If you are serious about becoming the best pilot you can be, you won’t want to miss these gems produced by Fly Right Films. I recently discovered these guys via Facebook and saw the trailers posted on their site. I was sold the instant I saw them. I just finished watching Volume 1: Attitude Flying and Volume 2: Decision Making, and I can say that I am really impressed with the quality of these videos.
Unlike most other training videos you’ll find elsewhere in aviation, these videos keep you engaged the entire time and don’t make you feel like you are sitting through yet another boring training video. Fly Right Films calls it “entertrainment” and I have to agree. These films are entertaining as well as informative. Having Dick Rutan teaching you definitely doesn’t hurt either. Dick has a way of telling stories that just keep you on the edge of your seat and you can literally envision yourself sitting there with him as he tells wicked tales of his adventures in aviation.
A number of factors contribute to the magical formula that I believe makes these films unlike any other on the market. First, let me start by making sure you understand that these are NOT films that will substitute any traditional training curriculum that you will find in your typical flight training. I would consider these supplemental films to your primary training and they are great refreshers for any pilot at any level in their flying career. What Fly Right Films has done is combine pertinent topics in aviation safety with an incredible legend in aviation and story-teller extraordinaire, Dick Rutan. They also bring other leading experts in their field that explain in great detail (but in a way we can all understand) the science behind some of the human factors and physiological aspects of how your body interprets external influences that are being exerted on your body during flight. Combine this with brilliant cinematography, a superb original soundtrack and the use of the best and most advanced aircraft and technology in general aviation and you have a winning combination.
Both videos are filmed in various and visually inspiring locations such as Alaska, Minnesota and California and are flown in Cirrus Aircraft (both the SR-20 and SR-22). The SR-20 has the Forward Vision EVS-100 (manufactured by Max-Vis) aftermarket add-on and the SR-22 is equipped with the factory version of the EVS-100 from Cirrus via the Perspective avionics package powered by Garmin. Although the topics covered in these videos applies to ANY aircraft you will fly, it was a nice touch to include the use of the best general aviation has to offer today and gives a nice modern feel to the films.
Fly Right Films proclaims The Aviator Series a “Masters Program For Serious Pilots.” I only have one gripe at the moment…I WANT MORE! I am looking forward to future releases of The Aviator Series films and would highly recommend them to any pilot serious about their flying. For those of you aviators in the Civil Air Patrol, having your aircrews sit through one of these films should easily count as a safety briefing for the month. Below are the trailers for the current films for your viewing pleasure. Happy flying!
Volume One: Attitude Flying With Dick Rutan
Volume Two: Decision Making With Dick Rutan
You absolutely have to LOVE the creative genius behind this commercial. The entire soundtrack was created by a choir. You can see the official site, with the full commercial and an additional video of how it was made at:
Technorati Tags: Automobiles, Cool Sites, Video
1 comment(s) for this post:
BatMax:
24 Oct 2006 Doooood!!!! This has got to be the best commercial ever! This is what happens when our generation grows up and lets our creative jeans frolic.
A few weeks ago I posted an entry about an upcoming movie, Speed & Angels. There’s a few more videos posted on iFilm’s War Zone for those of you that are interested. Can’t wait for this movie to hit the street!
Technorati Tags: Cool Sites, Military, Movies, Video
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A few posts ago I blogged about who killed the electric car. Well here’s yet another alternative fuel which we won’t have a problem finding plenty of – WATER. This video is almost too good to be true. You have to wonder what the implications of this could be on the world economy (and the Presidential Bush family’s income) if overnight we could literally power all our vehicles with nothing but water.
Here is a Fox 26 News report on a guy who created the ability to power vehicles or just about anything by converting H2O into HHO. The prototype vehicle shown can travel 100 miles on 4 OUNCES of water!
Technorati Tags: Alternative Fuel, Automobiles, EV Automobiles, Green Energy, Hybrid Vehicles, Science, Video
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Are you tired of dropping your paycheck at the pump these days? Yeah, well…I am too. Ya know…recently I purchased two new vehicles. I was seriously considering a hybrid, especially something like a Prius. Problem is that it was too small for my needs. I also wanted an SUV for the wife and kid. There just wasn’t anything on the market that was decent, and to make matters worse, you had to pay a pretty steep premium which in the long run, for those don’t hold on to their cars for long, it came out as a losing proposition.
So what about all those predictions that every car would be electric by the year 2000? What ever happened to all those cars GM was testing? That’s a great question. My buddy Digital Bill, over at the Wizards of Technology, and I were having a little chat about this very thing tonight. He clued me in to a few interesting sites I wanted to share with you. I think these will open your eyes just a tad bit and make you wonder why the hell we are having to pay close to $4 /gallon for fuel these days. All I can say is that I’m ticked off as hell. We really need to start questioning our elected officials as to why we are in the current state of fuel crisis when we have had the ability to change things for over a decade. I know the answer…GREED. The question is what are we going to do about it?
You can start by checking out these sites:
http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/
http://www.stefanoparis.com/piaev/acpropulsion/eBox/ebox.html
http://www.pluginamerica.com/
http://www.stefanoparis.com/piaev/pml-mini/pml-mini.html
http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=article&storyid=1084
Technorati Tags: Automobiles, EV Automobiles, Green Energy, Hybrid Vehicles, Politics, Video
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Technorati Tags: Comedy, Video
1 comment(s) for this post:
hannah:
20 Aug 2006 Did you get that from youtube? I found another funny one there. Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kkmb-_6fR8w
For you aviation and Navy nuts out there, here’s a movie you won’t want to miss. For those of you living in San Francisco or visiting on August 17th, 2006 – you can get a sneak peek!
Speed and Angels is the true life story and feature-length action documentary about two navy officers chasing their dreams to become fighter pilots. The film follows them during the most dangerous parts of their training and as they go to war, where the realities of being a fighter pilot test their limits.
The film includes epic aerial footage in stunning HD—including the last ever F-14 Tomcat dogfights—and rare naval archival and wartime footage. Thanks to unprecedented access granted by the navy, Speed and Angels gives an inside look at people’s journeys as fighter pilots as it has never before been seen.
Based on the original concept of producer F.A.Chierici, Speed and Angels is directed by Peyton Wilson.
Looks like a great documentary and I am definitely getting the DVD. What Navy airdale veteran wouldn’t want to add this to their collection? Brings back a whole boat-load of memories (no pun intended). More information and goodies are available at the Speed & Angels website.
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Microsoft offers Flip4Mac for free:
Flip4Mac is a plugin for Quicktime that allows you to watch Windows Media files in Quicktime itself, and that’s pretty cool. However, what is even cooler is that this great little plugin is now available for free thanks to Microsoft.
You read that correctly, Microsoft is freely distributing Flip4Mac thought they are only offering the viewer, if you want to create WMV files in Quicktime you’ll still need to pony up the cash.
Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
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[ via Macworld ]
Flixpo.com offers video clips for iPod, PSP:
Flixpo.com is a new service that provides iPod and PSP-ready video clips for free.
]]>[ via macvroom.com ]
MacWorld Boston: Geek My Ride II:
For those readers venturing to the MacWorld Expo in Boston this week, make sure to check out this totally Geek’d out Ride at the Tech Superpowers/BOSFCPUG Booth (523/524). This Lexus IS300 is the world’s fastest mobile video production studio. It is totally tricked out with two Xserve G5s, an Xserve RAID with 5.6 Terabytes of storage, two 19″ flat screen monitors, a Q-Logic Fibre Channel switch, Bluetooth and AirPort wireless capability, and even a Philips 42″ plasma screen! You can read all the mind bending specs here.
The entertainment world is in for a rude awakening. The Internet, combined with the dramatically reduced cost of audio & video editing hardware and software over the past few years, has given rise to a new breed of indie artist. Gone are the days where you needed a major network and big money to back your idea.
Today’s indie artists are taking their content and paving the path to their own futures. For those of us in the tech industry, there wasn’t much of a choice when it came down to super geek tv shows. With the acquisition of Tech TV by G4, our choices have all but disappeared. G4 has obliterated what was once a thriving and popular television network, and turned it into utter uselessness. Most of my friends, and myself, have stopped watching due to the poor quality of programming and content on G4. So what’s a geek to do in order to get their propeller-head fix? Internet TV.
Several websites have begun to appear over the past year which are leading the way towards a new trend in entertainment. Two websites in particular (Systm and From the Shadows) strictly cater to the geek crowd. What makes these two sites great is that the majority of the content and talent is from people we have grown accustomed to seeing on Tech TV. Many of us had some serious withdrawal when Tech TV went dark. These guys have stepped in and are doing a great job. As a matter of fact, they are doing so well, that I seriously wonder how long it will be before a new network springs up out of this indie movement. I would argue that the content on these sites actually RIVALS what was on Tech TV. No longer are we limited to what the bean counters and clueless want to put into the program, this is all about the tech. These guys get down and dirty and cover the stuff we always wanted to see, but the “suits” would never air. And the best part: NO COMMERCIALS.
Not to be left behind are the new breed of radio broadcasters. Last week we covered the announcement of iTunes 4.9 and it’s Podcasting capabilities. In the past week alone, Apple has publicly released figures that over 1 MILLION podcasts have been served to date. That number is absolutely astonishing, considering that only a fraction of what is out there is listed in the iTunes Music Store directory of podcasts. There are literally thousands more podcasts listed via ipodder.org. Among my favorite is This Week in Tech (TWiT). Yet again, here are the former cast members of Tech TV’s various shows, taking their talent public and for FREE. No need to subscribe to cable, no need for DirecTV, no need for anything but a broadband internet connection. One would think that the quality is the first thing that will suffer, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Most of these shows are being produced by professionals that have been doing this for a very long time and are adamant about making sure they provide a quality experience. Shows like “From the Shadows” even provide you multiple formats in which you can download their content, including Apple’s new Quicktime with H.264 codec. Leo Laporte spends countless hours editing his show to perfection. These folks use pro gear and pro talent behind their content.
So you might ask yourself, what does the future hold for these guys? Surely they can’t go on for ever providing this stuff for free? Well, I wouldn’t be too sure about that. As the movement grows and the top players in the field start to distinguish themselves, subscribers (which could donate to the cause) and advertisers will come knocking. This doesn’t mean that the advertising will be injected into the show, it just means that these advertisers will pay big money for a plug in the show, or for some banner ads on the site. I can live with that. After all, what better way for a company to target their audience than to do it through a captive audience of the EXACT demographic they are looking for? Even Tech TV couldn’t do that. Tech TV had to appeal to the masses which included everything from beginner to the advanced uber geek. With this new format, advertisers can pick and choose exactly who they are targeting and get the most bang for their buck. This is a win win for content providers, advertisers and consumers. The key thing here will be for the indie artists to keep their shows “real” and not sell out to “the man”. By that I mean not reviewing bogus products or giving favorable recommendation to products they wouldn’t use themselves, just in the name of money. I really believe this new trend will become the norm as long as consumers know they can trust the show to give them the real dirt on products and they keep it real. Only time will tell.
One thing is for certain, the face of television and radio is changing. This time the power is going back to and in favor of the consumer. Now WE can dictate what we will watch and when we will watch it, without regulation or fear of reprisals from the network or FCC. These are exciting times indeed. I would say the Internet is about to hit phase 2 and the next boom is just around the corner. Maybe this time I can be in the right place at the right time. 
[ via Engadget ]
Sony HDR-HC1 HDV Handycam: world’s smallest and lightest HD consumer cam:
Sony’s not content to wow everybody with just the unveiling of the PS3 alone, so they’re also putting out what’s reputedly the world’s smallest and lightest HD consumer cam. Like the QUALIA 002 and the HDR-FX1, the HDR-HC1 supports HDV and records in 1080i. At a mere one and a half pounds, your camera bag would be a smidge less burdensome with this thing in tow. Other features include a 2.7-inch hydrib touchscreen LCD, SteadyShot image stabilization, 90 minutes battery life, 10X optical and 120X digital zoom, PictBridge capability, and the ability to snag 2.8 megapixel stills directly onto Memory Stick Pro Duo cards. They’re also saying it’s the only HD camcorder that lets you take a 1 megapixel still shot while concurrently filming HD video. It’s gonna roll out officially in July, though they omitted one of those finer details we’d rather like to know: the price.
Update:
Japanese reader Toshio says it”ll be out July 7 for about $1700USD. The Year of HD, indeed.
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Rocketboom.com has a great vlog for today on Mac vs PC. Chec out the post! ]]>
Big news for the day os Apple’s new line of Pro Apps. Some big announcements were made today at NAB. Highlights include:
Apple’s new Pro Studio Suite includes updates toFinal Cut Pro 5, Soundtrack Pro, Motion 2, and DVD Studio Pro 4.
Final Cut Pro 5 features include:
�Ģ Real-time, native HDV editing
�Ģ Multicamera editing
�Ģ Dynamic RT
Soundtrack Pro features include:
�Ģ Waveform editor with Action layers
�Ģ Intelligent Find-and-Fix
�Ģ Over 50 effect plug-ins and Audio Unit support
Motion 2 features include:
�Ģ GPU-Accelerated 32-bit float rendering
�Ģ Replicator for animating waves of repeating graphics or movies along user-defined grids.
�Ģ FxPlug, which ushers in a new breed of third-party filter effects using full 32-bit processing.
DVD Studio Pro 4 features include:
�Ģ HD DVD
�Ģ Distributed encoding
�Ģ Dolby Digital Professional encoder
Final Cut Studio will be available in May for $1,299. Registered users from any previous version of Final Cut Pro can upgrade for $699, while Production Suite customers can upgrade for $499. Final Cut Pro 5 ($999), Soundtrack Pro ($299), Motion 2 ($299) and DVD Studio Pro 4 ($499) will also be sold separately.
Also announced at NAB today was Shake 4.
“Shake 4 is the only compositing software with a complete toolset for both single artists and visual effects facilities. With 3D multi-plane compositing, 32-bit Keylight and Primatte keying, cutting edge Optical Flow image processing, Final Cut Pro 5 integration and an open, extensible scripting language, Shake 4 delivers all the tools required for sophisticated film and television visual effects.”
Shake 4 for Mac OS X with unlimited render licenses will be available in June for $2,999. The cross-platform (Mac and Linux) version of Shake 4 will be available for $4,999. The Shake 4 upgrade is $999.
1 comment(s) for this post:
Stefanie:
02 Sep 2005 Interesting info
Glidecam Industries has a new piece of production gear called the Glidecam Stunt Bar. The Glidecam Stunt…
[The Mac Observer] ]]>
DV.com has released a column explaining the ins-and-outs of editing HDV material. While the article speaks…
[The Mac Observer] ]]>
MacMovieMaker.com has announced the first annual short film contest for users of iMovie of Final Cut…
[The Mac Observer] ]]>
Sony’s new 3 CCD HDV camcorder, the HDR-FX1, has been formally introduced by the company after an initial preview at this year’s CeBit. What makes it so special? Well, along with a host of other interesting features, the FX1 has the ability to capture video in 1080i at 60 interlaced frames per second. Add into that a projected street price of only around $3,500 and the FX1 becomes a pretty amazing piece of gear, and definitely one that will get most prosumer and semi-pro film makers all hot and bothered. The FX1 should be available in November, and a hands-on with the press is expected tomorrow (so expect to see more news). (Thanks, David!)
Read – Sony Announces High Definition 1080i HDR-FX1; First 3 CCD HDV Camcorder [CamcorderInfo]
Related
Sony Camcorder Archives [Gizmodo]
3 CCD Sony HDV Camcorder [Gizmodo]
[Gizmodo]
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