Once again, something that I noticed while doing the sorting of images from the initial unloading folders into the proper categories of stock (or, as it may be, simply deleting them as not being worthwhile – shocking as it may seem, it happens every once in a great while.) While checking the images from this past Skyfest NC, I noticed something a little odd about one of the aircraft passing overhead. First, the only-slightly-cropped shot:
This is a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter carrying the All Veteran Group skydiving team aloft – I eventually determined this by finding the Skyfest Faceblerk page, because like so many businesses and suchlike these days, they felt Faceblerk was adequate to inform the general public about their event and thus put no effort whatsoever into their web page. I mean, it’s not like everyone who’s passed through sixth grade in the past twenty years can handle simple HTML…
Anyway, what caught my eye is the non-standard protuberances out the port side of the aircraft aft of the wings, which we get a closer look at here. The Twin Otter is frequently used for skydiving because of its short-takeoff-and-landing capabilities, appreciable rate of climb, notable interior cabin space, and the very large, removable rear hatch; holding open a standard hinged door in the slipstream of a moving aircraft is rather taxing. With that in mind, and of course how our society is anymore, what we’re seeing becomes clear, and even more clear when we see one of the skydivers as they approach the ground:
Ah, yes, he’s got a pair of those cutesy little action cams affixed to his helmet. Though this is actually one of the few uses that I approve of for them, because the perspective is rare and entertaining, unlike the thousands of mooks who use them on their skateboards and motorcycles and so on to try and garner the appreciation of identically-uneducated mooks who actually watch such shit. In fact, I may have seen one of the skydivers as they cruised through the crowds in a golf cart, holding their helmet aloft to film while on their way to the dropship.
So out of curiosity, I checked to see if any of this footage could be found, but had no luck, which means that you are once again spared any slight chance of seeing what I actually look like, even if it was from 800 meters or so – don’t say that I’m completely heartless. I even kept this down below 500 words…