had this out a few times now
my feeling is the fifth line is way too tight
have added a few cm's which seems to help

7m perfect

9m so far hmmmm,

dazza what you found with 9m?

I have a 12m, which I have only flown twice and appear to have the same issue.
The fifth line looks too tight and the canopy behind the fifth line attachment points isnt smooth it is pulled in a bit.

I pump the kite up hard and close off the struts from the leading edge as the instructions state.

The kite flies well enough in 20 kts but it doesnt look right.

Anyway, hopefully I will get out in the next day or two and play around the line setup on the bar (it appears the only adjustment point.) Otherwise I might get a 6 inch extension pigtail and add it to the fifth line attachment point and see what happens.

PS the demo model line appeared tight but the canopy was smooth.

Hi Guys,

Spent a little time on the beach with the Rebels today and noticed our 12m with the 5th a bit tight. I figured that the kite has had a few hours on the water now and the front lines have stretched into their normal operating length. We have also lengthened the back lines to the bottom knot for the same reason, the fronts stretching. This sorts out any oversheeting.

I just adjusted the 5th line length at the stopper ball below the Y, to the next knot down and this cleared up any issues of 5th being too tight. The kites all good again.

We have similar issue with the Ozones in that the front lines and 5th all stretch more than ther back lines and you need to tighten the back line adjusters all the way until it stretches into shape, then you can relax the back lines to factory trim settings.

It's all part of "breaking in" a new kite and tuning it for best performance. If you have any further issues, let me know and I'll try and sort it.

Good winds,

Hey Flying High,

I just had a quick check to be sure of my facts and the results are:

The three knots of adjustment above the bar on the 5th line are for adjusting the tension out of the lower part of the 5th.

When the lines all start to stretch into normal length, the front lines will stretch the most as they take the majority of the load. Due to the fronts stretching more than the 5th and the steering lines, you need to make adjustments.

Steering lines need to be lengthened to the last knot. Pull the foam float up away from the bar. This will expose the adjusters and pigtails. Make the adjustments and then pull the floats back into position.

The 5th lines stretches tight all the way to the chicken loop, if this is the case with your kite and you find the pink 5th line under tension all the way down to the chicken loop, then go to the first adjuster point from the bar at the end of the pink heavy 5th line. Adjust down away from the bar until the 5th line is slack under load.

The 5th line length is set at the kite end by a ball that sits in a ring, if the 5th is tight below the Y to the bar, it displaces the ball out of the seat and pulls too much 5th line tension on the kite which will effect the shape and angle of attack of the canopy in relation to the angles at the front line attach points.

Ihope this solves your problem, If not, let me know and I'll see what else I can do for you.

Good winds,

What is it with North kites and the need to scrunch up into a ball? I've had it when using my 07 Rhino and Rebel and have seen it at least 5 times with 09 Rebels.
I think the recommended inflation pressure is not high enough, I've gone away from North now but am still interested to see if many others have had the same experience.

hmmm
pump mine hard as

my 9m has done this a few times when pulling on the power hard coming out of a turn it concertinas at the 5th line attachment points - reminincent of the crap 8m alliance i had that would fold up too

- not happy with this kite

Hey guys
I have a rebel 9m and 12m. I have flown the 9 up to 30 knots and 12 up to 23knots and haven't had any issues with them scrunching up. If it's not due to under inflation, rumours on kiteforum are that it could have something to do with the weight of the rider. Will be interested to hear what you guys weigh and whether it is a factor, I weigh 70kgs.

Hey Guys,

It's not a weight issue, it's tuning and inflation. One of my customers weighs well over 110 kilos and has only had his 12 fold once due to inflation pressure. Don't trust those cheap gauges. If they are $8 new from a kite store, what do they wholesale at???? Do you think you will be buying a scientifically calibrates gauge for $5

Hey kitess191511, you have serious tuning issues, get someone who knows kites to have a look at it for you. Have you extended your 5th and back lines yet??? You need to otherwise the fronts are the only ones stretching and you get what you have.

Good winds,

Hi Pulse,

The Ozone kites back line adjusters are for adjusting line length or bar "feel". There should be a white stitched line across the webbing strap that runs through the buckle. You should ordinarily run the white stitched line in the middle of the buckle so you can see it. This is factory set trim!

You can lengthen or shorten the back lines from there depending on your needs. It's very rare to run them fully extended as the front line trimmer works so effectively to depower.

The back line trimmers are for adding a bit of bar pressure in light wind conditions. This is acheived by trimming the back lines shorter. I've not known the Instincts to be prone to luffing so I'd have a look at your technique.

I hope this helps. If not, let me know what model, year and size and I'll see what else I can think of that may help.

Good winds,

hmmm

i'll be a bit mischevious

heard one of the MR kiters ditched his 09 rebels for evo's??

If you are using a flattish kite where the 5th line is actively supporting the leading edge then over time the line lengths will get out of sync because the front lines will stretch more than the 5th line.

I used to have North Rhinos which suffered from that problem and affected the handling quite badly. Very scary when a 9m kite flips over on it's back and then inverts in a lull on a 30 knot day.

I suspect if you increase the 5th line length slightly and pump the kite up hard then the problems will go away. I always thought that the 6 psi that North recommended for the leading edge was way too soft for high wind days. You could see the kite jelly-fishing in the air and the handling was hopeless.

Simon

Hi guys,

This not a big issue, there is nothing wrong with the kites that a little tuning wont fix. I've sold quite a few Rebels this year and haven't had issues harder LE or correct tuning couldn't fix.

You need to take a badly behaving kite to the place you bought it and have them look at it and trim/tune it for you. Or find your local beach guru if the shop isn't at the beach like ours (cheeky plug here ).

People who really know kites can solve any issues by flying and tinkering for a few minutes. I've solved many bad kite issues for customers of many brands by simply tweaking and knowing what I was doing.

The poor response from North could have come from a person having a really bad day and you may have just worn the flak at the end of it all, this is still no excuse but there's always a reason for why people do or say what they do.

Good winds,

OMEGA the only way to get your kite changed is go onto kite fourm and keep telling your story just like that guy from Wales Contact your shop as well.I was lucky and have stayed with the 08 Rebels and now will wait till the 2010 rebels come with all 09 problems fixed I hope.This is just the start wait till the USA and the rest of the world start there summer.North should be looking at fixing up the folding problem now or will they just wait till next year to fix up problems. My money is on next year.

Thelonerider said...

For the record Kitehard it does not matter how hard you pump them up they will fold when they hit the water anyone thats an experienced rider will know kites loose their air pressure a little when they hit the water so the 09 Rebel will always fold when it hits the water.
Lets keep it real on this forum the puntres are over the shop pimps not telling the truth.Remember when North released the 07 Rhino they had everyone that had one of those kites pay for the repairs on that crappy one pump system.And they kept quiet and hoped it would go away.When will North learn about customer service.


Thelonerider

Tlr,

I go on my experiences, I have been selling North Kites since around November. In that time I have sold quite a number of Rebel kites - all 09's. I have seen two kites fold in that time, both were as a result of inadequate air pressure or poor trimming. Since that has been rectified I am yet to see the issue re-occur. Both customers are completely happy.

Yes kites lose pressure when wet through evaporation dropping internal air pressure, no one is arguing that! Saying that if the kite gets wet it will fold is not necessarily the case if you have enough pressure and the lines are trimmed right it will not happen.

I have lots of very happy North customers that won't part with their 09 Rebels. A few isolated incidences doesn't mean the entire model has massive faults, it could mean those few riders don't understand kite trimming and lets face it, most riders are clueless about correctly trimming kites!

I'll say it again, take it to the place where you bought it and let the team there have a look at and fly the kite. If they know what they are doing and can replicate the problem, I'm sure they will contact the importer/distributor and take appropriate action and a resolution will be forthcoming.

To say that the entire line of kites is no good is ridiculous. If that were the case, the Rebels would not be selling as well as they are and there would be dozens of people chiding in making themselves heard demanding action.

If any of my customers is not happy with their Rebel, please bring it in and allow me to have a fly of it. I will gladly fix a problem if it exists and If I can't, I'll take it up the chain of command and will fight for positive outcome for my customers.

Good winds,

Jese and I thought my Rev briddle / bar wear was an issue. kite makers just not quite nailing it from design stage to production and with each step of improvement, seems to leave something basic behind.