Help me with a Skydiving presentation for Work

[Elisha 1]

Once a month, one of the managers in my work group buys pizza and someone takes a turn presenting something they're interested in whether it be work or personal related. I'm going to present....well, duh.

I was going to put a couple of short movies on a memory stick to play on the computer, bring my rig and show what everything is and unpack/repack the main for them.

I also want to show them what different types of canopies do and their aspects. I'm just going to be showing them my 15-yr old Sabre, but I'd like to be able to show them at least diagram-wise what other types are like. Is there a good website with some comparisons of canopy designs. I'd like to show them an elliptical vs square, etc., what aspect ratio means and other things and how this affects flight characteristics.

Please help me? Thanks.

[LouDiamond 1]

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but I'd like to be able to show them at least diagram-wise what other types are like. Is there a good website with some comparisons of canopy designs. I'd like to show them an elliptical vs square, etc.,

Grab your old Para-gear catalog, it has lots of pictures/drawings of different canopies and just about every piece of equipment in the sport.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[AggieDave 6]

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bring my rig and show what everything is and unpack/repack the main for them

Sounds good, be sure to be able to pack it fairly quickly. They might get bored if you spend 10 minutes trying to get the canopy into the bag. Make sure it looks fairly neat as well. As I've found out, even whuffos can tell when a packjob looks really crappy (stuff unsymmetrical and sticking out of the bag).

Oh, and something I learned when I did something similar...bring some spair rubberbands.

The paragear idea is good, also grab a few issues of paracrap to pass around. Shiney with pictures never hurts, be warned that they'll get stuck on the incidents page(s), when they notice them.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[vdschoor 0]

I'd skip the pack job and make it an "optional" item after the presentation.. there's nothing really exciting about watching someone pack..

Seeing how the parachute comes out of the bag though.. that's interesting, cause people ask that all the time "is that the cord you pull on to open the chute?"

[hookitt 1]

Oh boy....

Does everyone at work know you skydive? If they don't already, you're going to be hammered with questions and dumb comments. Beware and get ready for them.

Have you had any close calls?
Do you know anyone who died?
I could never do that.
What happens if the chute doesn't open?
What happens if that one doesn't open either?
I know a guy who landed without a parachute once. He lived, but he's shorter now. <== optional but possible
How high do you go?
What's the lowest you can go before pulling the cord?
Do you pack your own chute? ...wow.. !!!
How much does it cost?
I've bungee jumped!
I went parachuting in mexico behind a boat!
Why would you jump from a perfectly good airplane?

After this presentation, you will be introduced as This is Elisha, he's a skydiver.... and then.. the questions start up again.

Good luck!

That certainly doesn't help your presentation but it's true.

If you need a prop, I'll be happy to go to your office and perform the packing and eat free pizza.

Tim

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[chaoskitty 0]

"What happens if you hit a bird?"

..well I guess that might hurt both me and the bird. ?

[Elisha 1]

AggieDave - I got SkyBands on my D-Bag, so I don't really need to worry about them breaking really easily while unpacking, but thanks.

LouDiamond - I don't have a paragear catalog.

hookitt - We usually book 90 minutes for this lunch meeting and most know I skydive already. I've even brought my rig in before and put it under the desk in my cube and opened the pin covers.

vdschoor - Last presentation, this coworker interested in Theory of Relativity/Light/Time Travel gave a presentation the lasted like 50 minutes - definitely the longest so far. It is NOT going to take even me that long to pack my old Sabre in a carpeted room.

I could get "volunteers" from the audience to even help me to make things go faster.

At this point (in my idea gathering phase), I'm more worried about the technical questions regarding canopies that I don't know too much about myself. Why is a Stilletto more Hi Performance than a Pilot which has a flatter glide than a Sabre? What makes a canopy more hi performance than another? And etc....

[NWFlyer 2]

Go download manuals for a few sample canopies. PD's manuals do a good job explaining the flight characteristics of individual canopies.

And I agree with Iwan. People probably aren't going to be that interested in watching you pack. At the very least, schedule it at the end of your presentation, not in the middle.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[Broke 0]

I don't think you'll have to worry about that. Unless you have some closet skydivers at work they probibly won't know brand names.

Divot your source for all things Hillbilly.
Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[Elisha 1]

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I've bungee jumped!
I went parachuting in mexico behind a boat!

I've done those too!

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If you need a prop, I'll be happy to go to your office and perform the packing and eat free pizza.

Tim

You want to drive to Novato in the middle of a Thursday just for a couple of pieces of pizza AND you have to do a packjob? Are you on drugs?

[Broke 0]

Sound like a broke skydive trying to get something to eat. You should probibly talk a little bit about ways that people get into skydiving, what are some common pieces of equipment. And see if you can get those nifty malfunction pics and show them to them.
Also not every issue of the parachutist has the Incident reports sections in it

Divot your source for all things Hillbilly.
Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[Elisha 1]

Oh, the packjob will definitely be last.

Really, I think I can do it just fast enough not to bore them...although it is borderline.

[ChrisL 2]

Dont forget to tell them why we go up when the parachute opens.

__

My mighty steed

[Elisha 1]

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Sound like a broke skydive trying to get something to eat. You should probibly talk a little bit about ways that people get into skydiving, what are some common pieces of equipment. And see if you can get those nifty malfunction pics and show them to them.
Also not every issue of the parachutist has the Incident reports sections in it

Yeah, but he'll spend more in gas getting here than lunch would!

I was thinking of including a malfunction movie as well. (Btw, when I say "movie", I mean lasting <5 mins to give a liberal upper bound.)

[shropshire 0]

Boobies.... there has to be lots of boobies too.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Broke 0]

FANDANGO!

Divot your source for all things Hillbilly.
Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[hookitt 1]

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Are you on drugs?

Just caffiene ... surprisingly not that much either.

[stitch 0]

OH BOY!!!!......Show and Tell.

"No cookies for you"- GFD
"I don't think I like the sound of that" ~ MB65
Don't be a "Racer Hater"

[Elisha 1]

You got it!

Nah, hookitt, I'll save the money this time. It will in an air conditioned, carpetted room and no need to rush to make a load. No problem.

[NWFlyer 2]

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You got it!

Nah, hookitt, I'll save the money this time. It will in an air conditioned, carpetted room and no need to rush to make a load. No problem.

If it's time for a repack, have Timmae come and do the reserve.

[Elisha 1]

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You got it!

Nah, hookitt, I'll save the money this time. It will in an air conditioned, carpetted room and no need to rush to make a load. No problem.

If it's time for a repack, have Timmae come and do the reserve.

Clay or his minions get to do that in the next few days
Wait...did I talk to you in the food line Sat. night at Davis and did skybytch make me video you laying on Amazon the week before at Byron?

[NWFlyer 2]

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Wait...did I talk to you in the food line Sat. night at Davis and did skybytch make me video you laying on Amazon the week before at Byron?

Maybe the former but definitely not the latter.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[kenneth21441 0]

Ive done these types of presentations before. In fact I did it like this a 12 to 16 slide show showing the training, jumping, and skills used by skydivers plus additional info on safety, laws etc.. took about 30 minutes to run with some nice photos on it. This helps people understand skydivers better then you people are crazy.

Then I bring in one of my rigs where the reserve is close to being out of date and show them how the rig works then break down the main and reserve to show them how they work. Total time on this part about 30 minutes or more depending on the questions raised.

Ask your local DZ for support on any extra gear: such as altimeters, helmets, photos, etc... As they would be more then happy as this is a chance to advertise by ways of flyers etc...Why not if you have six people in the conference this is six or more people that would try it..even a tandem....

Each of these ideals Ive used to great sucess. If you have any further questions or such please feel free to email me and I could provide you with a base power point slide show that Ive used....

Thanks Ken,...

Kenneth Potter
FAA Senior Parachute Rigger
Tactical Delivery Instructor (Jeddah, KSA)
FFL Gunsmith

[Elisha 1]

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Wait...did I talk to you in the food line Sat. night at Davis and did skybytch make me video you laying on Amazon the week before at Byron?

Maybe the former but definitely not the latter.

Actually, I think it was both! I looked at a pic he sent me a while back and I think it is him. I talked to him and some dude with white hair who looked a little like Gary Busey in the food line Saturday night at the American Boogie. I'm pretty sure he was also at Byron for the GFD memorial. Lisa handed the camera to me and had me video him lying across several people's laps on the couch outside with his head near Amazon's...big thingys. From his pic, I think I thought he was taller than he really is.

[NWFlyer 2]

Who the hell are you talking to/about? Cuz I'm pretty sure you know me. And I'm not a "him."

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke