Anyone had problems with line extensions?

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g-dog

145 posts

g-dog

WA, 145 posts

4 Feb 2005 11:29am

A couple of weeks ago I bought a new 12m 04 Airush Trio (a great stable friendly kite BTW) and the only concern I have is that the lines are not continuous, but 10m with 15m extensions joined with a pair of larks heads. Although they sometimes snag on each other while launching, I can usually find someone to pull them apart, but I came across something yesterday that has the potential to be more serious.

I was at Melville at 6.30pm just before the wind suddenly dropped and my kite simply fell into the water in front of me. During a water relaunch, the kite backflipped and rolled one rotation away from me, causing a twist in the lines on each side of the kite. That's not normally a problem as the lines will slide against each other, but what happens if the lines slide against each other and get snagged at the larks heads? I expect I would lose separate back/front control on one side of the kite which could be dangerous, even if it's for only a few seconds.

I phoned Jess at Airbourne to ask about replacement lines and she said she's never heard of this happening to anyone, so I though I'd ask around to see if this has ever come up. I don't really want to spend the money if it's never going to happen anyway (And they're a lot more expensive than I thought!). It's not going to be a starightforward swap either becasue of the safety leash design, but we discussed a few ideas.

Another advantage of course is that 2 red and 2 black are easier to untangle than 4 white.

wrex

86 posts

wrex

86 posts

4 Feb 2005 12:23pm

Go to an electronics store and buy some shrink tubing. Cut to size slide down lines over the larks heads and heat with match/lighter.
The lines will slide right over one another. $2 fix

Geeza

90 posts

Geeza

WA, 90 posts

4 Feb 2005 1:10pm

Me-ow

nonikkers

221 posts

nonikkers

WA, 221 posts

4 Feb 2005 1:16pm

ive had my airush for a month
been out every second there has been a decent breeze
crashed my kite a million times
and not yet had a prob with the extension points snagging...
i bet you have jinxed me and it will end up happening to me today !

NeilT

139 posts

NeilT

WA, 139 posts

4 Feb 2005 7:20pm

Could you reverse one pair of lines end to end so that not all 4 join points are close to each other??

g-dog

145 posts

g-dog

WA, 145 posts

4 Feb 2005 8:46pm

wrex - sound like a good idea, and I've already got some of the stuff, but as it sets hard and forms a lip at the end I'm suspicious that it would only be something different to snag on.

NeilT - I'll check this one out when I unroll it tomorrow. I can't turn around the safety line, and I would have to reverse one line from each end of the kite. IF I can detach the two front lines from the depower strap and reverse them (big if), the two joins (one front line, one back line) at each end of the kite will be 5m apart. This could be a winner!

g-dog

145 posts

g-dog

WA, 145 posts

4 Feb 2005 10:30pm

quote:
Originally posted by Geeza

Me-ow

WOOF! I'm the g-dog, Geeza - I don't speak cat! But thanks for trying.

malcthom

48 posts

malcthom

WA, 48 posts

4 Feb 2005 11:56pm

Hey g-dog

all the airush kites have this setup due to the design of the reride system. I have used these kites for 4 years and have had the kite roll thru the lines as you experienced with no problem with snagging at the connections. Not even the bulk of the stopper on the reride leader has caused snagging. I suspect that they have not been connected properly as mine do not join with a larks head as such...it is more a reef knot made from the two loops... there is nothing to snag on... take your bar to airborne and get them to check it, or check another airush setup.

g-dog

145 posts

g-dog

WA, 145 posts

5 Feb 2005 10:15am

quote:
Originally posted by NeilT

Could you reverse one pair of lines end to end so that not all 4 join points are close to each other??

Done. I reversed the two front lines, so the joins are now 5m closer to the kite than their adjacent back ones, which should mean hopefully no more snags!

malcthom - yes I meant to say reef knots, but mine still snagged on launching.

Airborne

224 posts

Airborne

WA, 224 posts

5 Feb 2005 1:27pm

Hi g-dog and others,

I've only just seen this thread but will respond despite a solution having been found. Great to hear the reversing worked, I'll remember it if others ever have the same problem. For others who haven't had the snagging problem:

The Trio's actually come with the white Dyneema lines which are bulkier at the ends where they attch to each other to form the 25m lines and where you larks head them onto the kite. Pilots, Flows, Lifts etc have the red/black eurocord lines which are not bulky at the ends and therefore are flush when attached together to form the 25m/30m lines. This is probably why most people don't have the problem. As g-dog mentioned, he's the first I'm aware of who has experienced snagging with his trio lines. Happy you found a soultion, happy kiting!

Jess

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