greybeard 0 #1 September 22, 2003 Any help here appreciated. How many jumps have been on any one birdman suit, and has anyone experienced any flight characteristic changes with age. Lots to consider : weather conditions such as Arizona UV., prop wash extremes, head-down stitch ripping acrobatics, oversized demo customers stretching all, care and feeding as in laundering or wading up carelessly for storage, dragging booties, abused cutaway cords............... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kevin922 0 #2 September 22, 2003 i asked this way back when I was purchasing and was told that jari had some suits with over 800 jumps on them. I have less than 150 on my s3 and already was having problems. One of the stitches from the tail rib came loose and started unravelling.. this could have very easily been snagged on something, etc.. it could have been a defect i'm not sure - i'm pretty careful with my suits. Anyway i found an awesome rigger who has done all my mods that i dream up as well as the fixes to the wingsuit. so to answer your question if you take care of it it should last you at least 800 jumps :) Kevin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #3 September 22, 2003 To give you an idea how long some of the suits have lasted, one of the first suits Jari used to jump is still being used as a demo suit right now. It has seen MANY flights and saw many more flights at WFFC. The only damage I saw on it was a small tear that was obviously made by snagging on something.Like anything, your mileage may vary. Durability is usually not an issue if you care for your suit even just a little bit."It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GroundZero 0 #4 September 23, 2003 I've got a Classic with over 500 jumps... looks like new with respect to material and stitching... quite a few oil stains and such... (maybe a few cum stains in the crotch, but that's another story!) Remember... they are similar to computers... before you wear it out, you'll probably want to upgrade to something newer and faster, but you can count on these suits still being in good shape for the used market... excellent construction and material quality. Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ManBird 0 #5 September 23, 2003 My GTi has about 200 (~180 by me), has been through hell and back, and the only time it lost so much as a stitch is when I clipped a couple to get glowsticks in the wings. I have about 120 jumps on my S3 and it's flawless. Well... maybe it smells a little weird."¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VectorBoy 0 #6 September 23, 2003 I have a classic 2 that I bought used and well worn from the BM Demo program and one of Jari's first S3 prototypes. For me used was the way to go. They are well worn but should last me a long time as I don't spare the bucks on maintenance. I have had small repairs and mods done to both suits by riggers easily. Any person that can work on jumpsuits should be able to do work on the suit portion. If you need anything repaired on the wing portion then it is best to send it back too BM who will send it back to Robbi bird who really knows how to do repairs the best way. It maybe too costly in terms of time to do repairs ( locally) if the person is unfamiliar with the sequence of wingsuit construction. This is something to think about if you are thinking about a used suit and have the option to get one with wings that are in good condition and only requires repairs to the body portion. I saw an original classic sold at WFFC and all of the wear and tear on it can be repaired cheaply, like new booties or worn zippers. Not a bad investment for less than the price of a protrack. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
