Hello everyone,

I may be going to jump school at Fort Benning in a couple months. I'm not concerned about the APFT or running, but carrying a lot of weight does concern me due to multiple abdominal surgeries. I heard we carry 100+ pounds.

Can someone tell me how much weight we carry and how often? Also, what is the highest we jump from when doing practice out of the plane? Not under canopy, but with the mock up device to practice landings.

Thank you in advance for your help.

The only thing you carry is a 1qt canteen in one cargo pocket and a poncho in the other cargo pocket.The parachute is around 60 pounds, but you wont carry a parachute around with you.

It's a 250 foot tower. They crank you up with the parachute deployed to the top and then release, so it fills with air almost immediately after release. You can watch videos on youtube. So if the tower is 250 feet tall and your rigged up under risers my guess is maybe 220-225 feet is where you are before release?

I think the 250 foot tower part is pure Hollywood, myself. Civilian Jump Schools don't use apparatus like that to train their jumpers with the same T10 type parachutes.

Just an opinion though.

You'll have to ask someone else about the plane jump altitude as I haven't been through the school.

Like was already mentioned, you only carry around a 1 quart canteen and ACH during training. You'll also do the 34' towers and maybe the 250' towers. Probably not though. They are always broken. As for carrying heavy stuff, you have to run from the rigger shed down the flight line to the harness shed with your chute on your right arm holding your hand on top of your helmet. That's a PITA but tolerable. What really sucks is getting rigged for Combat Equipment. You'll have your chute, reserve, rucksack and weapons case on with a 2"x4" in it all rigged on you. It sucks but at least you're sitting down. You only have to walk out to the bird.

I think the 250' Tower is more for confidence building than anything else.

It's the first time the Student has been in a real parachute harness with a 'chute attached.
Also, it is used to show that they can control the 'chute, by using the risers to pull a slip.(you don't steer a sport parachute by pulling on the risers)

Sport parachuting is a totally different animal, ask anyone who has done both. Even Military Freefall is completely different.

Not sure about everyone else, but I haven't talked to anyone recently who actually used the 250' towers. I know we never did (went through in Sept 2008). We did watch dummies drop with malfuctions from the towers though.

Everybody did the 250 foot in 1967.
Never saw a malfunction-the canopy is already open.

Retrospectively, it may have been icing on the cake.
They all worked then, but a couple days was put in getting everybody through it.
The only quitters I saw were on the 34 foot.
One such clown already had an airborne tat.

I just went through Airborne School a few months ago. 250 tower was optional. The first guy that went actually hit the tower on the way down about 125 feet up. He was lucky that he bounced off a pole, his chute partially collapsed before reopening and then plf'd somehow into a decent landing. We also saw a guys chute collapse on the way up as he was being lifted up, thats why they have a safety cord attached I guess. The class before us didnt do the towers. Us and the class after did but ours was optional. Nothing competes with an actual jump though. 250 ft tower is hollywood by the way

i just got my wings last friday, gumbydammit is right on the dot we did not do the 250 ft tower.just make sure you come in shape running wise cus you will be running everywhere.weight wise no just one canteen and ach.Hopefully you have alot of patience cus you will be setting on your behind for couple hours before you do your jumps 3 plus hr at the time

I dont know if anyone failed to mention the opening shock?????

quote:

Also, what is the highest we jump from when doing practice out of the plane? Not under canopy

1000 to 1200 feet is the usual none combat military jump from aircraft.
I've read that some here have jumped lower, but as close as I can recall, all mine were in that range.
After jumpschool, there are both night and day jumps.

I'm just wondering why your going airborne with abb probs? Doesn't sound like a good idea to me.
Airborne is infantry and you'll be carrying a lot of wieght at some time or other.


[QUOTE]Not under canopy, but with the mock up device to practice landings.[QUOTE]

To this follow up with your questions, I think you mean practicing PLF's (Parachute Landing Fall).
That's done from various height platforms into a sawdust pit, starting with a low PLF Platform and working up to a higher platform as training progresses.
Again, I'm wondering about your abb problems with PLF training. I'm sure you will probably have to wait until your abbs are not going to be a problem. PLF training could be worse than carrying weight.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: oldbuckjumper,