manship 0 #1 August 14, 2004 Interview with the inventor of the GAP method of packing a BASE parachute. Also serving as a GAP FAQ-Frequently Asked Questions. What does the name GAP mean? GAP stands for Gravity Assisted Packing, so the word "packing" is already in the name. I just know people won't remember this and before long someone, if not everyone, will be saying " Do you GAP pack?", instead of "Are you using the GAP method?". But, that's just the way of acronyms I guess. OK, That's what it stands for, what is it? It is just another method of packing a BASE parachute, beginning in the standing position and using gravity to help align the material. So, is it just PRO packing? NO, absolutely not. First of all, if you are PRO packing you are packing a skydiving parachute, not a BASE one. Just because you begin your packing in the standing position doesn't mean you are PRO packing. There are numerous differences in the GAP method and even other BASE packing methods that begin standing up. Besides, if you use PRO packing for your skydiving rig, or some other BASE method that involves standing up, that doesn't automatically mean you owe me royalty money for using my method. So, there are fees for using the GAP method. Oh, yes. It is a different and more efficient method that takes less time. It is so different that I have patented it and will be requiring a royalty of $2 per packjob, or a lifetime license for $200. The lifetime license includes free consultation with me (however, you have to come where I am - probably the best place to catch up with me is at the Perrine Bridge in Idaho.) Eventually we will have a cadre of GAP certified instructors who also will be able to do consulting, free of charge for license holders. I also have been talking to one of the major BASE equipment manufacturers about a license to teach this method in their first jump course, and pass on a license (for some additional fee) to their students. A video will eventually be available for those with internet access. What makes the GAP method different from other "stand up" packing techniques? Well, you must look at the purpose of packing. The original purpose of packing a parachute had nothing to do with "heading" or even so much with reliability! A parachute was originally an emergency device and the purpose of packing it was simply to make that huge cloth thing above your head fit into a container that was convenient to carry about and fly an aircraft while wearing. Now we who jump intentionally have come to expect more from a pack job,though with BASE packing, I always say it is a superstitious ritual we go through in order to comfortably FORGET about it when standing on the edge! Consequently, the GAP method will allow you to know you are using a method that gives as good heading performance (based on hundreds of test jumps) as any other packing method, and is also just as reliable. There is no reason to switch from a method you now feel comfortable with, since you have that comfort, which is the purpose of packing in BASE. However, if you like the GAP method, you may be assured it is just as effective as any other method. There is absolutely no problem with any of the methods taught by any of the major manufacturers or instructors I have seen, so if you like the way you were taught, by all means continue to use that way. Can you give some specific technical differences that would require someone to pay a royalty for using the GAP techniques? Sure, first, just because you pack standing up doesn't mean a GAP license is required! Some of the techniques that require a license are: 1. Folding and "dressing" the tail while standing. 2. Using clamps to hold the suspension lines in the center of the pack job. (Especially the "C" and "D" groups). 3. Cocooning the packjob to semi-final state while standing. 4. Minimal internal "dressing", after laying the cocooned bundle down. This includes no further dressing of the top of the canopy, slight smoothing of the tail, tightening the suspension line groups and final cocooning of the packjob with clamps. At this point the pack job looks very much like a regular pack job, but has reached this point quite a bit quicker. Of course, you may do additional "dressing" or folding just like you would on a regular pack job to maximize your "comfort level" for those more demanding jumps where high confidence is needed in your packjob. Those are some basic differences that require a GAP license. So, how do you make sure you will get paid from users? Well, if I, or any GAP instructor, notice someone using the GAP method and they are not licensed, we will educate them about the royalty requirement. I sure don't intend to have "GAP police". Obviously if you pack in the privacy of your own bedroom I won't know. BUT, I have high confidence in the moral values of BASE jumpers and trust them to do the right thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bps 0 #2 August 14, 2004 Sweet! I am headed straight to Twin Falls tomorrow morning to visit the GAP-e-lama (Mr. Manship) and take the first GAPICC (GAP Instructor Certification Course) in hopes of becoming the first GAP-I. By doing so, I can help serve the needs of wanna-be GAP packers in Mountain Home, Idaho. I've been training hard and with any due luck, I may pass the Certification Course tomorrow. The GAP-e-lama himself even offered me a pre-course for the economical fee of $50. All I have to do is pack all 3 of his rigs after he jumps tomorrow morning and they only count as practice-evals. And heck, if I'm not ready for the course, he'll even let me pack his rigs on Sunday morning for free! The Gap-e-lama has tested this pack job personally on hundreds of jumps and it works great. And the true testament is that he's packed/jumped over 400 times in the last year and his lower back is still in tact. Yuri, I know how little you like to pack. So if you come out here and endorse this patented pack-job, we'll license you for free! (GAP-sponsored jumper) A full review to come early next week after the course... Bryan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rfarris 2 #3 August 14, 2004 Quote Consequently, the GAP method will allow you to know you are using a method that gives as good heading performance (based on hundreds of test jumps) as any other packing method, and is also just as reliable Hmm....I guess 1 out of 100's ain't that bad. I do remember a certain 220 left, or was it right, off a freestander. I witnessed my first tree landing that night. Almost got to see a powerline strike, and a building strike. (THUD...the sound a BASE jumper makes when he hits the ground after falling out of a perfectly good tree)Have fun. Send video. Keep taking your vitamins. Rod Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AreUcrazy 0 #4 June 5, 2005 I feel gipped. You only taught me the CMAP method. It is very good and still works great to this day. It begins with a standard flat pack job based on Manship’s early paranoid techniques. Here is how it goes: -Spread out canopy and straighten lines - Call Manship for advice - Fold canopy into neat pile - Call Manship for advice - Stow lines - Call Manship for advice - Fold canopy into container - Call Manship for advice - Close container - Call Manship for advice CMAP – Call Manship Assisted Packing It has two major drawbacks. The cell phone bill is higher than the fees mentioned for GAP. And Manship will come live at your house for months at a time! "Whats the difference between shit and applebutter?" - Kim Fuller Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
truckerbase 0 #5 June 5, 2005 Hey Tom, whats my total bill for your "wait a half an hour at the top for me to catch up" fee and your "Im tired of climbing the goddamn ladder, so fuck you" fee, and your "im tripping on mushrooms, so this is as good a place as any to stop the elevator for no reason" fee and your "dont tell Rodney I said that" fee. I appreciate your letting me pay my dues in annual installments with only a yearly grief tax. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
outrager 6 #6 June 6, 2005 Quote Yuri, I know how little you like to pack. So if you come out here and endorse this patented pack-job, we'll license you for free! (GAP-sponsored jumper) I will endorse anything for 10 free packjobs. As for the details, let my packing bitches deal with it Flying out to Europe tomorrow, back late August. See ya there ? bsbd! Yuri. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blair700 0 #7 June 6, 2005 Are you providing your new GAP-I's with their own 'strap on' or do we have to share yours? Also, how about the low-pull-ometers that seem to permeate ALL your gear, will we recieve one of those too? Gapmanship....and I thought it was only a game. Luv, Blair Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
base570 1 #8 June 7, 2005 Quote I will endorse anything for 10 free packjobs. As for the details, let my packing bitches deal with it Flying out to Europe tomorrow, back late August. See ya there ? bsbd! Yuri. anything?? I'll have to remember that! It could come in handy!! Did you use the GAP method on that line over you had on memorial day? Have fun in Europe and beware of the narcosis Manship... I don't think I will trust that crazy ass GAP method especially if YOU came up with it!! It damn near killed Yuri last weekend! Maybe you should head back to the drawing board and come up with something with a catchier name like the T.O.M. or something. You also might need to get some Canopy Landing Instruction Tom Missed you at the Lagoon!! Jason Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
