I'm a bit of a newbie, and am wondering just how safe my kite is.

It's a 12m RRD Hyper type, which for a safety system flags to the two front lines. I went out with my instructor yesterday to try the safety out and see what happens.

So you pull the quick release, the kite falls out of the sky, then lands leading edge down and pulls like a freight train! I could just hold onto it in about 8 knots of wind, waist high water and it was really really pulling hard. The bar was a long way away, nothing to do but hand over hand to the bar. No way I could hang onto a flight line when I got there. I then tried letting the lines go slack and the kite flipped over onto its back and everything was OK.

The second time we tried flagging to the 'oh ****' handle which is connected to one rear line. Ha! Deathloop central We were getting dragged towards the beach, eventually the kite crashed and we could recover it all.

The third time I just let the freight train pull and pull, it tried to relaunch all by itself (the bar is a long way away remember) and then it flipped over onto its front as if someone was landing it on the beach. So then it was OK.


But I'm really worried about what will happen if I have to quick release in higher winds... surely releasing to the safety should stop the pull?

Does anyone else have a bow kite that flags to the front two lines? What happens in higher winds?

nebs said...

But I'm really worried about what will happen if I have to quick release in higher winds... surely releasing to the safety should stop the pull?

In nukewind,
Fly the kite low near the shoreline....
and then smash the kite hard into a little shoredumper when you pull the release.
This will knock the guts out of it and turn the kite into a wet, limp noodle.
lol.

Some systems that release to the two front lines DO work... The IDS and CSS systems are both really good depowering the kite as if someone grabbed it and flipped it over for you - LE down...

These systems dont just reply on the bar setup, it's all built into the bridle system as well - eg: Cab SB's have 8 pulleys in the bridle to help the IDS work.

I'd say that the RRD was an early version of this system, not as refined... I'd modify it to a front line OS handle...

Thanks guys.

D. Meredith, did you have to lengthen the grey rope that goes from the bar to the stainless steel ring? I thought that this distance had to be at least as long as the wingspan of the kite, preferably a bit longer? Mine certainly isn't.

If I lengthen this line then I have to shorten the front lines to compensate, right?

Also, when you flag the kite, does it start looping or does it behave nicely?

nebs said...

Thanks guys.

D. Meredith, did you have to lengthen the grey rope that goes from the bar to the stainless steel ring? I thought that this distance had to be at least as long as the wingspan of the kite, preferably a bit longer? Mine certainly isn't.

If I lengthen this line then I have to shorten the front lines to compensate, right?

Also, when you flag the kite, does it start looping or does it behave nicely?

As Charl said Nebs, it's fine, as the bar will slide along the connected line (the s/steel ring slides up the other line and the bar etc goes with it. Because ot this it flags when the safety is pulled and it won't be doing powered death loops like pulling on the back lines.

D