Emergency Bailout Parachute Systems Course
Specialized Five-Day Training for Parachute Riggers and Aviation Life-Support Professionals
Location: DeLand, Florida
Course Length: Five Days — Monday through Friday
Pilot Course Dates: To Be Announced
Presented by: Parachute Laboratories, Inc. / Parachute Rigging Institute
Emergency bailout parachute systems occupy a very specific part of the parachute rigging profession. They are not sport systems, and they should not be approached as if they are.
Parachute Laboratories and the Parachute Rigging Institute are developing a dedicated five-day course focused exclusively on emergency bailout parachute systems used by pilots and aircrew. The program is being designed for qualified riggers and aviation life-support professionals who want greater exposure to the equipment, configurations, inspection considerations, maintenance practices, packing procedures, and manufacturer-specific requirements associated with emergency parachutes.
The intent is straightforward: provide experienced riggers with an opportunity to spend an entire week working specifically with bailout equipment instead of treating emergency parachutes as a small portion of a broader rigging course.
Why This Course
Many riggers build the majority of their experience around sport parachuting equipment. Yet emergency bailout systems can involve different harness configurations, deployment methods, packing procedures, hardware, closing systems, cockpit considerations, AAD applications, legacy equipment, and manufacturer requirements.
A rigger may hold the appropriate FAA certificate and rating while still having limited exposure to the range of emergency systems currently operating throughout general aviation, aerobatic aviation, flight test, warbird operations, glider operations, military aviation, and other specialized applications.
This course is intended to broaden that exposure.
The program will focus on developing a methodical approach to emergency equipment: understanding what system is in front of you, identifying the applicable manufacturer's information, conducting an appropriate inspection, recognizing serviceability concerns, completing authorized maintenance, correctly packing the equipment, and properly documenting the work.
Students should leave the course with a better understanding of not only how different emergency systems are serviced, but also how to approach equipment they may not see every day.
Multiple Manufacturers. Multiple Configurations.
One of the central goals of the program is to expose students to more than one manufacturer's way of solving the same problem.
Emergency bailout systems are not all constructed, routed, closed, packed, or maintained in the same manner. What is appropriate for one system may not be appropriate for another.
The course is therefore being developed around representative Back, Seat, and Chest emergency parachute systems, with current-production and legacy equipment incorporated whenever practical.
Parachute Laboratories is also reaching out to bailout-system manufacturers across the industry and inviting their representatives to participate directly in the course.
Where possible, we want students to hear about a manufacturer's equipment from the manufacturer itself.
Rather than attempting to speak for another company, the Parachute Rigging Institute intends to provide manufacturers the opportunity to discuss the inspection areas, maintenance considerations, equipment differences, packing concepts, field issues, AAD applications, service information, and other subjects they believe are most important for riggers servicing their systems.
This manufacturer participation is expected to be one of the most valuable aspects of the program.
What Students Can Expect
The course will combine technical discussion, manufacturer information, instructor demonstration, equipment familiarization, and extensive hands-on practical work.
Depending upon equipment availability and manufacturer participation, training is expected to provide exposure to areas such as:
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Inspection and evaluation of emergency bailout parachute systems
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Back, Seat, and Chest system configurations
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Manufacturer-specific packing and repacking considerations
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Harness and container inspection
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Canopy and suspension-system inspection
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Pilot chutes, deployment devices, bridles, ripcords, cables, pins, and housings
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Closing systems and closing-loop replacement
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Hardware inspection and authorized component replacement
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Harness/container maintenance and repair considerations
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Automatic Activation Device function and theory
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AAD inspection, installation, removal, routing, and system integration
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Manufacturer-authorized AAD maintenance and servicing considerations
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Component compatibility and configuration
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Identification of questionable or unserviceable equipment
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Manufacturer manuals, technical data, and service information
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Legacy equipment considerations
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Packing records, rigger documentation, and return-to-service considerations
The specific equipment and practical exercises used during each course may change as manufacturers participate and different training systems become available.
That is intentional.
The purpose of the course is not to memorize one parachute.
It is to become a more capable emergency-parachute rigger.
Automatic Activation Devices
AADs will be treated as an integrated part of emergency-system training rather than as a separate accessory.
Students will receive exposure to the function and application of AADs in bailout systems, including installation considerations, system compatibility, inspection, routing, cutter and closing-loop interfaces, maintenance requirements, service status, and the limits of rigger-authorized servicing.
Just as with the parachute itself, students will be expected to understand that AAD requirements are manufacturer-specific.
The course will emphasize knowing when a task can appropriately be performed by the rigger and when equipment must be referred to the manufacturer or an authorized service facility.
Current Equipment and Legacy Equipment
An emergency parachute does not stop being relevant simply because a newer model exists.
Qualified riggers routinely encounter equipment from different production periods, different owners, different aircraft, and different service histories.
For that reason, participating manufacturers are being encouraged to bring not only current production equipment but also older systems, legacy configurations, training articles, components, systems equipped with AADs, and systems without AADs.
Students may therefore have the opportunity to compare generations of emergency equipment and understand how systems, materials, components, and manufacturer requirements have changed over time.
That type of exposure is difficult to reproduce in a traditional classroom.
This Is Not a Sport Skydiving Course
This program will be dedicated exclusively to emergency bailout parachute systems.
Sport skydiving harness/container systems, mains, sport reserves, and recreational skydiving equipment will not be the focus of this training.
That distinction is deliberate.
The entire week is being reserved for equipment designed to serve as an emergency means of escape from an aircraft.
Who Should Attend
The course is being developed primarily for FAA-certificated parachute riggers, experienced military riggers, aviation life-support technicians, manufacturer personnel, repair-station personnel, and others whose professional responsibilities include the inspection, packing, maintenance, or support of emergency parachute systems.
FAA certificate privileges and ratings remain controlling.
Completion of this program will provide specialized training and documented course experience, but it should not be interpreted as independently granting an FAA rigger certificate or additional type rating.
For appropriately qualified individuals working toward additional Seat, Back, or Chest experience, applicable supervised work completed during the course may be documented when permitted.
An Industry-Supported Course
We want this course to be more than a Parachute Laboratories class.
The larger objective is to create a training environment where manufacturers, experienced riggers, and aviation life-support professionals can contribute to improving the level of emergency-parachute knowledge available throughout the industry.
Participating manufacturers are being offered the opportunity to identify the subjects they believe need greater attention and, where practical, directly lead or support those training blocks.
That means the pilot course may include perspectives, equipment, and technical discussions that are difficult to obtain anywhere else in one place.
For a working rigger, that opportunity has significant value.
Location and Pilot Course
The pilot course is planned to take place at or near the Parachute Laboratories facility in DeLand, Florida.
The training location will be selected to provide adequate space for classroom instruction, packing operations, equipment inspection, practical maintenance exercises, manufacturer demonstrations, and specialized training requirements.
The initial course is currently expected to take place between the PIA Symposium and Sun ’n Fun, subject to final facility availability and completion of the Parachute Rigging Institute's upcoming federal-contract course schedule.
Exact dates will be announced once that schedule is finalized.
Five Days Dedicated to Emergency Parachutes
This will be an intensive Monday-through-Friday course.
Students should expect to spend the week working around bailout equipment, technical documentation, packing tables, inspection tools, components, AADs, harnesses, containers, canopies, and other emergency-system training articles.
This is not intended to be a passive seminar.
The value of the program will come from combining technical understanding with hands-on exposure.
Pilot Course Interest
We are currently accepting expressions of interest from qualified individuals who would like to attend the first course.
Because the pilot program will include significant hands-on instruction and manufacturer participation, class size is expected to be limited.
Final dates, enrollment requirements, equipment requirements, and registration information will be released as the course schedule is finalized.
If emergency bailout parachutes are part of your current work—or an area in which you want to become substantially more capable—we encourage you to follow the development of this program.
Course Tuition and Seat Reservation
Tuition for the five-day Emergency Bailout Parachute Systems Course is:
$2,000 per parachute rigger
Because the course is designed around hands-on instruction, manufacturer participation, and limited practical-training capacity, seating will be restricted.
A $500 deposit is required to secure a seat in the course.
The deposit will be applied toward the total course tuition, leaving a remaining balance of $1,500 due prior to the start of the course.
Course Cost
Total Tuition: $2,000 per rigger
Deposit to Reserve Seat: $500
Remaining Balance: $1,500
Seats will not be considered reserved until the required deposit has been received.
Because this is a limited-enrollment, hands-on specialty course, prospective students are encouraged to reserve their place early once registration opens.
Emergency bailout equipment deserves emergency-specific training.