Parachutes when not being used

akpilot907

akpilot907

Pre-takeoff checklist
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May 14, 2013
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Anchorage, Alaska
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citabriav8tr
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5AK3
Question for all you aerobatic gurus out there....

When my parachutes are not being used and are sitting in a box... How would you all store them to maintain proper up keep and care? A friend suggested hanging them in my closet on a large coat hangar (The ones used for scuba gear)...

Any thoughts??
 
Typically with my rig (sport parachute) I lay it back side down it in a duffle bag (like a small hockey bag) and put it in the closet.

Just lay it flat somewhere dry out of sunlight.

Of course make sure you're current on your repack date too.

You also might want to take a first jump course at your local drop zone and a few jumps with a instructor, incase you ever have to use it and maybe upgrade the canopy to a ram air reserve. Nothing is worse then successfully bailing out only to get yourself killed with nylon above your head, or landing somewhere... unfortunate
 
Just keep it dry, out of the sun, and away from extreme temperatures and it'll be fine.

I do recommend putting it in some sort of bag like james331 to reduce the chances of someone picking it up by the "handle" and costing you an unexpected $50 for a repack.
 
Mice is another consideration. Bagged is good, clean, dry and away from sunlight and vermin.
 
I put my "Long Softie" bail-out rig in a plastic under-the-bed type container with a snap on lid when not in use. Was less than $10.00 at Target. The box itself stays in my pilot cave in my hanger (heat/AC).

Chris
 
Mine is either in the airplane or with the rigger.
 
I unstrap from mine when I'm getting out of the airplane and leave it there until the next flight. I do however put it on when I'm standing outside the plane as I fear accidentally strapping my parachute to the seatbelt if I were inside it.
 
In the closet in the bag between flights
 
Why do 'chutes need to be repacked so often?
 
ebykowsky said:
Why do 'chutes need to be repacked so often?
Click to expand...
Rigger's union.:D The interval was upped from 120 days to 180 recently after mucho hand wringing. Most riggers repack their personal gear once a year. I usually ended up using the damn thing before a year was up.:D But otherwise a year is good(if you have a way of fixing the paperwork.):yes:
 
ClimbnSink said:
Rigger's union.:D The interval was upped from 120 days to 180 recently after mucho hand wringing. Most riggers repack their personal gear once a year. I usually ended up using the damn thing before a year was up.:D But otherwise a year is good(if you have a way of fixing the paperwork.):yes:
Click to expand...

More like a bureaucrats union. A bunch of people sitting at their desks worrying about a hypothetical jumper who "might" "maybe" drop their rig to the bottom of a pool and soak it for a week and dry it in their dryer at home and wonder how "we" will know without a check. After all, "we" need to know, for the children of course. Kind of like the class 3 medical or something....

As a rigger, I've found damage after use occasionally but the things I've found at an inspection & repack are usually things put there at the last I&R or in rigs that had not been actively used in years.... I voted every 365 days when PIA was polling.

As for riggers repacking their own gear yearly, ummmm, you can't prove that....
 
Paying 50 bucks to a rigger every 180 days ain't that big of a deal. I'd rather be overly proactive.

Also I think 180 is fair especially with a bail out rig. You only have one canopy and most rigs are just left crunched up in pilots seat all day doing seat cushion duty.

I just put the date in my phone calendar and set a reminder. I've never had a ride on my reserve but I still put a nice new PD in and am very vigilant on repacks and gear checks, just not somewhere I need to try to save money ;)
 
There is a skydiver rate and a pilot rate. Pilots get charged more then 50 bucks for repacks.:lol:
 
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