kimgriffin

Hi Tom. If you want the Pantz all one color, order the pantz black and the stripe black (or red/red). The stripe is structural. The BASE Pantz in black/black are very stealthy. ~Kim -Kimberly Griffin

Hi there. We just got a bunch of new fabric in for the stripe part of the BirdMan Pantz (freefly or BASE versions). The main color of the Pantz still has to be red or black. But, you can chose from the following for the racing stripe: Royal Blue, Navy Blue, Teal, Red, Gold, Hunter Green, Yellow, Purple, White, Neon Green, Turquoise, Black, Orange, Raspberry, Aluminized Silver. These are also the colors that we now offer for every model of wingsuit. We released this info at the Symposium, so some of you may have already heard the news. We decided to change fabric manufactures. We like the quality of this Nylon fabric better - not to mention the color availability!

Speeding up the delivery time is one of the many things that is on our plate. We are looking in to the situation, but without bank loans or Daddy Warbucks behind us, we have to think about these things very carefully. We hope to have a wider range of stock sizes and colors (of Pantz) in the future so we can offer immediate gratification (we all love that.) Right now, we have 18 pair of FF Pantz in standard S, M, L and XL. Slower Faster Longer ~Kim Kim Griffin BirdMan Inc -Kimberly Griffin

Hey LeRoy. I need you to call or email me at the BirdMan office. kim@bird-man.com or 386-785-0800. I have a question for you... (There was no contact info for you on the fax you sent yesterday. You hiding? Secret agent maybe?) Thanks, Kim Kim Griffin BirdMan Inc -Kimberly Griffin

Oppps, I fogot to mention that the same production line that is making the wingsuits are also making the Pantz. So... that's why it's taking 8+ weeks these days. There are many orders now because people are gearing up for the upcoming jumping season, plus the recent introduction of the Pantz. Hope this makes sense. If not, please give me a call 386-785-0800 or email at kim@bird-man.com. Thank you all for your help on this site - for posting info and helping out new birds with questions. It's much appreciated! bok bok - Kimmibird -Kimberly Griffin

Hi "Freeflyz". Give Sarah (who is handling sales now) a buzz at sarah@bird-man.com. She should have a handle on when your Pantz will arrive. Please keep in mind that we are a very small company with a new BIG demand for our product (now productS with the Pantz out). Our small manufacturing facility in Slovenia is running as fast as they can to keep up with it all. There is also the admin loop in which your order must go through before it lands in to production's lap. This also takes some time as I am the only full-time employee here at BM Headquaters (until "Pupu" gets himself home.) It's great to have Sarah on board now, too (she's here 2.5x week now.) I swear, we are running around, bouncing off the walls doing our best to keep up with everything. We're not Microsoft or McDonalds here, sheeezzz... we're even small compared to Performance Designs. I wish we had their manufacturing facilities. But, at the beginning Bill Coe (the owner of PD) was sewing canopies in his garage and selling them from his trunk. I'm just glad we're past that point! We have the same love of the sky and of flight as you do and we want to spread that good ju ju all over the world. I promise, Freeflyz, you will get your Pantz. I'm sorry to anyone who has had to wait or will have to wait, but you know what they say about good things. Thank you for understanding, or at least trying. All my best... Kim Kim Griffin BirdMan Inc -Kimberly Griffin

Whassssup everyone. Actually we have tried some larger wing designs. There was too much pressure on the arms. Jari has freakishly strong shoulder muscles from 1000s of flights and it was tough for him. Plus, there is the safety factor... too much wing at pull time may not be desirable. In some cases, bigger does not mean better (Ha - had to say it!) I'll let you in on a secret... We'll release a new version of the Skyflyer in a few days at the PIA Symposium. It's not all that different. but does have larger arm wings (not all that much) and a slightly longer and wider leg wing. Jari's been flying it for at least a half year and has seen improved times. I've only made about 10 flights on mine but I love it. It also has a built in grip (a stiffener that your fingers can hook on to - no loops!) on the edge of the wing for those who like to hold the wing edge. The suit won't be available for production for another month. Delivery time is the standard for all suits - currently 8 weeks. Hope to see some of you at the Symposium at our BirdMan booth. Have a great weekend! Best wishes from below-freezing DeLand! ~Kim Slower Faster Longer Kim Griffin Buz Manager BirdMan Inc -Kimberly Griffin

The suit knows how to fly, so I'm sure she can teach you a thing or two by just wearing her around the office/house/bedroom... The people giving you weird-eye are just jealous because you know you can fly. Nice to read you email! Have fun on the maiden voyage. Slower, faster, longer... Kim -Kimberly Griffin

Hi all. For what it's worth, I am very happy with the dynamic wingsuit corners on my Javelin Odyssey. It does the job of letting my bag come off my back without any sort of resistance, it is easy to pack and it looks great. (Thanks to Robert from Morpheus Technologies who designed them.) Oh yeah, and my openings are consistantly very sweet (although, many factors can effect openings as you know.) SunPath will put the mod on any new rig and they also sell the corners for after market installation (by your local rigger.) I also use a 100" bridle and 28" pc. (Should be 100" from pin to pc.) Best wishes to all! -Kim Griffin Business Manager BirdMan Inc -Kimberly Griffin

Whoa, Rob - sounded like a wild ride. So glad everything worked out okay. I would have never guessed that a couple days after seeing you and telling you the story that you would actually have to use the technique. Yeah, the Skyflyer is picky about how she likes the wind to caress her inflated skin. Just like a women, eh? -Kimberly Griffin

Hi Christian. The spin I got in to over a year ago had to due with the fact that I didn't lock one of my arm zippers down before exiting. (A Skyflyer) Jump run came faster than I expected and I rushed to make it to the door on time (mistake #1 - late again - damn!) So, the zip started opening in freefall and I knew that would suck and wondered how to remedy it. My bright idea was to go into a sit fly (which am a big-time novice at) and reach with my right hand over to my left arm zipper. (Mistake #2) You would not believe how fast that aesymetrical movement got me spinning (duhhhh... yeah, that was a very lame idea. Hindsight...) So, I closed both wings in to my body (which DID NOT make me accelarate due to the fact that I got rid of the drag causing the spin in the first place) and arched to get back on to my belly. That worked no problem, I still went around a few times but the momentum stopped. This situation is not the same as the flat-spin situation I brought up yesterday. I guess, the moral of this story is to make sure your zippers are locked down before exit. If they are not, don't do what I did. Maybe just hold off on full flight (bring your arms in). Fraser, thank you for your input about acceleration and spins. The iceskating thing sounds logical, but seems not not be overly relevant in this situation. Not to say that it can't happen. We are all learning as wingsuit flying grows. Jari and I are fortunate enough that we can fly often, but we also rely on the input from other experienced flyers. We love these discusions. Keep it up. Thanks to all of you for sharing your stories and ideas. -Kimberly Griffin

Hi Bird People! Jari and I were witness to an interesting and somewhat scary situation during a 4-way flight last weekend at Skydive DeLand. I’d like to share the story with you so that you will, in turn, share the information with other birds. Just after our 4-way exited the Twin Otter around 13,500 ft, two fliers bumped into one another causing one to get over the other’s burble. This guy (who, by the way, was wearing a Skyflyer) went through the other jumper’s burble without a collision but ended up flipped over on his back. He began a slow, slightly diving spin. (It was much quicker than it sounds in writing.) At first glance the turn didn’t seem like anything to be concerned about. Within seconds, though, the spin became surprisingly fast and flat. He was in a flat spin on his back and losing altitude quickly (for a wingsuit jump anyway.) He arched like mad and tried to use a flipping motion to get himself back over, but the speed of the spin continued to increase. I saw that he was very aware of what was going on and was trying just about everything to get out of the spin. He ended up cutting away his arm wings to try to regain stability (which he said was very easy to do even with the G-forces), but that still did not fix the problem. Finally, he closed all three wings and started to curl up in to a ball. Even before he could ball up completely, his spin stopped, he arched and was quickly stable on his belly again around 8,000 ft.