Hey guys, I was helping a friend with his newly purchased F-One Bandit 4 kite today and we were going through the safety releases. When we released the quick release, the bar and chicken loop slid up the safety line all the way to the yellow stopper, but the kite did not flag!
Initially it looked as though the kite had de powered, slowly landing to the edge of the wind window. But that is it. It still kept flying.
Then I tried another thing, I crashed the kite into the water and let it drift directly downwind of me. It was sitting upside down (leading edge down) fully powered. I then released the quick release and once again the bar and chicken loop slid all the way up the safety line but the kite did not flag. It sat exactly where it was totally powered up. It was like the front line bridle pulleys did not allow the kite to flag on the front lines.
Has anyone else had a problem like this and is there a solution? I did try a search, but came up with 2900+ hits, so I thought it would be easier just to share my experience and ask my question. Cheers!
I think that's what it's supposed to do - sit at the edge with about 10% power.
Re: F-one Bandit safety line / flag out fail
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 12:48 pm
by wetdog
What size is your B4 btw?
Re: F-one Bandit safety line / flag out fail
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 12:55 pm
by JMF
If you are connecting directly to the mini 5th line that runs through the centre of the chicken loop I don't see why it shouldn't flag out. Some people connect to the mini 5th and the chicken loop which would be suicide mode. Never had this happen on my Bandit IV's unless you hooked in suicide mode. How strong was the wind?
Re: F-one Bandit safety line / flag out fail
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 3:20 pm
by Brent4336
I think that happens sometimes when the kite is not very powered. The pulleys on the front bridle dont come together and the kite stays open and pulling a bit. a bit of movement by the rider toward the kite and it will flip more onto its back and the front lines come together. Ive had that safety and it worked like a charm every time it was really powered up. There was enough power in the kite to flip itself onto its back more while falling from the sky or while leading edge down. Only ever noticed it not work as designed in light wind on snow.
Re: F-one Bandit safety line / flag out fail
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 3:58 pm
by Peter_Frank
I was thinking the very same.
If one tries to test or demo the "flag out" on any kite(brand) - it is most often done in gentle conditions (not much power).
And here the flag out does not always work
It is a bit "scary" though - as how are you gonna know it works when "for real" then ?
Peter
Re: F-one Bandit safety line / flag out fail
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 4:32 pm
by murph68
The Yellow ball needs to be the length of your leading edge away from your bar so as the kite can depower fully. Might be worth a check?
Re: F-one Bandit safety line / flag out fail
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 4:42 pm
by wetdog
murph68 wrote:The Yellow ball needs to be the length of your leading edge away from your bar so as the kite can depower fully. Might be worth a check?
Thing is, because of the Y front lines you can only move it to a certain degree.
Re: F-one Bandit safety line / flag out fail
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 4:42 pm
by frankm1960
For the hellofit check with your kite manual to see if your stopper ball is in the right position on the safety line... too close or to far from could change the behavior. I know it works that way with a regular 5th line so probably has some affect on the "mini 5th" as well. Mark the position with a marker if there's any chance the stopper can move.
Also might be a good idea to try flagging out your kite on the OS handles if you have them on your bar. Get a feel for how it behaves. I've heard of mini 5th systems jamming... the only thing left to depower the kite is the OS handle.
Peter