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Overpowered 11m Crossbow Mystery!

Posted: Thu May 09, 2013 11:10 pm
by Meansealevel
I purchased a crispy 2011 Cabrinha Crossbow 11m about a year ago, and i have ridden it at least 30 times without any issues. Recently i was in the middle of a nice solo session when all of a sudden i heard a "pop" and immediately became overpowered. After taking a few tacks trying to get a handle on the problem i had to use my "ids" system to depower the kite, in other words abandon ship. At this point i was stuck in the middle of a bay and the sun was setting, to make a long story short i let the kite go and had to swim to shore and it turned out to be the scariest experience of my life!
I got the kite back and have since checked the lines, bridal, depower straps, kite etc. and i cant figure out whats wrong but every time ive tried to fly the kite since its acted the same way.... way overpowered! Ive been out on days where other people on 12m kites are fine and im totally overpowered and cant ride. Ive even had other people fly the kite and they get the same result, aaaand ive flown other kites in the same wind and i feel fine. Ive also had at least 2 people verify that the lines are adjusted correctly and they are all perfectly even length.
So does anyone have any idea what could possibly be wrong??? I am at a loss... im no aerodynamics expert thats for certain but ive double checked everything i can think of and the only other thing i can think to do is send the bar with lines to cabrinha or someone who can figure it out. Thanks so much for any input.... :-?

Re: Overpowered 11m Crossbow Mystery!

Posted: Thu May 09, 2013 11:30 pm
by Bigdog
If it's not pulling left or right then I suspect it is the bar/lines. Tie all your line end to a point off a tree or whatever and run out your lines and set the depower to full power. All lines should be equal tension. I suspect the center front lines became longer when something popped.....

Re: Overpowered 11m Crossbow Mystery!

Posted: Thu May 09, 2013 11:34 pm
by plummet
pullies stuck perhaps?

Re: Overpowered 11m Crossbow Mystery!

Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 12:18 am
by knotwindy
have you checked the harness and bar to be sure something did not break or slip on that part of the set-up? or flown other kites with it?

Re: Overpowered 11m Crossbow Mystery!

Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 1:13 am
by Meansealevel
Yep yep and yep :) Hahah thanks guys but yeah ive been through all that stuff.....i have flown other kites with same harness and board setup so thats not it, but i could be the bar but i cant find anything that has broken, i did actually hooked all the lines to a single point the day after the kitetastrophe and they were fine so i dont think the pop had anything to do with the lines, even though that was my first suspicion, and ive had a few people double check the lines to verify there tuned correctly. I also checked the bridal, pullies, and all things kite related. My suspicion is somehow theres something in the depower area, or maybe the main line that attaches to the chicken loop?

Re: Overpowered 11m Crossbow Mystery!

Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 1:23 am
by Hawaiis
Last time it happened to me, it was my chicken loop came off the hook, instant full power.Check your front lines, my 2011 Cabrinhas stretch one inch per month. That will surely put more power to the kite.

Re: Overpowered 11m Crossbow Mystery!

Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 1:28 am
by Meansealevel
THat would certainly do it :thumb:

Re: Overpowered 11m Crossbow Mystery!

Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 1:39 am
by Bigdog
If the lines are all equal then it should be good. So try pulling in some depower strap ya? That is what is for. You need to understand trim bro...simple as that.

Re: Overpowered 11m Crossbow Mystery!

Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 2:19 am
by flyingweasel
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Re: Overpowered 11m Crossbow Mystery!

Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 2:35 am
by matthepp
I'be heard that the depower line inside the black plastic sleeve can snap while the plastic tube holds the load (stretched out). That theory matches the symptoms