sailorjohnny

Males are typically taller than females, meaning the heart has to work harder to get blood all the way up to the brain. ..And of course, there's the issue of male-ness

I'll try to explain how the Norwegian system works: We do have a packer's certificate, and it is an A license requirement. The packer's certificate gives one the right to independently pack main parachutes. Most of my jumps from early student career were on my own pack jobs, and this by itself gave me a great understanding of how the gear works, in addition to a greater respect for, and trust in the gear. As I said, if you have a packing certificate, you can pack main parachutes without supervision. It doesn't matter who jumps them, as nobody should ever expect the main chute to actually work. The packing exam consists of doing a pack job supervised by a rigger. Before you begin, the rigger will intentionally mess something up (step through etc), and he/she will ask you questions about gear and packing as you pack. If the rigger is satisfied, you get the packer's certificate. You'll need to hold a valid A (or higher) license to keep the packer's certificate valid (min 20 jumps/year for A), or have a rigger certify a number of pack jobs a year to keep only the packer's certificate valid. Rental, tandem, and club owned gear require thorough inspections every 3 months (with reserve inspection/repack every 6th), while privately owned require one inspection every 12 months (including reserve inspection/repack).* Personally, I think this system works great, and I don't see any problems with it. *Edit: All of these inspections (and repacks) have to be done by a rigger. The inspections include everything from harness metal parts and webbing, to line attachment points, deployment system etc.

Solution: Get a container sized for 150, and stuff a 170 pd pulse or aerodyne zpx pilot in it. They will pack like 150s, and if you want to downsize to a 150 further down the road, you'll only need to swap out the canopy. Depending on the container manufacturer, you may even be able to fit a 170 zpx/pulse in a container sized for 135, but be careful with reserve sizing if going that route (hint: optimum reserve).