VectorBoy

Your not getting my point birdy. When I say derivative I'm referring the exact same plane form scaled up. The S6/S3s is an exact copy of the original S3 but with a slightly wider leg and thick mylar rib reinforcement. All of the other differences are just cosmetic. The S8 or S10 that was hanging in the PIA looks similar but with wing trailing edges draped down much further. The vampire isn't a radical change from a skyflyer but both the plane form and rib profiles are different enough to not be mistaken for a skyflyer. The blade is a fresh start/ clean sheet idea. Its very different from everything before it. You can tell Robi had nothing to do with it. Its very stable and they are very pretty Its just not the top offering on the BM product list, the most expensive yes, not the top performing.

spending alot of money on the new furniture or flooring my wife is going to make me buy her, Fixed it for you, Buddy..... I agree with her. When your flooring looks like the carpet of the packing hanger at your dropzone its time for new floors, really it is.

Based on what I've seen at Zhills, Lodi, Perris, Eloy, and Elsinore...sure seems like Tonysuits are gaining a lot of the US market. Don't know what it's like elsewhere. I do know that PhoenixFly has been great with service too, at least based on my one suit, limited experience. Keep in mind we are not seeing everybody that wingsuits locally at these events, specifically the socal. There are still a lot of every other product out there but the owners are not attending these camps. Lodi gets very good local representation Perris, snore and San diego not so much.

Yes I got the flocking suit I mean ghost. Don't own a tony. Haven't even tried a tony actually. Do I need a new suit? Can't justify it really. These things are as expensive as canopys and you can only fly one at a time.

Really? I thought americans only flew Tony Suits nowadays... That might be truer on the east coast. On the west coast its still a very healthy mix of everything. But its a movement that is gaining momentum. They are not just winning the races, they are winning in customer service and in product upgrade support. I'm not in the new suit market, I have more than I need now. But if I was in the market for a new suit it would be a Tony for sure. If you lived stateside its a no brainer.

The blade is NOT a mid range suit, irrespective of who flies it. I see that I have struck a nerve by attacking the company flagship and the team top gun chosen demonstrator. Those of us that have been around wingsuits for a while knew the blade was going to be a great deal of hype over performance. Take a look at the long awaited pHi, where is it now. Cuban fiber, scallops, why? Everything currently of value from BM is still a derivative from the robi designed skyflyer series just scaled up a bit. In fact if you didn't need the back vents of the blade, and there are a lot of people that do just fine without them, you can just buy a used S3 from back in 03 for $500 and have a competent rigger add a cell to the leg wing. Which would probably be cheaper than having that same rigger remove the annoying mylar from a newer more expensive S6/3s And you would still have more performance than a blade. More performance being defined as a larger flight envelope all around, Faster, slower etc. But still not as fast as a vampire by a long shot.

If you want proof, i'd be happy to fly with you This may come as a revelation to you but there are Blades here, I've even taken one for spin. The S-6/3s has more performance than the blade.

Please tell me the shop vac in the pictures isn't part of the in flight inflation system?

Any advice from the flock? Get to the flock.

Birdman practically invented wingsuits?????? This just shows a complete disregard of history. as far as I can recall BM was the original company selling the first COMMERCIALLY available wingsuit before the company split into BM and Phoenix Fly. Well lets not forget "that" french guy, whats his name ?!? ,selling commercially available wingsuits through parasport and then soloman. Which leads to the question : Classic or the crossbow, which came first? Add for a laugh that the " best teams in the world fly BM" statement. If I remember correctly at the world meet for wingsuiting weren't all those teams tied for second.

I fly with three of them, They can be off from each other by 10-15% depending on location in the body. They are not perfect devices and should not be treated as such.

Mid range suits exist for a reason The top range suits are still only mid range suits with a less than top range pilot. The blade and the raptor are mid range suits. If the OP is a skinny build and an descent flyer his GTI is already a mid range suit.

Generally at the

What you haven't heard of the sock method?....... it works for me. It must be lonely in Montana.

I've personally had no bad experiences with BM. In fact I've written Jari about the good customer service his girls, Kim#1 and later Kim #2 performed......... But that was over 4 years ago and about the last suit I bought from them which was about one a year to that point. Since then there have been many changes at BM. There have been more than a few reported very long delays in manufacturing / shipping. In one case it was over a year? Its not just BM that has an occasional missed sized suit, its happened with PF suits too. What is important is how the company moves to rectify the situation and that the deal can be made whole. Brand wars aside I believe that if you are having a problem with a manufacturer you should be free to express it and warn potential buyers, likewise if you love the deal you got and the service, let the rest of us know about it. Let the boss at the top know too. Douglas hasn't attacked BM or been caustic to them in these forums even though he has the right to. He logged his experience on his website.... big difference.

Its OK as long as she likes wingsuits too.

Would you specifically explain where I've "caustically attacked Birdman" and where I've "exaggerated?" What do you know about my experience with the manufacturer, that I don't? Actually Douglas, I personally think you've been too candid with your experience with BM. This is a small market of custom production for a limited number of purchasers .We are an extremely small group. It will not grow by leaps and bounds anytime soon. I would guess two thirds to a half of it is repeat customers. As consumers we have to let our brothers know the deals and experiences, good or bad,that we go through. We shouldn't reward bad products or services with more business. If I would have had your experience I would have produced a detailed powerpoint presentation with pictures of what I got for my money and how I was treated by the company that started it all and post it right on this forum. I know you have the video skills to do it. You got screwed and you are not the only one.

I also find myself siding with Tony Suit more and more due to the constant innovation coming off their floor. The new arm design (allows you to reach your risers while still zipped up...even on the mach 1), ease of hook up, ease of suiting up...all contribute to my desire to make my next suit a tony suit. Its not just the innovation to consider but the fact that most improvements are retrofitable to your older model. None of the other companies can afford to upgrade your suit so you are stuck with a model that was never fully developed or discontinued, or you can sell it and buy a whole new suit. There is a lot of value in Tony suit products.

Sounds like there were at least two full altitude loads on Saturday. Any wingsuit formations?

Brake line not at the edge? If you mean that the outer brake cascade does not attach at the outer most trailing edge of the canopy than that is the 4.0 brake mod. All of the new line sets are like this. The brakes don't effect trim, the line set does. Tris have a pretty steep angle glide compared to other 7 cell canopys, BTW.

Tron.

According to Helixon’s staff, 28 soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade have been punished for having sex in Afghanistan or for violating the no-entry rule in the past year. Those punishments ranged from letters of reprimand to field-grade Article 15s. Thats why there has never been a better time to enlist........ in the navy. The navy is co-ed and their girls bathe every day....... gitcha sum!

I'm busted. Again.

Just had my wingsuit back -up canopy relined with dacron. Love it enough that it may be my primary WS canopy.

Its a hard flock and I intend to "flock hard"! I'm keeping the monkey too!