I know nothing about BASE jumping a wing suit. However, I have been selling gear for major retailers for some time. I can tell you that Parasport has THE WORST reputation among dealers for customer service, quality, and delivery. In fact, about a year ago one of our sub-dealers PREPAID for a large order direct with them, and NEVER recieved product. Buyer beware! On the other hand, Bird-Man Intl. is among the best we have ever dealed with. Warm Blue Skies!
Just a quick note to anyone interested in buying a suit from Bird-Man. My husband has had a problem with his Bird-man, a torn seam, and Bird-man has not responded. He has made tons of calls and written tons of e-mails to them and has got no response back. He has even gone as far as calling Yirre(?)over seas because all the numbers in the States have been disconnected and still no reponse. He really enjoys his suit, but would never buy another one from them again.
So to any of you looking to get a wing-suit be careful who you deal with because the Bird-Man people will not accomidate you.
Hi Bethany:
When I bought my Birdman suit, the delivery was very, very slow.
However, my dealer, Vladi Pesa, was extremely informative, and kept me updated, as well as checking in with Birdman for me on the progress of the suit.
If you can't get in touch with anyone at Birdman, I bet that Vladi could help you. He probably wouldn't care if I handed out his email addresss on a public forum, but since I would prefer to avoid that habit, drop me an email and I'll put you in touch with him.
--Tom Aiello
tbaiello@ucdavis.edu
Can you give a reccomendation on material choice?
I intend to buy my first wing suit,
and am curious about the different materials.
Atmotex vs. Shannondoah vs. Balon Z/P?
There's no meat in any of those is there?
Seriously though, what's the best first suit choice?
I would like any help that I can get. I know that Bird-man is EXTREAMLY slow on getting the suits out, but when it comes to a problem with the suit they're unresponsive.
Thanks
Bethany,
I think you got stuck with the wrong phone number and possibly bad timing! Jari's cell phone # has changed recently. He's now in US and very easy to reach ;-) But anyway, here's what you need. John Storrie is doing all Bird-Man repairs in US, his customer service rules and turn-around time is extremely quick! Jeb busted a seam on his Skyflyer while we were in South Africa. He sent a suit to John and had it fixed and waiting at the house before Jeb even flew back home. I was very impressed.... so here you go:
Storrie Parachute Works
1425 Century Suite 100
Carrollton, Texas 75006
ph. 972-245-5300
fax 972-245-0598
jstorrie@vestedinterest.com
bsbd!
Yuri.
Yo !
My old classic is made from Atmotex and Skyflyer is all Baloon ZP. Either works great and i like them better then Shannondoah. Shannondoah may be better for you if most of your flights are in an extremely hot climate.
bsbd!
Yuri.
Thanks a bunch for the response. I know my husband will be pleased. Hopefully we can now get the ball rolling.
Thanks again :)
Hi Bethany,
Sorry to hear that your husband (you?) has been having so much trouble contacting Bird-Man. All their numbers had changed when they relocated to permanent offices in DeLand FL. Shame on their basic oversight of not forwarding calls from the old numbers. Jari can be reached at 386-801-6100, and his assistant Kim Griffin can be reached at 386-801-5200. They will be at the Ranch's Pond Swoop Nat'ls, then the Richmond Boogie, if you plan on attending either. You can also use 'Jari@bird-man.com' as an e-mail contact.
Gardner,
Thanks ;) me and my dear mother is also pleased that incident came out okay. I hope that your jaw is okay and that I some day will meet you in person so we can share a exitpoint and drink some beer's ;)
Have fun and stay safe .. and in that order to!
SeeYa
PerFlare
I made 4 jumps last weekend on my new crossbow.
I have around 50 skyflier flights and 160 flights
with the classic and GTI. I bought a crossbow to see if it is better.
My first opinion of it is that I have wasted my money.
First, I could get NO information on how to fly the suit from Parasport or from Steve Alexander(he sold me the suit). I tried a few times then gave up. They
send no manual , so it is up to the individual to figure it out for himself.
On my first flight, I went in to pull and discovered that I could not get a good grip on my handle!
:o The side of the suit was restricting my reach.
After a few seconds I was able to get a good grip,
by distorting into an uneven position.
After opening I saw that the little snaps in the holes were undone, probably caused by opening shock. This happened all 4 flights.
The zippers are hard to undo, you sorta have to grab the cuff with your fingers while unzipping.
Two times while putting the suit on the cutaways came out partially, so I had to take it off and redo
a couple of the loops. I think its sorta ##### up the way they are just hanging there until you hook them to the handle. When attached the cables stick out from my hand about four inches.
My chest strap after opening was lined up with the handle so I would have had to fish for it if I needed to cutaway the wings.
During flight I could not get as much forward speed as my skyfling buddies but I could maintain
my fallrate evenly with them. I just watched them soar away. This may be caused by my inexperience
with flying the crossbow.
I plan on doing 20 - 30 more flights before I comment much on the flying characteristics, but I'm certainly not very impressed at this time.
Chris Grenner
D-7250
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