JessicaWinkler wrote:Thank you for your comments on this topic, it is very helpful to me. You make a good point that in
30 - 40 knots things are different and that is why i'm concerned with these RRD kites.
I will be using them to teach in these crazy high winds over the next couple months and I want to make sure I understand them & take every precaution. It is VERY scary.
haiku wrote:Hi. I use kites of all brands and among them RRD kites (Obsession, Addiction and Religion). Everytime I fly for the first time a new kite I check the QR on the beach (in this case bar V4 and V5). All seemed to work properly but when things go really wrong is a totally different matter; the death loop traction is something very hard to deal with and I've experienced myself a crazy situation like that with a Cabrinha kite (broken line...). In that case I released first the QR and after that I pulled the second security on the harness loop, letting the kite go (I was alone in the water...). All worked fine and later I was able to recover the kite (Cab Switchblade 2011). This system with a double security (four lines..) and others with the fifth line seem to be the best. Back to RRD kites I've never pulled the security in a dangerous situation and what has been reported in this topic scares me like hell because with the Religion 6 I've had some wave sessions in big waves and 34/40 Knots
! Noticed that during a wave session I always connect the QR leash near the harness hook so I can let the kite go......but in this case seems not enough! Said that I hope RRD distributors or athlets add to this discussion some important contributions and advices. Safety first: going out with a QR that doesn't work in a emergency situation looks like playing the russian roulette!
Cheers
Carlo
I would be interested to know what technique(s) enable teaching in 30-40 knot winds such that it is reasonably safe and the student learns anything worthwhile.
JessicaWinkler wrote:I'm pretty sure this entire thread is men talking and you guys are normally more "tech geek" about stuff but i'm really not so when a person (no matter how experienced) is put in a situation where they are using a new kite
they assume the safety is designed to save them. Honestly I guess I am naive and I assumed there were regulations to building the QR on kites. I can't believe the IKA doesn't have some sort of checking system, especially when the sport is so dangerous. Maybe someone should make a chart of all the kites and rate their safety system so that people like myself who have to teach or ride a kite i've never used before can check....... I would find this very helpful and it would help me to choose whether or not to buy/ride or teach on a particular kite without having to run the risk of an accident like I had last week making me create this post.
longwhitecloud wrote:"But i´m not naïf to believe that half trues are never used by different levels of any organization given the right context. Why IKA would be different that everybody else?"
There is a problem right there, you are clearly an experienced rider, but most of those reading this document thinking of getting into kiting are not and take what is written as complete truth as do not know any better.
The context was rider safety, it really doesn't get more serious than that. It reflects extremely badly for IKA even more so now they are trying to make inroads towards instruction standards.
This thread is another example of a subject where IKA are very naive and have failed to respond positively to constructive criticism that has been made.
ISAF/ IKA certainly don't have any power to enforce in NZ thankfully and never will have.
Damn my kite is in shreds...
You have hit upon one of my pet peeves – specifically,
KITERS ASSUMING THAT THE EQUIPMENT WILL SAVE THEM by working as it theoretically is SUPPOSED to.
First, many manufacturers, shops and schools exaggerate the effectiveness of their systems. At the very least, they virtually NEVER disclose the typical situations where their systems may fail, either catastrophically or to some lesser extent. Even without equipment failure, ALL systems have been known to fail under certain circumstances.
Second, ALL systems can be expected to fail either catastrophically or to some lesser extent when some element breaks.
Third, I have lost track of the number of times that I have heard, or said,
“I didn’t know that could happen” after an accident or close call. The point being that NOBODY knows ALL the ways that a particular system may fail. Even the manufacturers don’t know because every change that they make, no matter how minute, may combine with some unknowable combination of other factors in some vast number of possible situations which, even if they were known, are too numerous to thoroughly test before bringing to market.
It seems to me that the best way to minimize the danger associated with the above unavoidable situation is to
always expect the system to fail. If this approach is taken, it means that it is usually better to avoid situations which depend extensively on the equipment working properly to be reasonably safe. An example of this would be the self launching technique of rolling the kite over significantly downwind (as opposed to launching closer to the side) and depending on the depowability hopefully available on most kites by pushing the bar away. It also means that ONLY extremely experienced kiters should consider dealing with 30-40 knot winds regardless of how user friendly the location may be.
Richard M.
Malibu Kitesurfing - since 2002
(310) - 430 - KITE (5483)
http://www.MalibuKitesurfing.NET
kfRichard@MalibuKitesurfing.NET