Regulations and Recordkeeping
What this domain tests
This domain tests the regulatory frame around parachute rigging: who may pack, maintain, and repair parachutes, what the certificate ratings mean, how recent experience works, and what records must exist after the work is done. Questions often use a scenario rather than a definition.
Core rules
- Certificate and ratings. Part 65 Subpart F establishes senior and master parachute rigger certificates. A senior rigger may pack and maintain parachutes of the types for which rated; a master rigger adds repair privileges. Type ratings commonly include seat, back, chest, and lap parachutes. Work outside the rating is not covered.
- Recent experience. A rigger must meet the Part 65 recent-experience requirement to exercise privileges-normally packing at least one parachute within the preceding 12 months. Holding the certificate is not enough.
- Repack interval. Emergency parachutes installed as aircraft equipment must be packed within the preceding 180 days under 14 CFR 91.307(c). The 180-day clock is separate from the rigger’s 12-month currency.
- Records. Each packing, maintenance, or repair action needs an entry with the date, owner, parachute make/model/serial number, work performed, and the rigger’s signature and certificate number. Part 65 retention is at least 2 years; the packing record card travels with the parachute and shows the pack date and due date.
Worked example
A reserve is packed on January 15. The repack due date is 180 days later, not six calendar months later. Counting exact days: January has 16 days remaining, February 28, March 31, April 30, May 31, June 30 = 166 days through June 30; 14 more days gives July 14. The record must show the pack date, the due date, and the rigger’s certificate number. If the entry omits the serial number, the record is incomplete even if the packing itself was correct.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating the 180-day repack interval as the same thing as the rigger’s 12-month currency.
- Assuming a main parachute packed by its owner proves the rigger is current for reserve work.
- Signing a record before the inspection and packing are complete.
- Using “six months” instead of 180 days when the dates cross February or a 31-day month.