| Author |
Comment |
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Daniel
Pifko
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Parachute
debrief
I went to the Mission Soaring clinic when I first bought my chute
about two years ago. Last Saturday was my first SW throwfest.
Short story: I didn't really know how to pack my parachute
before and now I do. I consider it to have been a successful clinic.
Some comments and comparisons:
- I am constantly
amazed at what the SW guys can pull off. Above all else, you
arranged a gathering in which something like 20 people practiced
both throwing and packing their chutes. Most people just don't do
that themselves, even considering how important chute safety is. I
suspect most other clubs don't either. I really appreciate how
motivated the people in this club are.
- Mission had
instruction, from a single instructor. They assumed you knew
nothing, which was true, and showed the technique for throwing a
chute. By comparison, the SW clinic had several extremely
knowledgeable people running it and a broad range of people
attending. There was only instruction in the mentoring tradition.
The SW approach is good because it is how most of us will
learn beyond H2/H3, so we had best develop those relationships and
learning skills now. It is also good because there were several
experienced pilots who could answer multiple questions
simultaneously and who could fill in the gaps in each others'
knowledge.
The SW approach has the problem that there is no
guarantee that a person who needs the full set of instructions got
them. It is also bad for that person because no fewer than four
people were giving directions at any one time, making instruction
difficult to absorb.
Suggestion: In the future I'd like to
see a 15/20 minute talk by one of the experienced guys given to all
of the people who have never thrown silk.
- Mission had a
dummy chute, so we could make several throws without worrying about
having to repack every time. We could easily duplicate this for
future SW clinics by buying a chute bag, filling it with pellets or
sand, and sealing it up.
- At SW we actually got to repack
our own chute. At Mission, Mike Foy did a great job showing us how a
chute was packed, including what to look for in chute problems, but
we did not pack our own chutes. In this case, both schools are
right. Only now that I'm comfortable with the other parts of flying
can I truly absorb the skills I'll need to be a more self sufficient
pilot.
- Ernie and his magic camera are probably working on
this anyway, but I'd like to see a Good, Bad, and Ugly page pointing
out good and bad techniques and equipment. There were ample learning
opportunities here.
Thanks,
Daniel
P.S. I am posting
this in the General Discussion forum because I believe that's where
it belongs. Can we kill the Announcement forum and stop the insanity
already? 
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| MattsFlyin
|
Don't Chute
Yerself In The Foot
Daniel, in response to your observation:
<The SW approach
has the problem that there is no guarantee that a person who needs
the full set of instructions got them. It is also bad for that
person because no fewer than four people were giving directions at
any one time, making instruction difficult to
absorb.>
Although I had to miss this clinic I would like
to point out that this was not designed to be a "Certification"
program but rather an informal information sharing get
together.
No one should assume that they are now fully qualified
to repack their own chute. Experienced, certified parachute riggers
are the only way to go if you have any doubts regarding your ability
to repack your own chute. Most of us do this together because it's
fun and we are comfortable with the results. USE YOUR OWN
JUDGEMENT!
After the last "clinic" we had, some of us had our
chute repacks checked by an experienced rigger and found out they
were packed a bit too snugly for his liking. Some other experienced
rigger may have thought it was ok but who can tell for sure. There
is no exact method to measure, no torque specs, no pounds per square
inch tolerances for the rubber bands, no exact tightness of the
chute in the bag to measure. In my opinion packing a chute is more
of an art than a science. A good artist take time and practice to
develope his skills.
The benefit you should take away from
our clinic is:
1. You now have experience although simulated, of
throwing a chute with some degree of stress involved.
2. You got
to see how your last repack deployed.
3. You have an idea of the
"mechanics" involved with inspecting/packing your chute.
Please
don't think you are "Certified" or even "Qualified" to safely repack
your chute. You are just familiar with the process. Remember that
you now know enough to be dangerous and consider yourself an R1 or
Beginner rigger.
Matt
|
| MattsFlyin
|
Chute
Again
I would like to add to this statement I just made.
<Most
of us do this together because it's fun and we are comfortable with
the results. USE YOUR OWN JUDGEMENT!>
Ernie, Gregg and a
few others have enough of the experience I'm concerned with to
enable us to feel confident with the repacks. Once again, USE YOUR
OWN JUDGEMENT. If you not comfortable with the repack that was done
GET IT REPACKED AGAIN.
Matt
PS I too would like to see the
"Announcement" Forum gone. It just make things confusing for me.
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| Jon
James
|
chutes
Daniel makes a lot of good observations.
I taught myself to
pack my own chute years ago by using
a bunch of xeroxed sketches
that didn't exactly match my equipment. But I got it right because I
took my time
and thought about what I was doing.
Packing a
chute isn't rocket science. You need to be careful and neat. Keep
the lines straight.
I've always packed my own chute and have
felt very good about it. At Betty's clinic, I felt the way I was
packing
my chute was as good as the professional rigger was
doing.
I don't like to pack my chute at a clinic because it
all goes too fast.
I like to spread my chute across the living
room floor and
take a couple of hours to pack it. Look at it,
smooth it out,
check it over, fold it, re-fold it until I'm happy
with the way it looks.
I'm very comfortable with this and I
believe my chute will work perfectly
if I ever need
it.
Others may feel differently, and might prefer
professional repacking.
This is fine. Like Matt said, every one
must make his own decision
that he can live with. I don't think
the Chute Clinic was intended
to substitute for a professional
rigger.
I don't want a professional rigger to pack my chute.
From what I've seen,
I take more time and am more careful,
because it's my chute I'm packing. There are some tips you can
learn,
what to look for. It is nice to have a professional look
at your equipment once in a while.
But, in the end, packing a
chute isn't very difficult.
Almost anyone who has some experience
can show you how.
|
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Daniel
Pifko
|
Aw Chute
Points well taken. For 35 bucksish it makes sense to take it to a
more practiced chute packer.
What I'm trying to do now is
build up my skill set so that when, later in life, I find myself
living in a part of the world without all the people and support I
have around here, I won't be completely paralyzed in my flying. That
includes chute repacking, batten bending, and a thousand other
skills I probably don't even know I don't have. But ya gotta start
somewhere.
Daniel
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Ernie
Camacho
|
Re: Aw
Chute
I'd like to piggy-back on Jon's comments. Specifically, on his
comment about preferring to pack his own 'chute at home, where he
can take his time.
I agree. That's my preference too. I know
that Leo would also agree. I bought my first 'chute in '76, I think,
and have been packing it myself right along. I've even re-worked
deployment designs because I didn't like the early "diaper" designs.
If you saw me using my shroud line / bridle folding gizmo, I put
that together to make the job easier when there's only one set of
hands to do the folding.
But, I threw and repacked my 'chute
at the clinic and I feel very good about the resulting package, just
as I feel good about all the other pack jobs I participated in on
Saturday.
Jon also said that repacking a 'chute isn't all
that complicated. I helped during the deployment exercise and every
one that I saw tossed came out of the deployment bag just fine. Most
of those were ones that we'd packed last year at a similar clinic at
Justin Miller's house.
In other words, I feel you can be
confident that your 'chute, repacked at the clinic, is fine. If I
didn't feel confident, I'd be saying so. At the same time, with the
packing experience fresh in your mind, you might want to take the
time at home to slowly unpack, then repack your 'chute, just to make
sure you've got the details right.
To help with the
remembering, I took a bunch of detail shots during the clinic. I
plan on putting a 'chute-packing page on our website. It can be used
to refresh your memory if you have to do it by yourself next time. I
will also include a number of the comments in this conversation,
since they help explain the process and the concerns.
Thanks
to everyone for coming and making the clinic a success.
Ernie
|
| Leo
Jones
|
Chute
Clinic
Jon's comments above pretty well sum up my own feelings. I first
bought a chute in 1983, but I had flown for 4 years prior to that
without one, and helped pack several.
I like to repack my
own chute, and I have always done so, except for a couple of times.
It's easy, and I think it's a good thing to do. At first we repacked
our chutes every 120 days, but now I believe it's ok to do it just
once a year. It would probably make little difference if it wasn't
repacked for much longer, but if it got damp or exposed to a lot of
heat or chemical fumes, that could change, so it seems like a good
idea to do it once a year, just for inspection purposes, if nothing
else.
A parachute packing event is a good way to learn. There
are differences between methods. Some things are crucial, some are
not. It's good to get to throw your chute too. I had a minor hang
up, and I'm glad I learned about it there.
Leo
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Greg
Sugg
|
Re: Chute
Clinic
If you don't remember how to repack, check out Dennis Pagen's
"Performance Flying". It shows and explains how it's done. Pay
attention to how the gore lines and bridle lines are stowed.
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Daniel
Pifko
|
Informal and
informative
Hey Matt,
"Certification" program but rather an informal
information sharing get together.>
Agreed. I wouldn't want
it to get too formal either. I also want to get as much as possible
out of the throwing part of the day in addition to the packing part.
For safety's sake, I wish the same for others. Even a 4 minute brief
would help and wouldn't turn this into a certification program. For
example, here are three technique problems I saw which could be
mentioned in the brief:
1) (mine) I reached down and grabbed
the bag with both hands. In a real situation this could cost me
orientation from the control frame. I plan to use only one hand in
the future.
2) One of the guys pulled straight up on the bag
along the axis of the velcro. He took a long time to get the chute
bag out, and only did so when he added a bit of an outward
pull.
3) One of the guys let the chute go over the base tube.
Very bad.
Dunno. Maybe the more experienced guys are just
more familiar with throwing. This is the newbie Hang 3 talking.
Daniel
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Gregg
Hackett
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Re: Informal and
informative
I believe the most important reasons for repacking your reserve is
to INSPECT FOR DAMAGE, MOISTURE AND THE CONDITION OF THE STOW BANDS
(heat can cause them to melt or get tacky, do you leave your reserve
in your trunk on a hot day?)! I have been packing (and using)
reserves since 1969. When I started paragliding I was surprised to
hear that anyone could pack a reserve, unlike skydiving where it has
to be packed by a certified rigger.
Gregg Hackett
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| Jon
James
|
chutes
I've never found any problems with the rubber bands.
Some have
been in good shape after 2 years.
The rubber bands are very,
very important.
For me, the most useful exercise is in the
throwing.
I've learned that pulling up, then out works best with
my harness.
I've also removed some of the velcro so the chute
comes out easier.
You should practice throw with each new
harness.
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