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bigway

repacks..should be...

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In a year I'll probably have to throw away one of my reserves not because it's old but becaue it's had so many repacks. At my last repack my rigger happened to have an identical reserve of the same year. The owner had kept it in a closet because he quit jumping. The condition was that of one that's brand new. Granted, mine had spent 10 years doing CRW and getting mistreated. But according to my rigger, the difference was the number of repacks. I vote for 6 months.
"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

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Granted, mine had spent 10 years doing CRW and getting mistreated



Please explain. Cause if the canopy was ever used as a main, it is not allowed to ever be packed and used as a reserve.

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meow

I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug!

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why is it not though?
maybe because different manufactures have different opinions. and we also mix and match gear. i am happy with it the way it is over here but i amtrying to figure out how others like it. there is 2 ways to look at it. you can have your parachute checked as often as possible but then will the risk be higher because it is being worked on too much?


.Karnage Krew Gear Store
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What I don't get is why we can pack, repack and jump a main 1000 times and it'll still be good, but do 20 repacks or so on a reserve and it's worn out?



On every jump, I am prepared to hear/feel my main explode from wear. (OK, not _my_ main, since it only has 170 jumps, but you know what I mean.) If I ever pull Silver, I want to know that canopy has spent its entire life waiting and preparing for that moment, and is in the best shape possible given my monetary resources. ;)

I feel the FARs we follow in skydiving are about keeping people from dying due to accidents that can be prevented by reasonable steps while still allowing the core aviation activities to take place. That's why they want us to make sure our reserves are probably in decent shape. (And wear seatbelts in case we crash on takeoff. And not freefall onto other peoples' airplanes. Etc.)

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Pull.

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i really dont like seatbelts on take off in certain aircrafts. we had them put in our porter, that was fine but in the 185, well too many people were trying to step out with their belt still attatched to them. this is not a rule in new zealand but it is advised after a plane came down at 150ft.
i have just had a new rig, canopy and reserve made for me, i have not rceived it yet but after the first jump i know how safe i am going to feel knowing that my reserve has only been packed once.


.Karnage Krew Gear Store
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I really dont like seatbelts on take off in certain aircraft. We had them put in our porter, that was fine but in the 185, well too many people were trying to step out with their belt still attatched to them.



You have pointed out that sometimes safety equipment requires additional procedures and/or training to avoid it being a hazard in certain circumstances.

Don't jump out while wearing your seatbelt! :)

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Pull.

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I feel the FARs we follow in skydiving are about keeping people from dying due to accidents that can be prevented by reasonable steps while still allowing the core aviation activities to take place.



The FAA could care less if you die skydiving. Their main concern is that you do not damage property or cause death/injury to people on the surface.
Sparky
My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

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I had voted 12 month like in Germany if i had had the option. In Germany for most jumpers it doesn't make a difference because they only jump during the season, which is rarely longer than 6 month, but if it is, they don't have to get a repack (local riggers are rare in Germany as are large dropzones).

IIRC the technical directorate of the DFV (GPA) did not find a technical reason to shorten the repack cycle.
The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open.
From the edge you just see more.
... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

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but do 20 repacks or so on a reserve and it's worn out?


Because it's a PD reserve and PD says you can only repack it so often (IIRC 40 times). No such regulation in Germany, airworthyness is what matters.
As for the seatbelt and it being annoying... Maybe, but if you crash, you don't get squashed under the two lucky people way back.
The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open.
From the edge you just see more.
... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

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Please explain to me why somebody should charge twice the sum for the same amount of work.
If there is no technical reason for a reserve having to be unpacked every 180 days rather then 365, why do it?
The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open.
From the edge you just see more.
... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

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I didn't vote 'cause you left off "Once a Year." Seems to work for airplanes okay. I've seen reserves go longer than that and do just fine.



John, I'm sure you have seen a few pencil packs work over the years. I have heard stories of pencil packed reserves working a year later. Luckily it was stored in a closest in a garbage bag most of that time.

From my understanding, miliarty ejection parachutes have very long repack cycles.

I don't think the issue is how long it can go without a repack!

I like the current 120 day cycle just for gear maintenance issues! I don't know many people that clean their cutaway cables (dirt on the cable adds to the pull force), I've seen rigs get tossed around on the ground and in the plane and rub up against a lot of stuff. I've seen people that got wet on a swoop not pull the reserve and go back up on a few more loads and then put it in their car at the end of the day because "there is no AAD to ruin." I watch people drag their rigs across the carpet to pack it and ruining their risers, etc.....

Yes, gear should be looked after by the owner - no argument there. However, newbies don't always know what to look for (I know someone that was jumping an out of trim HP canopy with soft housing that someone sold to them recently) and those in the sport a bit longer get complacent.

My reserve opened and flew just fine with 5 jumps on it. I'm sure it will do the same with 10 jumps on it. If I felt otherwise, I would burn the canopy and get a new one....my life is worth the extra couple hundred dollars I would have to spend. In fact I spend an extra $5 per repack to have my main fully inspected and packed, even thou I inspect it at the end of every jump day.

Talk to the parachute manufactures - they put jump and age limits on reserve for our own safety, not so they and the riggers can make a couple extra bucks! Does everyone really feel that one extra pack job a year is going to be that harmful to the gear and to your wallet?

I see zero reasons on why we should change the current 120 standard. Money is not a good reason - and if money is what motivates you for this change, then you should reconsider your own safety.

BTW - did anyone notice the year long rigger package mentioned in Skydiving this month? A rigger in KY is offereing a service to do all the repacks for you in one year for a discounted price you have to pay up front. If you do this, it will also get you discounted prices for ALL work on your rig and canopy during that year time frame. I think if more riggers offered something like this, you would hear less people bitch about the 120 cycle.
_________________________________________
you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....

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I haven't been in this sport long enough to understand how often this should be done.

I think about things such as moisture or length of time that a reserve has been in the bag and how it could potentially affect the opening and I am not sure there is any really perfect answer to this question. It probably really comes down to a case by case basis; which is probably why there is a standard we all follow which more or less covers everyone.

PcCoder.net

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well my turn now....i put this up so i better answer it.
First i dont think it is a case by case basis at all. I think it is cheaper on the pocket and less hassle here in new zealand as we do it every 6 months........but i do like the 120day cycle as i enjoy my life and like to be safe. i have never had a reserve repacked every 120 days as i guess in nz i have not needed to. I would welcome the 120day cycle just cause i know that i am not going to have it checked until the mandatory date has come. I would rather have it checked every 3-4 months as i want to myself doing 200 jumps in this period as a camera flyer. I really dont care how often i have to buy a reserve as to me this is semi life insurance and it is not easy to get life insurance travelling around the world and jumping out of planes. However where i come from our riggers charge around the 25u.s. dollar mark for a repack. Someone paid a comment about it costing 100u.s.dolaar to for a repack, well i think that is an outrageous price and is taking the piss. I guess though if that is the price over there for the service well so be it but you would think the skydivers in the states would not let it get any higher. With that sort of price, getting your riggers ticket would be an essential part of your kit bag.
thanks for the respones everyone, my comments are just from my view and i have only been jumping for three years.
blue skies and few clouds


.Karnage Krew Gear Store
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