Had a great session out at Botany today, kited for 4 hours left the kite on the beach for 30-40 mins while I went home to get something to eat- came back, got a launch and bang the bladder blew taking a slice out the leading edge and the canopy???

Anybody had this before? (Ozone kite 2011, 12mtr)

Yeh, My brother did it to his 10m RPM

It was a mess, the LE was torn 3/4 the way thru, and the bladder looked like a popped balloon, Plus a good 2ft rip on the canopy

Took it to KP and they repaired the kite AND!!!! the bladder, How the hell steve managed that I will never know.

The repair was spotless on the kite, Took us a minute to find it.

The only downside is the way it was pack back in the bag, folds all over the join.

His repaid was a little over $200 looks awesome after

Ozone catalyst, Still crispy, ripped right in the centre next to vavle 98% through LE , Be sure to let some air out next time

Olly84 said...

Had a great session out at Botany today, kited for 4 hours left the kite on the beach for 30-40 mins while I went home to get something to eat- came back, got a launch and bang the bladder blew taking a slice out the leading edge and the canopy???

Anybody had this before? (Ozone kite 2011, 12mtr)

Hey Olly, did you leave the kite inflated in the sun? Air expands as it gets hotter so if you pump it up to 6 - 10psi it could well be 15 - 20psi after a bake in the sun. Only reason I know is we blew our zodiac up, pumped it up hard then pulled it up on the beach 35c day, 40 mins later - boom!

Olly

Could it have been a small hole you haven't seen in the leading edge.
where the bladder starts to go through while it sitting on the beach and when you pick up the kite, the bladder gets pinched and ruptures.

Pat1 said...

Yes!! Happened to my 2010 cab switchy yesterday! Pumped I
IT up and launched and then about 30 seconds after it just e
Exploded! Straight along the seam maybe 45 cm long. I think some of the stitching failed.
Lucky I bought 2 new kites the day before, must be a sign!
ALso was wondering if its cheaper to get it repaired or buy a new bladder?

Any fireball?

Damn that sucks. Happened to both my 2011 rally's. Sitting on the ground and popped both in the same spot. Send it to moti he done a great job!

Bring the kite in to me at Kitepower, I can fix it and it will look and fly like new.

I've had exploding le before. my vote is for a small nick/tear in the fabric you can't see. I noticed one once. maybe 2-3mm. thought i'll patch it after my session. when i finished my session the tear was 2-3cm and about to explode. Probably would have exploded had i carried on for a few more minutes.

regularily check the LE for tears and stitching wear. canopy tears don't seem to be as critical. but any tear/scratch on the le will cause trouble.

My 2010 8 mtr Catalyst 'poped' the leading edge, about 200mm from the centre. This happened when I picked the kite up from lying face down on the beach (having put it there a couple of minutes earlier), then flipped it over to deflate the kite. The tip cought the sand as I flipped it and ....bang! Got it all repaired and patched, then the next time I used it, the tip cought the water as the kite was turning and the LE popped again, but exactly the same distance from the centre strut on the other side.....how strange!!

Whoose Kelvin ??

Someone I know well always says that "when the wind blows the money flows!"
haha!

Easy fix and I think I've already begun work on that one. Bladders are easy fix, the struts will look almost like new when finished.