All pilots are required to fly with a reserve parachute suitable for their disipline (HG / PG / FLPA) and of a suitable size. A reserve parachute gives you a second chance, perhaps a final chance, when the worst occurs. Please read the chapter entitled "Safety Equipment" in the BHPA Pilot Handbook for instructions on how to choose, install, maintain and deploy your reserve parachute.
Ideally every pilot should learn to repack his or her own parachute, and so become familliar with the system. You can learn how to do this at a parachute repacking session organised by the IHPA or UHPC. Alternatively, take your equipment to a BHPA licenced packer and get the packer to show you how to repack it. If you really do not want to understand your emergency system, then simply get the packer to do a full inspection and repack.
Repacking should be carried out at the intervals recommended in the parachute's user manual. In the absence of such recommendations, check and repack your parachute every six months. If it has got wet or damp it should be fully opened and air dried immediately and only repacked when completely dry. Repacking provides an opportunity for close examination of the entire parachute system for general viability and wear and tear. It also allows replacement of the rubber bands which perish over time.
The IHPA currently organises one major repacking session per year, over the AGM weekend in March, to help pilots repack their reserves for the coming flying season. The UHPC also holds one or two repacking sessions every year. At these sessions pilots are able to test-deploy their reserve parachutes in very realistic emergency simulation and are then assisted by experienced pilots to repack their reserve parachutes according to their specific user manual instructions. It must be stressed that this service is offered on a member-to-member basis and that neither the IHPA or any of the members assisting in the repack session offer any guarantee or accept any liability in the event of a reserve system failing to deploy properly. Members avail of this service entirely at their own risk and will be required to sign a statement to that effect before participating in an IHPA repack session.
Professional Repacking Services are offered by then following:
