Many. Most. ALL of you remember your first skydive. You remember where it happened, the weather, who went with you, who your instructor was, and what your personal motivation was to take that first step that would change the course of your life. You became a skydiver that day. If your first jump was a tandem, you most likely watched a video of tandem equipment manufacturer Bill Booth sitting behind a desk talking to you about the experience you were getting ready to take and the risks associated with it.
When tandem jumping began in 1983 under a special exemption granted by the Federal Aviation Administration, they required all tandem students to execute an experimental-test-jumper agreement. Shortly thereafter, Booth’s attorney filmed him in his wood-paneled office for a video that would help would-be tandem participants better understand the experience they were about to undertake, as well as the agreement and waiver of their legal rights they were about to sign. With the growth of skydiving in the following decades—in part due to the advent of tandem jumping—millions of tandem students at drop zones around the world watched the video. Over the years, this video was revised and re-released a few times in efforts to keep this educational piece up to date and provide greater education to would-be tandem students, as well as the greatest level of legal protection to those involved in bringing the life-changing experience of skydiving to so many.
Last month, the Uninsured United Parachute Technologies (UUPT) Tandem Assumption of Risk video, so widely used around the United States and the world, received yet another makeover. A big one. This time USPA worked with Mr. Booth and his team at the UUPT to kick it up a notch. While Mr. Booth deservingly remains one of its main stars, he no longer sits in front of the fine wooden wall adorned with his many patents, but rather in an airplane hangar in front of a jump aircraft. A wider variety of skydivers than ever co-star with him in the production. The updated video includes an upbeat approach to showing all that people can achieve in our sport. We used the word “aspirational” many times in its development to help bring the production team in sync with what we were looking for. The new release brings the video quality up to current digital standards, and we believe that it does a great job of delivering a great message to our next generation of skydivers. There is also content provided in this video that will assist drop zones with meeting their requirements to remain in compliance with FAA CFR 105.45.
As we approach the 40th anniversary of tandem skydiving in 2023, this video seems like a great way to help introduce the next group of skydivers to our world. And as quickly as technology advances, and as long as I hope tandem skydiving will be around, I can only imagine this assumption-of-risk video will be replaced many times to come. Here’s to another 40, and may every year be safer than the last.
Blue skies,
Albert Berchtold | D-27832
USPA Executive Director