QLD
1203 posts
Can anyone talk me through on unhooking on a SSTD?
How much do you pull in the depower rope beforehand?
Do you keep your safety leash on the end of the depower rope or move it up to the front line ring? If you move it up to the front line ring, is it still easy to do back rolls etc?
Where is the best position to fly the kite in the window when unhooked as it is probably more difficult to hold an edge?
Any other tips would be appreciated.
Cheers.
QLD
1293 posts
How much do you pull in the depower rope beforehand?
Depower it so when you pull the bar to the chicken loop you can still ride, this will give you a starting point anyway
Do you keep your safety leash on the end of the depower rope or move it up to the front line ring? Leave it on the rope or hook it to the chicken loop but only if you aren't using the stopper.
Where is the best position to fly the kite in the window when unhooked as it is probably more difficult to hold an edge? Start at 45 deg and see how it goes
Jason
QLD
1203 posts
Cheers Jas, you've been helping me heaps lately
QLD
1245 posts
Good question Nick, was wondering exactly the same thing this morning.
Leave it on the rope or hook it to the chicken loop but only if you aren't using the stopper.
Do you mean the anti invert stopper?
QLD
1203 posts
Hey Echo
What he means is if you hook your safety leash on the chicken loop, i.e. suicide leash - make sure that your stopper is all the way out so that if you let go of your kite when un-hooked, it fully de-powers.
I got my new Mystic Warrior harness yesterday - fully keen to get out there and try it - what are you up to this arvo?
NSW
200 posts
dudes
IMO, screw the depower rope saftey, it should be called the automatic invert attatchment point!
Hooked in, ride with your saftey attatched to the flagging ring.
Unhooked, clip to the chicken loop, or the rope just above the chicken loop but below the bar, thats how the crossbow guys do it and i think its better for hooking back in after a trick.. When unkooked, make sure the stopper is at the point where the kite will gently fall from the sky when the bar is dropped. this will stop an inversion (which happens when there is too little rear line tension - thats why the depower rope saftey is an unsafe joke)
Also, remove the yellow anti invert stopper ball - its unsafe. Just beware that when flying the kite at the top of its wind range you might cause an invert of you totally undersheet the kite and fly it through the powerzone. I fave been flying my 12TD for 10 months and havent yet had an in air invert.
Most importantly, get to know you gear, understand the physics of whats going on while kiting and try out different rigging options to see what feels best. All this stuff is just from my experience, if its not for you fine, but i like to ride as safe as possible and not inconvenience people by needing to be rescued / relaunched all the time...
Peace out :)
QLD
1203 posts
Hey Uncle Rico
Thanks for that - I'm fully with you regarding understanding your gear and the physics of whats going on. I've had my TD for about 6months now and been going out at least twice a week since then. I've had no air inverts yet as I always apply some pressure to the bar when depowering. On the few times that I've let my bar go I've had no inverts unless the kite tumbles in the surf. I've worked out how to rectify this too.
When you ride hooked in with your safety attached to the flagging ring, do you find it OK doing double back/front rolls, down loops, 360's etc. I had an idea that things would get tangled when doing these tricks.
When you clip your safety to the rope above your chicken loop, do you clip to the main rope going to the chicken loop or the rope going through the cleat or both? The Cabriha guys just have 1 rope to attach to. Going around both would be the cabrinha equivalent I suppose?
I like your idea of removing the yellow ball. I would mark the rope with a texter at the 50cm mark so that I know where 95% depower is as a guide. This way before you do an unhooked trick you can move your stopper up to this mark before unhooking.
I have been attaching my leash to the depower rope safety but I don't like it beacuse it keeps getting twisted up when I do rolls etc. I reckon going around the rope should fix this. I see the Link doesn't have this attachment point although I think the TD is a better overall kite IMO.
Cheers
Nick
NSW
200 posts
Hey Dude
I would put the leash around both, but attaching a snowman ring (like the one that your front lines connect to would be best) that way the clip wont get mashed by your bar.
As far as riding with safety connected to your flagging ring, just learn the tricks the other way around or loop the kite, its way safer to ride like this. if you ride with the saftey below the bar and you loose a line or your chicken line, your basically screwed, at least with one line saftey you can self rescue. (unless you loose line the saftey is on :) )
You could get the slingshot surefire spinning system if you want a spinning leash, i believe that airush make a system to add to existing spreader bars too...
Also, i noticed that someone died overseas because his leash was connected to the ring and one of the lines that come from the pulley on the bar to the centre ring. this caused the kite to loop big time,
http://www.kiteforum.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2333383&highlight=fatality
maybe ill get a better leash..
QLD
1203 posts
Hey Rico, my SS leash came with clips that cannot open under load and allow another line in like the one in the article that you linked to. They open up like a claw and close in a small circle - that doesn't sound like a great description. They will only close onto a metal ring so I'll need to get one of those if I want to clip onto my depower line.
It's good to be alerted of potential dangers that we sometimes don't work out ourselves.
