WrongWay 0 #1 December 7, 2004 Okay, so I was sitting here bored and thinking to myself how many customers I get that know I'm a skydiver, and ask me the same stupid questions every day....."What if your chute doesn't open?"....."What's so hard about it, you're just falling....."......etc, etc, etc..... So I'm wondering if it would be cool to make a short skydiving vid explaining everything in whuffo terms so we can show our families what we're doing, not to mention explain that parachutes and the sport have in fact changed since the 60's. Seriously, explain in whuffo terms what the relative wind is and how everything that flies flies off of it, what it feels like, how parachutes and their chances of opening are not the weakest link when it comes to safety, rw, freefly, swooping, tracking, speeds, etc. etc. etc..... Think it's a good idea? On the other hand, it IS kinda fun to keep these people in the dark sometimes. Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #2 December 7, 2004 That would be cool, but I promise you those poor little whuffo brains would shut down right after you hit play. They don't know and don't have any true desire to know, if they did they'd be interested in learning about how to skydive. Although that would be a cool video, I think it would dump too much information too quickly on them.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyingJ 0 #3 December 7, 2004 I was looking around for something like this a few months ago as several people in my family asked. Something like a "Skydiving for Dummies" video. Plain language but informative. My dad watched the Bridge Day coverage on OLN with me and he really liked the segment where they showed a BASE rig and disected it explaining how it works, etc. He asked if there was a video like that for skydiving. I would certainly purchase a copy or two.Killing threads since 2004. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Foggy 0 #4 December 7, 2004 I think that the Airspeed documentary by Fiery Pig Films about the team's attempt to win both 4 and 8 way In Australia ('99) is very accessible to non-skydivers. I do concede that it has a very narrow focus towards competitive formation skydiving so perhaps if it was complemented with "Cutaway" Foggy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sunshine 2 #5 December 7, 2004 It's even hard to explain sitflying. They see pics of it and wonder wtf i'm doing. They only see belly stuff and usually bigways on tv. ___________________________________________ meow I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pilotdave 0 #6 December 7, 2004 Sitflying really does look pretty silly. I'm sure it's just a fad that will pass. Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WrongWay 0 #7 December 7, 2004 QuoteIt's even hard to explain sitflying. They see pics of it and wonder wtf i'm doing. They only see belly stuff and usually bigways on tv. Not to mention that we all use rounds, and live in fear of our parachutes not opening. *assumes indian style position and meditates* There is no sitfly. Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyingJ 0 #8 December 7, 2004 QuoteIt's even hard to explain sitflying. They see pics of it and wonder wtf i'm doing. They only see belly stuff and usually bigways on tv. Funny you mention that. The exterminator was here at the house yesterday doing his thing and asked me about the cast on my leg. I told him about injuring myself and then he asked about the guys on the cover of the Nov. Parachutist that he saw somwhere in the house while doing his thing. He said "I've seen people skydive before so I know that's not it. What are they doing?"Killing threads since 2004. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tdog 0 #9 December 7, 2004 Quote"What's so hard about it, you're just falling....."......etc, etc, etc..... Thats the part I am having a hard time convincing my friends about... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PrairieDoug 0 #10 December 7, 2004 Norman Kent's video "Flight of the Dream Team" provides a great overview of the sport for whuffos. It covers the history of skydiving, different disciplines, the evolution of equipment, etc. I definitely recommend it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FrogNog 1 #11 December 7, 2004 I think there are parts of videos that would do a good job. But I don't know of any entire videos that wouldn't be overloading, or have distractions. Video that concentrated on freeflying (i.e. without the ground filler) seems like it would be a good head-cracker for whuffos. See the plane, see the exit, see the maneuvers, see them deploy then cut to the landing and most cave dwellers would have to accept it's skydiving. But the way I recall most skydiving video being cut, there's a few minutes of flying at a time. I'm not sure if that's too much for their little brains to put together. In terms of explaining all the whuffo gear and procedural questions, I don't know. I side with Aggie Dave that they don't really want to know. If they did, I'd just give them the Poynter/Turoff Skydiver's Handbook. It could use a bit of revision with some of the gear (round reserves, hip pouches, and WDIs are not the norm these days), but it does a great job of explaining "how we don't die most times." Its only failing as a de-whuffoer is the level of detail; I feel like you're asking for the 5 minute version, not the 5 hour version. -=-=-=-=- Pull. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ScratchTX 0 #12 December 7, 2004 Yep, definitely the five-minute version, not the five-hour one. But truly, I think there would be an audience for a 8-10 minute video. Sure, some people don't want to know even that much but hey, they wouldn't be watching the video in the first place. I'm sure many other people besides me and the guy who posted above have friends and family who were interested in understanding the basics. It would not be too difficult to explain the basics of skydiving and equipment without going into excruciating detail. I'm thinking the level of explanation my 12 year old niece wanted -- we talked for about 20 minutes about relative wind, exits, body flight (hey I can explain it better than I can do it!), PC's and deployment, three-rings and cutaways, simple canopy flight and landing. We also talked about risks, malfunctions, wings level... We even got into accepting the risks, waivers, personal responsibility (my indoctrination since she said she wants to skydive)... AND the little sprout even grasped the airspeed/windspeed concept with no trouble! With a tight script, good illustrative visuals (video and graphics) and well edited skydiving beauty shots, I think this would be fun! As a bored video producer/writer/director/editor languishing in a slow period at a community college video dept., I'd love to work on something like this on my own time. I think it is a good enough idea to warrant some attention, really. Anyone else interested in giving it some more thought? (The DVD version could have more extras -- more detailed explanation, more instruction, maybe some entertaining short subjects by creative skydivers, etc. Oh, and I guess that's where we'd put sitflying, if such a thing even exists... :>)) --Scratch Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
