part of the rig you'd have nothing to pack your canopy into so just buying a canopy is sorta useless for that purpose.

My suggestion would be to talk to the DZ or a rigger who has some older gear and see if you could borrow it to practise on. It's far easier to pack a worn out old F111 than buying a new ZP canopy and trying with that. This way you can get good at the procedure before the slippery trouble starts getting in the way.

I know lots of people have different variations on how they do things but it's often a good idea to see a rigger and have your "procedure" validated. It's always good to make sure you've got the basic objectives pointed out and covered.

-Michael

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Love the idea I did it myself when I started. I had about 1000 flat packs on f111 and no propack's when I get started. But still hadn't packed anything in 8 years. I got a copy of pack like a pro, some crown and 7, and packed about 50-100 times just as hackish said on some old f111 canopy. When I got my stuff in it fairly simple besides the slippery part of course.

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***...I'd much rather pay a packer and go jump on the next load. "***

I'd like everyone to welcome another yuppie skydiver!

Meg, don't worry, it will click. Go to the DZ and ask people to help. Offer to pack for them with their instruction. Great way to meet people and it will let everyone know that you're actually interested in the nuts and bolts of what you're doing.
"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

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here's a better idea, if you are in a place where people are still jumping through the winter months, why not go the a DZ pack fun jumpers mains and get paid for it? by about the 50th pack job you should have the hang of it, and you made a little cash in the meantime. I know some professional packers that still suck and have thousands of packjobs, so don't worry about it, if people are particular about their packjobs they'll use another packer, or they'll pack it themselves (like me:)

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Getting it in the D-Bag is the hard part. The rest is fairly simple after you have done it a few times. Without a D-Bag, I am not sure how much real benefit folding up a canopy a 100 or so times would be.

Another suggestion would be to go to the DZ and see if anyone there is willing to let you pack for them. You get free experience and they get free pack jobs.. Plus you get the added benefit of feedback on each opening.

I know someone here that offers to teach Newbie’s to pack and he charges them 10 pack jobs. He teaches them and lets them pack his rig. He jumps it and lets them do it again. The newbie gets to learn to pack and gets confidence in their pack jobs and the teacher gets free pack jobs. Great Method I think.

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I know someone here that offers to teach Newbie’s to pack and he charges them 10 pack jobs. He teaches them and lets them pack his rig. He jumps it and lets them do it again. The newbie gets to learn to pack and gets confidence in their pack jobs and the teacher gets free pack jobs. Great Method I think



dude i just peed myself laughing...that's some scandalous shit right there. funny as all hell all the same. i like it :D
if you want a friend feed any animal
Perry Farrell

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When I show people how to pack this is my way: I jump my rig and drop it at the end of the day, get a beer and watch the newbie pack it.

That way I get a free pack job while I drink a beer, don't waste any time during the day to teach how to pack and the pack job actually gets jumped so I can tell the student how (or if) it opened.

I say go to your DZ and offer people to pack for them for free in trade for being watched doing so. It might be a little tough to find somebody as some people are picky about who packs their shit, but I bet somebody will say yes.

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***...I'd much rather pay a packer and go jump on the next load. "***

I'd like everyone to welcome another yuppie skydiver!



Easy there killer, I wouldnt have posted this had I not been interested in the technical aspects of the sport. Eventually Id like to get certified as a master rigger and perhaps put my engineering degree to use working with a rig or canopy manufacturer ...but I guess not everyone can be a hardcore skydiver like you.


D-bags arent too expensive, are they? Im sure I could by one of the right size in the meantime and sell it when my rig comes..or even keep it as a spare.
yeah Id feel much better knowing exactly how the thing saving my life was packed and care & attention to detail was taken where it counts. At this point though, such a pack job for me would take way too long...I just wanna get that down to a practical time before I start doing it at the dz.

btw, which video would you recommend, "pack like a pro" or "packing made simple"

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When I show people how to pack this is my way: I jump my rig and drop it at the end of the day, get a beer and watch the newbie pack it.

That way I get a free pack job while I drink a beer, don't waste any time during the day to teach how to pack and the pack job actually gets jumped so I can tell the student how (or if) it opened.

I say go to your DZ and offer people to pack for them for free in trade for being watched doing so. It might be a little tough to find somebody as some people are picky about who packs their shit, but I bet somebody will say yes.




right on man..

but I already know how to pack, in many different flavors too psycho, pro, flat...I fear no nylon. I don't use packers I pack my own
if you want a friend feed any animal
Perry Farrell

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Easy there killer, I wouldnt have posted this had I not been interested in the technical aspects of the sport.



I know - still had to rib you for saying that.

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Re: Thantos

"I know someone here that offers to teach Newbie’s to pack and he charges them 10 pack jobs. "



That's kind of fucked up. People probably think this guy is a dick when they've been there long enough.
"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

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Not at all. Many Places Charge $75 or more for a "Packing Class". (Yes I know plenty of other places where a Case of beer or simply "ASK" and you will find plenty of people to teach you to pack)

I think ths guys method.. "Teach you to pack and let you practice on My Rig" is a pretty good trade off.

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Not at all. Many Places Charge $75 or more for a "Packing Class". (Yes I know plenty of other places where a Case of beer or simply "ASK" and you will find plenty of people to teach you to pack)

I think ths guys method.. "Teach you to pack and let you practice on My Rig" is a pretty good trade off.



A packing class is one thing and SHOULD include a lot of information. Charging someone $10 for a supervised pack so you can huck it on the next load is something else - and pretty low.
"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

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A newbie packing for the first few times, NO ONE is going to hucking it to the next load.



HA! Speak for yourself - why waste a perfectly good pack. I've probably jumped 20 newbie pack jobs in the last two years. Granted, I was there fixing and explaining.

Thanks for the explanation. The way you wrote that it sounded like your guy was getting down from a jump - getting a newb to do a supervised pack and then charging him $10.
"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

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So what would you say to me buying a canopy, laying it out with the lines attached to something sturdy (with some D-rings perhaps) and just go through the motions of packing it until its ready to go in the D-bag, then trying again.



Gene,

You could do this, but keep in mind that your main risers, toggles, D-bag, and pilot chute all come with the rig - not the canopy. I think you'll find it quite impossible to practice packing without these. :P Seriosuly though, without those 4 components, you'd be leaving out two critical steps in the packing process: setting your brakes and cocking your pilot chute (if equipped with a collapsible). I see no sense in practicing a process if you leave out two critical steps. For example, failure to set one or both brakes properly could cause a malfunction you'd have to cut away from, and failure to cock a collapsible pilot chute would almost certainly result in a total malfunction. You don't want to practice doing that! :o

I am very new to the sport (I've jumped around 80 of my own packjobs in 94 jumps), but I can tell you all of the posters above me gave you great advice - see if folks at the DZ will let you pack their rigs under supervision. Your ultimate packing method will be a mixture of things you learn from different folks, and that is a great way to pick up advice.

I tried to learn to pack using 'Packing Made Simple' and it was a good reference tool, but it nowhere near compares the hands-on, lots of advice method you'll experience at the DZ.

edited to add: It is also a good idea to pack under supervision for a while to make sure that you are not doing something incorrectly and not realizing it. Sort of like why they tell us newbs its a bad idea to rack up a ton of solos when we get signed off to self-supervision.
Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.

Accidents don't just happen. They must be carelessly planned.

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When I get a rig of my own I'll probably pack it a hundred times before I jump it just playing with it. I clean my guns all the time even when I havent been shooting. Wash my bikes when I havent been riding. Thats just the kind of guy I am. love to fiddle with my toys.



A HUNDRED times?

I doubt it, but knock yourself out dude.

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