Obviously we'd be cheating if we reviewed our own bikes, but here's a video of Jimmy M, mere seconds after finishing his initial Wingman test ride at Sea Otter 2011. Please copy and paste into your browser to view, thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECKquvgztRU&feature=related

Thanks, Jimmy! Glad you liked the Wingman!
Video/Sound/Edit courtesy of Flight Crew member Marty Tank

From: airborne.bicycles@gmail.com | Created on: 4/28/2011 12:01 PM

As a member of the Flight Crew I was given the opportunity to ride the prototype Wingman. With well over 300 Hours now on my test mule I can honestly say this bike is one of the best DJ/Street/Park bikes i have ever had the chance to put between my chicken legs. Stiff and well specked this bike can throw down! I have been lucky enough to ride it at the world famous Rays MTB in Cleveland OH, on the local Dirt Jumps and the backyard pumptrack. The bike is built like a tank but fly's like it's filled with helium. The F.U.N.N. cockpit and Marzocchi DJ3 compliment the frame well. The Marzocchi is stiff and solid. just enough to smooth out the landing. The Alex wheels and Kenda Tires keep you stuck to the ground in the corners and can take the impacts when you case the jump trying that "720-super-no hand-mega-whip-can blaster"  The manipulated Aluminum frame is unique and different t anything i have seen. it is quite a eye catcher. The top tube reminds me of a sword. The design and size f the tubes help in create a incredibly stiff frame while decreeing the overall weight.  My personal favorite part of the entire frame is the Horizontal dropouts. Almost always overlooked they are one of the most important parts of the bike, and in my humble opinion on this bike they are works of art.  The Color is a LOVE or HATE sort of thing. I happen to love the color and decal combo. One thing you can be sure of is that the paint like the rest of the bike is built to last. I have been on a lot of bikes in my short time here on Earth. Some cost more than the car I currently own. Compare for yourself and you will be able to see why I think this bike is one of my favorites. $750 is a low dollar amount to fun ratio.  I challenge you to do your own research. I think you will come to the same conclusion I did.

Flight Crew Member Dan Lucas

From: Dan@wilderness-adventure.com | Created on: 3/31/2011 2:29 PM

Let me preface this by saying I am not (or at least I WAS not) a dirt jumper; I am not a freerider and have I VERY limited downhill experience. I grew up riding BMX bikes, but even then I generally stayed close the ground and was never known for going big. I do like to ride fast and aggressively on the local xc trails so making the foray into jumping has been quite a leap for me.

As a member of the Flight Crew, I was given an Airborne Wingman prototype jump bike over a month ago to test out at the new Ray’s MTB in Milwaukee. The first thing I noticed about the Airborne Wingman was the drastic difference in geometry from my trail bike. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this, but as I understand it a shorter rear triangle makes for a snappier; more responsive ride and that’s exactly what the Wingman delivers. I’m not very good at wheelies or manual, but I’m finding that the desired balance point for performing such maneuver is much easier to locate on the rear wheel due to the shorter rear triangle.

Another characteristic I noticed riding the Wingman is how stiff the bike feels. Before I worked up the courage to try out the jumps at Ray’s, I took the bike off some of the drops on the xc loop and expert section. And while it seems more stiff than desirable for that kind of thing (which is understandable as it is not really made for that) the bike did feel well composed in the air. Additionally, the short wheelbase and lower center of gravity make the bike feel very stable which makes doing skinnies much easier.

Coming from riding a bike with a Manitou Minute MRD with 130mm of smooth travel, it took a while to get comfortable with the fork. The Marzocchi DJ fork feels very stiff to me. Almost to the point that it initially felt locked out. At first I didn’t like like it, but after talking to several jumpers, I found that that is how it is suppose to feel. I’ve ridden it a couple weeks now and I have grown accustom to it. I’ve started to realize why a dirt jump fork handles that way. When jumping I’ve found I don’t want a fork to absorb the jump. You need that stiffness to launch off the lip of the jump to achieve the desired amount of air.

The 28/12 gearing is not optimal for Ray’s, but would probably be great for dual slalom racing and maybe urban sessions. The Tektro brakes work as well as they look (which is great). The Welgo pedals are no nonsense and provide adequate grip while the cranks look good while doing what cranks do. Other than needing some minor truing (which I have been assured is an issue that will be solved on the production model) the wheels have worked well with no noticeable flex.

Since becoming familiar and comfortable with the bike, I’ve started to go bigger in the foam pit and hit the expert jumps with confidence. The bike feels very solid upon take off and landing and natural while airborne.

In order to compare the Wingman to other jump bikes, I did ride a Trek Ticket and a steel Trek prototype jump bike as a point of comparison. The Trek steel prototype was well weighted and offered a very forgiving ride, but at the same time it felt much more twitchy and unpredictable than the Wingman. Not a good feeling for someone new to the game. The Ticket is lighter and in my opinion has just a little better feel. But with a price tag of $750, the fact that I can even compare the Wingman to a bike that retails for $2,600 says something about the quality of the bike. At $750 the Wingman is the perfect choice for a rider like me that doesn’t want to break the bank on a solid bike to enjoy a different genre of riding.

The styling is pretty cool, if not a bit understated. The top tube has a shape that resembles the blade of a sword and the down tube is squared off which pairs well with the unique shape of the top tube. The chain stays have a beefy and distinctive appearance, although the production model will have slightly tapered chain stays that look more dynamic without loosing any stoutness or style points. And of course I would be remiss if I did not mention the design of the rear drop outs. They are shaped like the tip of a spear which blend with the seat and chain stays perfectly. With it's sword blade top tube and spear tipped dropouts the Wingman is a two wheeled weapon design for total air superiority.

The one thing I don’t like about the styling is the color combination of the frame and the “Airborne” decal. I just feel that the black decal and the navy bluish color of the frame do not compliment each other. The white wheels, brakes, crankset and sprocket really help to set the bike off. Overall, however, it is not as flashy in terms of decals and painting as other jump bikes I’ve seen.

But more importantly, I’ve been able to accomplish in two short weeks on the Wingman what I couldn’t after years on a bmx bike. Since Ray’s opened last week, I’ve never progressed so fast in any other type of riding. I’ve gone from being scared of the of the expert jumps to being addicted to them. I not going to give the bike all the credit, but I think it deserves a certain amount of credit for allowing me to do what I thought would take all winter to accomplish. I still have some bigger jumps to conquer as well as the skate park, but so far I’m having a blast on the Wingman and in the end, that’s what it is all about.

The only thing that needs to be changed (and it has on the production model) is the chain clearance on the bottom of the rear chainstay.  Right now the chain slap is acceptably annoying due to the small amount of clearance.  The chainstay on the production model have been reshaped to address the issue.  I will follow up on how well that allevates the chain slap after I get a chance to ride a production model (which will be in a couple of weeks).

From: martin.tank@gmail.com | Created on: 3/30/2011 5:24 PM