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Any body know anything about parachute releases....They have to get out of danger when there main chute fails...Seen divers chutes also tangle and they get out pretty quick! When you think about it, dont they really have two releases for each shoulder? Theres has to be pretty good forces involved there also.
Anybody out there know any web sights.. Could be a good place to hunt for diff ideas!
SKY HIGH
STEVE

well ...

you always have to think about seawater & sand -
i suppose that in a few thousand feet height, these things don't seem to matter . . .

We use a parachute release on the tow line to glider connection for truck and boat tow for hangliding. They work very well for that application. The pin that secures the whole thing together can be easily dislodged by accident though so I am not sure about using it in a kiteboarding application. It would be interesting to try one and see how it worked out.

Rick Iossi

Parachutes use a "3 ring" setup to release the main chute in an emergency. It's basically 3 progressively smaller metal rings mounted on webbing which are interlocked with each other and held together with a single pin. As such, there are no real "moving parts" so it should be very reliable as long as the rings are made out of stainless steel, and the webbing is waterproof. There's a picture at http://www.altico.com/universal.html (not a very good one) The release pin goes through the light coloured cord at the top of the smallest ring. In this arrangement the pin carries no load, so should always release easily. It could be safetied with thin nylon or cotton which would need a definite pull to break it, thus minimising accidental release

while working at northwave in the gorge, cory rosseller (inventor of the sport) came into the shop with his latest(last summer) quick release setup...which was ( what i can recall) he said a paraglider release, maybe parachute, but it was a mounted shackle type, with a spring/pin, this was bolted on a reactor bar, with a grab line and stopper, i havent seen anybody else w/ this setup, its not the winchard type quickrelease shackle, anybody seen this??, ill try and ask him the make...but its a nice mount, clean set up....

I had been thinking along your lines for a parachute release, there are approx. 6 different types, but the best one for kites is the three ring system. Do a search on the web for "three ring parachute release" and you'll find plenty. I've actually made one up for my kite and on dry runs (hanging from my gargage roof) it works perfectly even with me jumping up and down on it. The release is a piece of stiff velcro which releases with a simple tug...perfect. I've yet to try it on the water, if it works I'll let you know.

I I CAPTAIN.... let me know and Ill take a look myself.. Thanks
SKY HIGH
STEVE