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Foil is getting sluggish - is it the lines or the wing?

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geopeck
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Foil is getting sluggish - is it the lines or the wing?

Postby geopeck » Tue Sep 24, 2013 8:13 pm

I have a HQ montana 6 which I have 3 seasons on. I've loaded it pretty hard a lot while hill climbing and traveling and it is definitely not flying the same as it originally did. The crispness of the pop is gone when jumping and it seems to not handle gusts as well - it surges forward in the window and luffs (ok, the m6 wasn't ever a great kite for dirty wind, but it's worse now). It also seems to be trickier to tune- I set the depower at the optimum point at the begining of the session but need to reset it later to keep from stalling.

I kind of suspect that the problem is in the bridles and wing but was thinking about replacing the lineset to see if that helps. HQ used a split front line and that kind of complicates it since I would probably replace it with 4 lines of the same length. As far as I can tell the lines are standard dyneema with the center line being a thicker grade.

I know that flysurfer used to offer bridle replacements as a rebuild for their kites so it makes me think maybe the wing is getting shot. However, the M6 is a pretty hot kite and this wing doesn't have any holes or broken stitching - I'd like to be able to get the most out of it or feel good about selling it on.

Anyone made their older foil fly better with line replacements?

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catsh16
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Re: Foil is getting sluggish - is it the lines or the wing?

Postby catsh16 » Wed Sep 25, 2013 9:24 pm

Inspect everything!!
Kite: starting with your internal cell walls... High wind crashes can easily tear the internal structure of a kite... look inside each opening of the leading edge and look up and down the entire length. If you can't look in through the leading edge... look closely at it while flying (or have someone else fly it, and stand behind it) and make sure the shape looks right. Failure usually starts near the middle or a little closer to the trailing edge. Also make sure to inspect the internal cross bracing if there is any.
Fabric wear: in my opinion- it would take a LOT of use to degrade the fabric to a level which effects performance.
Bridle: inspect everything for damage... line stretch is a possibility. start by making small changes in the length of your flying lines to see if it changes performance. Pulleys still in good shape??

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william_rx7
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Re: Foil is getting sluggish - is it the lines or the wing?

Postby william_rx7 » Wed Sep 25, 2013 9:37 pm

My guess is line stretch, it's really pretty common after a couple years, and matches the symptoms you're describing. Check this out, even thought its for a water kite, same applies.



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