This was sooo odd!

[Designer 0]

Dude shows up to jump.Makes a jump and does not even "Know" how to pack his parachute.Makes me me wonder were he learned to jump?Pack the 1st one for him and charge an extra $5 to walk through the next pack job with him.Should have charged $10.I was trying to remember when someone was teaching me.Had to be very patient and go over some things 2 or 3 times.Time is slipping away.Hopefully,the dude went home and did some more practice?

[billvon 3,107]

>Dude shows up to jump.Makes a jump and does not even "Know"
>how to pack his parachute.

True of a lot of experienced jumpers nowadays. Learned enough to get their A license (i.e. packed a few times) and then never packed again. Why pack when there are packers?

[AggieDave 6]

Sort of like folks that come from other DZs, show up with licenses and don't even know how to spot.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[billvon 3,107]

>Sort of like folks that come from other DZs, show up with
>licenses and don't even know how to spot.

That's even more common. A great many jumpers today have _never_ spotted.

[AggieDave 6]

Quote

That's even more common. A great many jumpers today have _never_ spotted.

That bugs me, even though a lot of jumpplanes have GPS, the GPS may have been entered wrong, it may have been read wrong, the uppers could be slightly off, etc.

We use GPS and we still spot ever single load, even though we're a turbine DZ, we hold spotting as a very important skill, doing "fake" passes at 5k to help teach our students how to spot.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[FrogNog 1]

Quote

>Sort of like folks that come from other DZs, show up with
>licenses and don't even know how to spot.

That's even more common. A great many jumpers today have _never_ spotted.

I used to blame those jumpers until I finally rode in a Twin Otter. Everybody can't spot a plane with 18 people in it.

-=-=-=-=-
Pull.

[falxori 0]

Quote

That's even more common. A great many jumpers today have _never_ spotted.

my DZ has a single Cessna 208 Caravan which holds about 14 jumpers.
there is atleast 1 JM on each load and he usually sits near the door and also spots (although we usually have the same jump run and the pilot always knows where we are and where we should jump)

anyway, what i'm trying to say is that in this case, most people will never get to spot.
i agree that its an important skill and i try to atleast "agree" with the spot before jumping, but in some cases people just dont get the chance to do it.

then again, i've never jumped in a DZ where you have to direct the pilot.

O

"Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

[Nightingale 0]

The first time I jumped at a new DZ (Elsinore), I had to have someone spot for me, simply because I didn't know what the heck I was looking at from the air. Now, I know right where we are, and exactly what I'm seeing, because I'm used to it.

At Perris, they taught us to spot on AFF 1, in part of the FJC. On one of my solos, There were me and three other solo students in the plane, (I was first out of the students, no AFF or tandem on this load), and I asked for a go-around simply because I couldn't see the DZ. Another student was sitting right by the doorway and said to me, as the plane turned "Thanks. I'm always afraid to ask for that."

Why the heck would someone be afraid to ask for a go-around if they're too far off the DZ? I don't get it.

[Nutz 0]

You know, you don't just spot to see where you are but also to look for traffic in the pattern. I alwys try to look down before exiting not just to see where I am but to look for things that I might run into in freefall. You can't always do that because you are in a formation and just have to run out the door but if you climb out you better always look down. Just my 0.02
Edit: I really don't usually look down when I climb out, someone ALWAYS spots and you just trust them to do a good job. Sometimes, you get hosed, sometimes you are just dumb. Like when there is "haze" and the pilot says go and you do, and land about 6 miles from the dz. (Hey I paid my $99, I'm going to jump.)

"Don't! Get! Eliminated!"

[jumpingjoe 0]

I have just over 70 jumps. I know how to pack, but I struggle and struggle bad. But I am determined. I feel helpless when I can't do something myself. I think I am starting to drive the instructors nuts. But for some reason I am just retarded when it comes to doing this. Granted, I even watch packers struggle with my rig so sometimes I don't feel so bad. :)

[Tinkerbelle 5]

Funny story about packing:
You know Patrick Swazie showed up in Hawaii to jump once, back during the "Break Away" days. He jumped once, then just threw the used rig down and walked away. Steve Machiovitch, then the DZ manager at Skydive Hawaii, grabbed him by the arm and said, "Dude, aren't you gonna pack?" Patrick looked shocked and alarmed that someone had called him on it and made such an astounding request! He then had to admit he didn't know how... so Steve got one of the packers to help and made sure Mr. Swazie sat there and helped out 'till it was all done! After that Steve told him to beat it, and he never jumped there again!
(Gosh I just love these little emoticons, don't you?! Wish there were more!)

Rehab is for quitters.

[BlindBrick 0]

Quote

Dude shows up to jump.Makes a jump and does not even "Know" how to pack his parachute.Makes me me wonder were he learned to jump?Pack the 1st one for him and charge an extra $5 to walk through the next pack job with him.Should have charged $10.

I generally don't charge unless they want to come to the DZ during off hours and take a packing class(this is only if they ask, I don't try to sell them on it). I figure you got to give something back to the sport someway or another, and this is one of the ways that I do it.

FWIW, packing is not as common as you'd think. Heck, I taught myself how to pack mains after getting my rigger's ticket. To say my first few main packjobs opened briskly is a bit of understatement.
-Blind

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

[mccurley 1]

I know I might be ignoring some of the facts about modern jumping with GPS and large turbines etc. but damn it I could pack my own chute when I had 5 jumps and was spotting the cessna at about 15 jumps good enough to practically never miss the DZ on my old cheapo. I was just an average student, we all had to learn these things.
This are basic skills, shouldn't evryone know them?

Watch my video Fat Women
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

[livnbored 0]

I learned how to pack while I was a student (and have been a packer ever since) and so did every other student. Anyone who didn't learn to pack or know how to pack was kind of deemed to be reckless and careless. If you care so little about your gear, it says something about your character. I find that because packing is not regulated in the U.S., people often only do what they need to to get their "A". As a packer I rely on the lazy to make my jump $$, but I do not like packing for people who don't know how to pack themselves because it just lets them continue on without the responsibility or ever knowing the responsibility. This really pisses some people off. I'm not saying that packing should be regulated, but I do think that people shouldn't get away so easily with not knowing how to pack. (I love to give packing lessons myself...NOT)

[pccoder 0]

I never pack either, just packed during class.

PcCoder.net

[foxyroxtail 0]

What bothers me most about this is if you don't at least occasionally pack for yourself, when are you checking the condition of your gear - only when you are under it?

I pay packers a lot. My hands and wrists thank me for this, but I make a point to pack for myself every now and again (this weekend I flipped everyone out and packed all 10 times!) and give everything I can see and touch a good look-over.

Most packers will notice only the most glaring issues - they are too busy to notice much else.

Rox

________________________________________

[Andrewwhyte 1]

I have never met Patrick Swazie but as far as I ever heard he could skydive without causing any undue hazard to himself or those around him. I really don't see the merit in throwing him or anyone else off the DZ just because he doesn't fit into someone else's image of a well rounded skydiver.
If I had that guy's money I would forget how to pack, so what's the difference if someone forgets or never learned. If you think I am exaggerating about being able to forget, I am not. I do know at least one person who has forgotten how to pack. He knew how to pack rounds, he knew how to flat pack his F-111 seven cells, but he does not know how to pack his Stiletto.
I think too many people take skydiving way too seriously. It is not some transcendental route to enlightenment; It's a game. If the rich want to pay people to pack then let them. On the rare occasions that I have played golf, I carried my own clubs. Does this make me a better golfer than someone who has never played a round without a caddy?

[firstime 0]

I was fortunate to learn about freefall drift with the help of an aerial view of the dropzone, then before
my skydive(AFF) I had to calculate my freefall drift.
The reference point was the runway which was approx
1/4 mile long therefore it could be put into perspective while peering out for the plunge. I think
most new skydivers, as myself just think..get out,
get stable, wave, pull and set up. It seems to me that alot of off student,newly A licensed skyivers dont
know enough about the spot. Hey I don't (56 jumps)
I know when to get out and when I do, I stay away
from the group and come and play when I and ONLY
I have the confidence. I am just saying for the new
guys, dont be in hurry (with low #'s) to play. The guys that I skydive with fly better than I can walk, but I have great respect for their ability because they worked hard to get there.

New in this sport and sound like an old Bas%^rd

[livnbored 0]

Quote

I think too many people take skydiving way too seriously.

Really?????

Why do you think they do that?

[skygirl1 1]

I learned to pack before I started skydiving......and I was shocked when jumpers would throw down their parachute and tell me to pack it knowing I was just learning.........I can never thank them enough for that....
As for spotting.........my home dropzone in wisconsin only flies cessna 182's...........and part of the training program is spotting....you have to do it and prove you can do it...........once i moved to florida and started jumping out of bigger airplanes it seemed the spotting part of skydiving went out the door......but I am returning to wisconsin this summer so I am sure I will get all the practice in I need......I feel sorry for the first plane load I spot.......hehehehehheeee.........

skygirl1

" Mean people SUCK!"

[riggerrob 643]

I find that because packing is not regulated in the U.S., people often only do what they need to to get their "A".

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Ahem!

Packing IS regulated the United States by Federal Air Regulations, but since most skydivers think the FARs are silly and outdated, they are ignored at most DZs.

Rob Warner
Canadian Rigger A
FAA Master Parachute Rigger

[livnbored 0]

you know what i meant....sorry for not being super specific.....