Parachute Repacking

[ffuries]

I would say if people were around in the Florida Panhandle I could give them down and dirty chute training. Did it for dang near 22 years in the AF, with the majority (16 years) of it in heavies and 6 years in ejection seat aircraft.

Don't know if I have be certified in the civilian world to give academic parachute training......

[bdk]

I was told that the most important thing for a rigger was to have strong hands, strong enough to tear the canopy or stitching during the pull test if it was compromised.

The paragraph above that mentions "not many non-destructive tests available" jibes with what they have discussed regarding canopy life. The FAA has no calendar limit but a common guideline is the "pull test". If the canopy fabric tears, you flunk and you also now have a hole in the fabric. Note that the pdf below also references the "thumb test", likely an old-timer technique of pressing a calibrated finger against a taut panel and seeing if it punctures the weave.

https://www.pia.com/wp-content/uploads/TS-108.1.pdf

[Cvairwerks]

When I worked with the MiG guys on the MiG 29 US tour, we packed the drag chutes with a baseball bat. There was some panic when they broke it here. Had to run to the sporting good store and get another so we could finish packing the chute.

In our drag chute shop at work, we had what looked like cricket bats to help form our chutes after packing.