Updates from the War on Wobblies

Some background

The Gyron, an aerial anti-Wobbly weapon by NSI, is a rugged and robust weapon in the arsenal with lofty ambition. The grandness of the goal that the product attempts to achieve is noble and inspiring. The question, I suppose, is whether you can really be all things to all people.

Nettmann Systems Inc is helmed by Robert Nettmann. He is an awesome and inspirational figure that has spent his distinguished and storied career striving for a leadership position in aerial cinematography.

Nettmann Systems Inc has, for the longest time, made a commendable effort to educate Wobbly warriors on the merits of anti-wobbly weapons through a comparison chart cloaked in mystery.

The chart provided some of the impetus for starting the War on Wobblies as it correctly identified and classified the differences in technology across various products. For instance, it positioned the technology in the Gryon as far advanced when compared to the Spacecam. However, it said nothing of the value to the end-user of transitioning a prototype into a completed product offering, where, for instance, the Spacecam would be advanced when compared to the Gyron. And like any industry, Cinematography is no different in that value is maximized for end-users when the correct blend of advanced technology is integrated into the right productized solution.

My Review

As Ron Goodman, a fellow Knight of the Wobbly Table, accurately pointed out, “Everything that is shaped like a sphere is not a Wescam”. Another truism is that not every aerial anti-Wobbly weapon is a sphere. And that’s certainly true for the Gyron. My initial thought as I approached the system for the first time late last year was that the Gyron is a different beast. Different look - different feel – dare I say an almost other worldly feel.

I chuckled to myself as I walked around the Gyron and found my thoughts drifting towards images of a Stormtrooper helmet from the famous Star Wars films.

On first blush this felt like a superficial comparison, but on deeper reflection I believe that the analogy holds. From trudging through the dirty sand dunes of Tatooine, to racing through the lush and humid jungles of Endor, to the “frozen tundra” of Hoth or racing through space in various forms of aircraft, the Stormtroopers were designed by the Empire to fight in any situation throughout the galaxy. Air, ground, sea… it didn’t matter, the Empire’s goal was to create a rugged and robust product that was flexible and durable enough to withstand anything that came at it.

As any fan of the Star Wars films will fondly recall, the heavy and bulky design that was needed to ensure that the Stormtroopers could handle any environment meant that they were routinely defeated at hands of the specific and tailored solution that was implemented by the nimble Rebel Alliance. That is, the design decision of the Empire to create something for everything ultimately ensured that it was constantly outdone in every situation.

Anyway, enough of geeked-out analogies…

Compared to the Spacecam the Gyron bundles newer technology in a unique design. If it were a car it would be an advanced prototype shown at carshows. The crowd, initially thrilled with the technology’s promise would leave the show wondering when a polished and complete product would be appearing in showrooms throughout the nation.

The Gyron flew well enough in our tests and we had limited success recreating the often referenced perception of flight speed constraints. We were flying the newest version of the system, the Marvelous G, and suspect that the previous limitation had been addressed in this iteration of the prototype.

I found the steerable roll that the Gyron offered to be an enjoyable addition to an aerial anti-Wobbly weapon; this feature differentiated the Gyron from previously reviewed aerial anti-Wobbly products and enabled a range of distinct shots.

Our flight was interrupted for a short touch-down so that we could insert the widget between the system and the helicopter before testing the system through a different range of steering maneuvers.

The grandness of the goal that the product attempts to achieve is noble and inspiring. But in my final analysis, it is my opinion that the ‘solve world hunger’ approach introduced design decisions that drive the product to the opposite end of its desired position. That is, in an attempt to be everything to everyone the Gyron has developed an enviable lead in a diminutive niche.

Nettmann Systems Inc were contacted for comment on, and contribution to, the review. No response was given.