Flysurfer Warrior - Exploding?

[Jason]

It is interesting to know that I am not the first one to experience the problem of the bridle snapping and then having the kite "explode". byt the sound of it what happened to Gaffer and the two other fellows is dientical to what happened to my two kites.

My first kite to "explode" was my 12.5m. I was flying in around 20 knots with 25-knot wind gusts. I am a heavy rider of 120 kg's and ride a mutant direction, so the wind strength was strong but enjoyable. I was riding along when I was forced to go down the wind to avoid another kite surfer. As I did this, the kite naturally moved back deeper into the power zone. I reset my rail with the kite deeper in the window. As I was railing hard to get the kite to the edge of the window, I felt a “twangâ€

[Guest]

The lifespan for paragliders is "about 300h." "The wing loading is about 3 times higher on a kite than on a paraglider."

Going on these figures, the lifespan of a ram air would be less than 300h, possibly as low as 100h. The average ram air would get at least 100h of UV every 6 months or so. Maybe this explains the kite explosions.

[RC-Kiter]

Thats simply not true, I have seen Speedairs from the beginning of 2001 with 150+ days of use and the kites still looked and feel very good. (this is about 400 hours of use)

Every kite can explode under certain circumstances, sometimes it just happens in a really bad way. Talk to your dealer and everything should be sorted out.

Psycho's have undergone a major upgrade in strenght compared to the warrior (I.e. seams, canopy, structure, lay-up)& so did the line-set, this problem has been taken care of.

[macca]

I had a problem with a 12m Mastair, the kite was quite low in the window when a gust came through. I edged hard while depowering the kite to shoot it forward. The bar snapped and a few brake line tabs were ripped out. The bar snapped due to disimilar metals, the brass tube in alu bar.

At 85kgs and edgeing very hard there is a hell of a lot of strain on the bridles of a big kite in the wrong place. Looking back i should of ran with the kite more rather than forceing it to the front of the window.

I'm not saying your at fault Jason just giving my opinion of why it might of failed, there are less bridles on the warrior so it might not be up to the strain of such a load. All IMHO and in my limited knoledge of Warriors.

[KiteGlider]

Similar problem with Mastair 16.
A weak point seems to be where Fix line joins the Kite Body lines. (4 lines tied to loop at end of Fix Line.) Same with Brake lines.

I think heavier riders just have to carefully re-enforce the weak points.

I used to break main lines that none of the lighter guys ever had problems with. Q line helped me in that case.

[Maris]

Jason you are 120kg and thats 1,6 times more than average 75kg kiter. Ewery kite manufacture makes kites for that 75kg kiter. So you with 120kg are using kite on its limits and if you are an expert and owerload it more than it is made for it just break. So you must claim manufacture to make kites for heawyweight persons or just use a kite with beter factor of safety.

[gaffer]

Jason, I dont think it is a manufacturing problem, I think its more a wear and tear issue.

Just like a pin hole in an LEI can cause a weak point that leads to a kite tearing in half, a weak bridle can fail under extreme load and cause the chain reaction of shock loading that destroys a kite.

IF it was the first time you had used the kite then maybe you could blame the manufacturer, but lets face it, if you used the kite more than a couple of times chances are that something has been damaged since it left the factory.

Basicly it all comes down to looking after your kite and doing thorough pre flights, theres not many people who inspect every square inch of their LEI or run thier fingers along every bridle line before use. It only takes a small nick or a knot to weaken a line.

It seems flysurfer have learnt from this and beefed up the construction on the psycho to counteract it.

Also to keep things in perspective I have put my other warriors through a lot of heavy wind with no problem. I also now pay a lot more attention to the inspection and maintenance of my bridles.

It seems terribly unlucky for Jason to have two kites explode (I though I was unlucky to lose one), my guess is that where jason rides there may be pebbles or other beach debris which is playing a part in these problems.

The lines indicated by Kitleglider are made as a weak leak on purpose. It's the same principle as an electric fuse. The idea is that this weak link will fail before any single bridle does. When this weak link fails there is no shock loading on the kite and no resulting damage, all that needs replacing is an inexpensive short piece of line. If you re-inforce the weak link you run the risk of severe damage.

Sean

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: gaffer on 2003-01-03 11:20 ]</font>

[Guest]

Sean's and others posts indicate that ram air explosions are endemic to ram airs ie unless you are prepared to comb every square mm of kite and bridle every time you go out from a pebbly beach, you run the risk of a non-warrantied explosion. STUFF THAT! Who wants to sit on their butt farting around with a bridle in 20 knots of wind.

Time to bite the bullet ram boys: Ram airs are inherently prone to breaking and exploding = do yourselves a favour and trade them in for inflatables.

[KiteGlider]

The lines indicated by Kitleglider are made as a weak leak on purpose. It's the same principle as an electric fuse. The idea is that this weak link will fail before any single bridle does. When this weak link fails there is no shock loading on the kite and no resulting damage, all that needs replacing is an inexpensive short piece of line. If you re-inforce the weak link you run the risk of severe damage.

Sean

Thanks for the info Sean. Us heavy guys just have to be more careful pilots and or loose some weight.

Anon - Flew a LEI all last year, lots of fun.
(and lots of leaks)
I like to go on little adventures and cruise for miles. I would never have confidence in taking a LEI on a long criuse. LEIs are perfect for performance art close to shore and a safe recovery spot.

Did you watch the KiteSiK video? We're all kind of test pilots in this relatively new sport. We have to know the design limitations and take care not to excede them, or discover what they are by pushing the envelope. Heavy guys like myself just have to be more precise.

Thanks for your views. Pros and cons always help.
D'Franklin

[Guest]

Going cruising for long distances with a ram air is asking for trouble. In complete wind dropouts or catastrophic gear failure, NO ram air will stay floating on the ocean for more than an hour before it becomes hopelessly water-logged. If you are miles from shore, your best chance is with an inflatable; at least you can use it as a floatation device or grab the tips and "sail" in. It's BS to say a ram is better on cruises because it will stay up longer than an inflatable in wind drop outs - this is definitely not the case for 2003 inflatables.