If you paid a packer and have a malfunction resulting in the loss of your main canopy

[catfishhunter 1]

Your scenario is one of Choice. SOrry but if your making $270 a WEEK thats a choice. The packers at my DZ have JOBS they pack 2-4 days a week as the DZ is open wed,fri,sat,sun. If your sitting around hoping to pack at a "full time DZ" then it doesn't sound very full time if your making $270 a week. Go get a job.

I am nto slamming packers nor placing responisbillity for my life in their hands just not going to accept the whining about being under paid. If ti was so terrible you wouldn't do it. Your making TAX FREE CASH so don't try to make it seem soo terrible because if it was you wouldn't give up your jump time to do it. If my knees where in better shape I wuold pack my own and if I was younger would definatly be packing 4 $$$$. Two pack jobs and my knees are swollen and the day is over. I don't pack i'm good for 6-8 jumps.

SO stop whining and act like a Highly Trained, Highly Paid Proffessionla. Sounds like Packing Cathy has that figured out and the rest of you should learn from her.

As for Sparky and John and Airtwardo. You guys been doing this along time and I respect what you guys have to say and I understand that you paid your dues and are old school but don't try the guilt thing on me. I don't pack for a reason. I am happy to budget pack jobs into my jumping. I would have half the jumps I have if not for packers. I'm 40 years old with the knees,neck and back of a 65year old. Not matter how much shit ya give me I ain't packing unless it means I am gonna miss a load that I really want to be on then I'll pack it otherwise I'll be enjoying my saturday/sunday afternoons.

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

[lisamariewillbe 1]

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I wouldn't really say I was "underpaid" but consider on the few busy days I made 200-300 dollars packing, the vidiots were making 800+, and they actually get to skydive. So it does seem like that to some people. I can go on and on but I won't here, if you're curious about what being a packer is actually like, you can PM me, or you could even try it yourself, that is unless you're like most people and think it's below you

Are you forced to be a packer? And the vidiots that you compare yourself to.... I think any day of the week they will trade you the costs of their business versus what it cost you to become a packer. Vidiots as you put it, spend hundreds to thousands to become what they are. Not including the jumps they have to make to become good at getting video. Whereas you have a packing tool around your neck that cost a few bucks. Im not degrading what you do, however if you want to bitch at how horrible the pay is, and how unfair you are treated, get a different job. You choose to pack for others.

Most people I know treat their packer great, we hired a personal one at Dublin and his tip alone from 2 of us was 150 bucks plus his offical dublin shirt and some food. There were 10 of us. We made sure he had time to jump and he was taken care of very well and he in turn took care of us. Thats how I see packers and its what I see all the time... 5 or 6 bucks for a pack job and usually a small tip at the end of the day. If you dont like it or it isnt fair then quit. Either way dont bitch about it to the people who pay you. Its called "not shitting in your own backyard"

Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this
Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this

[mjosparky 3]

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Two pack jobs and my knees are swollen and the day is over.

SO stop whining and act like a Highly Trained, Highly Paid Proffessionla. Professional

If you are in such bad shape maybe you should get a rocking chair.

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[AMax 0]

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As a packer..

If your canopy malfunctions and it can be determined that I messed up, atleast one free packjob.

What if you forget to uncollapse the slider and the resulting hard opening damages the main canopy, bruises the jumper and leads to a reserve ride?

I am just curious what you think as a packer (the incidents like that had happened before)

[diablopilot 2]

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As a packer..

If your canopy malfunctions and it can be determined that I messed up, atleast one free packjob.

What if you forget to uncollapse the slider and the resulting hard opening damages the main canopy, bruises the jumper and leads to a reserve ride?

I am just curious what you think as a packer (the incidents like that had happened before)

If you hand your rig to a packer with the brakes unstowed and the slider collapsed, you might as well just got for a ride as a tandem passenger.


Look out for yourself.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[AMax 0]

Well, the issue of who is responsible to stow the breaks and collapse the slider has been beaten up to death. Since you jumped on, let me ask you the same question. Lets say, you always stow the breaks and uncollapse the slider right after landing (I imagine you do). One day, you forget the slider and experience a brutally hard opening on the next jump because the main was packed by your packer with the slider collapsed. What do you do?

Edit to add:
I do believe that in most cases packers should not be blamed for malfunctions/lost mains.

[padalcek 9]

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if you hired a packer and had a malfunction as a result of the pack job and lost my main what would I do?

just remember two things:
1) when you're hiring a packer you're paying for the pack job, not the opening.
2) the (usually not so little) label somewhere around the center of the tail tends to state something to the effect of "this parachute may fail to operate as designed even when properly maintained, packed, and used."

Padalcek - CCO, HF-17
http://www.theflyinghellfish.com
I'm not a real skydiver - but I do play one on dz.com.

[Titanman2789 0]

You know what the packers will tell anyone who has a malfunction on a canopy they packed

"you had horrible body position! we watched you all the way from here!"

[packerboy 3]

If someone wanted me to pay for a main that was lost on a cutaway from a malfunction on a canopy that I packed, they would have to sue me. Not to say that I wouldn't feel bad about it.

I would gladly sell lost main insurance on every pack job for $50 a pack job though... hell maybe even $40. But you would have to prove that the malfunction was my fault, and if I find the main I get to keep it.

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In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

[mjosparky 3]

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If someone wanted me to pay for a main that was lost on a cutaway from a malfunction on a canopy that I packed, they would have to sue me. Not to say that I wouldn't feel bad about it.

I would gladly sell lost main insurance on every pack job for $50 a pack job though... hell maybe even $40. But you would have to prove that the malfunction was my fault, and if I find the main I get to keep it.

Another jail house lawyer.

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[Andy9o8 0]

I usually pack for myself (I came up in the days when everyone always packed for themselves), and I agree that you pay for the pack job & not the opening. I also agree that 98% of the time you can’t necessarily blame the pack job for a mal, since deployment is such a chaotic event.

Having said that, there is that 2 or 3% of the time when it’s obvious it’s the pack job. Pilot chute not cocked? Yeah, I cock it myself, but the packer should always double-check. (And yes, the jumper is always ultimately responsible for checking his own gear.) Both brakes (not just one) fire on opening? I'd suspect the pack job. Step-thru? Not highly likely to be body position. Slider not un-collapsed? Come on.

I do NOT think packers should pay for a lost main even when it’s “obvious” - you use a packer, you take your chances. But I do think there’s times when, as a matter of professionalism, the packer should refund the pack job fee, and maybe buy your beer for a while...