Ship With Reserve

[Muppetdog 0]

Take my rigger a lot of beer, ok. You got to love a sport the drills safety procedures at the same time encourages you to get your rigger drunk while packing your reserve.

MD

[masterrig 1]

Oh, good grief! No, no, the beer is for AFTER the work! But, you knew that... I was testing you!

Chuck

[seal_S49 0]

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If I bring you an unpacked reserve for I & R, you don't know if I've worked on it or not. You still have to do a full inspection before you pack and close it with your seal. At that point you've taken full responsibility for it's airworthiness, regardless of how it got that way.

That works for me. I'm not responsible for enforcing FARs, only complying with them. I'm not going on record advising jumpers to do any of their own maintenance, but I'd never assume that any equipment is airworthy. I'm not gonna stake my certificate on anybody elses work, whether they're a rigger or not.

I'm not sure that disassembling an approved system can be considered maintenance, or even putting the lines back on the links, until the links are actually attached to the harness. As long as I do my job, it doesn't really matter. I'll let the FAA worry about violations.

S49

[bodypilot90 0]

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. If I bring you an unpacked reserve for I & R, you don't know if I've worked on it or not. You still have to do a full inspection before you pack and close it with your seal. At that point you've taken full responsibility for it's airworthiness, regardless of how it got that way.

That's how it was explained to me. I'm a mechanic so I like to know how things work and why. I try to rotate riggers because what one might not see a 2ed would. I normally don't pay for things I can do myself but am not afraid to ask for help. Call me old school but this sport should not have people that do not know the color of their reserve. How many have unpacked their reserve and have a look around. (before repack time) I have, is there a FAR for that?

[masterrig 1]

10-4! Our training to get that rigger's 'ticket' involved un-tangling lines and checking line-continuity... it's all part of the job. I agree with what you said. We are not there to question how it got that way but, to make sure it is correct and airworthy when the job is done. It's all good!

Chuck

[BlindBrick 0]

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Gee whiz, don't pontificate FARs. There's a similar FAR about the main (105.43(a) TBE), but we all know there's many packers out there that aren't supervised by anyone. If I bring you an unpacked reserve for I & R, you don't know if I've worked on it or not. You still have to do a full inspection before you pack and close it with your seal. At that point you've taken full responsibility for it's airworthiness, regardless of how it got that way.

Bob

Two points.

1. The Main FAR is very different in that it allows whoever is jumping the rig next to pack the main.

2. I am not just quoting a FAR to quote a rule. More than once I've had to tell a jumper that their gear needed to be sent for work because they screwed something up because they didn't know what they were doing inside that reserve. Is it common, no, but it is possible and has happened.

If they want to look or mess around with their reserve that's fine, just get a rigger to help you through the process. That minimizes the risk of you accidently damaging your gear and also minimizes us having to play the bad guy when we tell you that your reserve now needs costly work because you didn't know what you were doing.

-Blind

"If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

[sdctlc 0]

If your sending the rig to the manufacturer send the reserve PC and Freebag as well. I am sure you asked them to inspec the rig so you might as well let them inspect the whole rig set up.

Dont fret about the reserve links. It is easy to hook it back up during the inspection the rigger will do. It really should not make him mad. May add a few minutes to the job but oh well. You shoudl look at the reserve yourself while it is out.

Also this is a good excuse to get soft reserve links, less bulk and you dont have to feel links in your backpad if the reserve is a tight fit.

Scott C.

"He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

[masterrig 1]

Here, here! Well said!

Chuck

[seal_S49 0]

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As for a jumper rigging their reserves /unsupervised/, yes I have a problem with that. It is a very clear violation of the FAR's. The FAR's specifically state that only three types of people are cleared to work with reserves, 1. The manufactuers, 2. Riggers, and 3. people training to be riggers who are are under the /direct supervision/ of a certificated rigger. That's it, no one else.

Sorry this post is so late, but I was researching an unrelated issue and came across this relevant info in FAA Advisory Circular 105-2c:

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The user of a single harness, dual pack parachute system, which is a sport assembly consisting of a main and auxiliary/reserve parachute, may perform simple assembly and disassembly operations necessary for transportation, handling, or storage between periods of use if the parachute is designed to simplify such assembly and disassembly without the use of complex operations.

Any rigger who has worked with solid links to which lines are tied, stacked, and zig-zag stitched would probably agree that Rapide or soft links are a simplified method of assembly, not a complex operation. And regardless of the importance of line continuity, the approved system can't go back into the air untill after rigger inspection/service. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if a jumper brought me such a job.

I can't find any reference in FARs regarding who may "work with reserves."

[mjosparky 4]

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If you can, hang around and watch while your rigger straightens things up and packs it for you. If your rigger is cool with talking while s/he works then ask a lot of questions. It's worth the time and possibly extra cost - you'll learn a lot about your gear and in this sport knowing your gear can possibly save your life.

Yea, what Lisa said. Just remember, not everyone who offers advise on your gear and rigging is a rigger. They may mean well but sometimes they are just wrong. Find a rigger in your area that you trust, feel comfortable around and go to him/her for important questions about gear. Keep asking questions and keep learning, and you might find yourself a rigger someday.
Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[rrroland 0]

Disassembling as well as assembling a parachute IS rigging and is best done by a rigger.........., not that a "non-rigger" isn't capable, just more likely to make unnecessary work for the rigger in the end or/and damage the parts that are YOUR last chance @ life. For instance, did you use pliers or a wrench on the connector links? (pliers and channel-locks can gouge the link/barrel and make it a sharp surface in your container) Did you make sure that the barrel-nuts didn't catch the lines (at-All) while unscrewing them?

This reply is meant more to give "food-for-thought" than anything------- no offense is meant (to Any).
R