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Flysurfer Warrior - Exploding?

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Postby Guest » Wed Jan 01, 2003 9:20 pm

My 9m warrior ripped when I was on hos in Ireland last summer, the bridle pulled at one end and then it ripped a sig portion of the kite. 2 things to note: I was massively overpowered and underflew the kite on a jump and it ripped when it powered up in the power zone, and, more importantly, I had no hastle what so ever from Sven and FS and got a 12m Psycho for very little dosh as a replacement.

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Peter_Frank
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Postby Peter_Frank » Wed Jan 01, 2003 9:36 pm

On 2003-01-01 21:14, Anonymous wrote:
> This thread looks to me like somebody that
> anonymously posted some trash fiction and
> then replied to it anonymously

Yeah, there's only 4 minutes between the first post and the reply, a pretty short time to find another anonymous who has trashed 2(!) kites... And both from bridle failure? I don't think so.

Unregistered but not anonymous,
/Johan
You are right - looks a bit suspicious...
Toby could check if the IP is the same, just out of curiousity !
I mean - you would not believe one or two negative postings about anything anyway, would you ?
As well a a huge satisfied customer with brand and kite xxx - not good for anything, when it stands alone, right ?
You can't change that I think - this is how it is, biased/coloured flavours exists of course, we all know that !

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Postby Guest » Wed Jan 01, 2003 10:53 pm

On 2003-01-01 08:40, Anonymous wrote:
Im interested to know if any one has had any problems with their warriors rippping (exploding) as a result of bridle failure?

This is my post. Yes I posted it anonymously as it was my first post to this forum. My question was "has anyone had any problems?". The answer could have been no, they have been great....but their where at least 2 posts saying that thay have had that problem.

I have the full quiver of flysurfer kites, I feel that they are the best kites I have ever flown, but recently I have had trouble with both my 12.5 and 9.3, where one of the bridle lines have snapped (mid air) and the kites have been ripped to shreds.

I have heard of another instance recently, where the same thing had happened whilst the kite was being water relaunched.

I am interested to hear if this problem has been experienced by other flysurfer or foil owners.

Thanks

Jason

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Postby Guest » Wed Jan 01, 2003 10:56 pm

If anyone would like to take this discusion of line, please email me at jagrant@iprimus.com.au



Thanks Jason

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Peter_Frank
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Postby Peter_Frank » Wed Jan 01, 2003 11:10 pm

This is great Jason - just tell what you feel, whether its cons or pros for whatever you like...

Don't let these above comments make you do otherwise, no matter what you wan't to say here about kitesurfing.

So it was not a systematic thrash posting after all.

Nice !

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Postby Nukin » Thu Jan 02, 2003 12:38 am

I sailed Warriors all last year. Bashed them into the water, dragged them across the beach with rocks, sticks and barnicles and landed them on sharp beach grass that previously popped bladders when I was on inflatables and I never had a problem with the bridals or sail cloth. I ripped my 16m once because the kite came across some barbed wire - but I had a professional seamstress repair it for $30 bucks and it flew like new. I would say the durability is above average. But remember, you do have bridals, so some extra attention is needed.

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Postby Guest » Thu Jan 02, 2003 12:58 am

It's probably fair to say that the Warriors had an edge over inflatables last season in terms of aerodynamic performance.

Having flown the new season inflatables, ram airs have now lost that edge. The rams turn slower and feel heavier in the air; they definitely don't give as much boost and don't seem to handle the gusts as well as the new season inflatables. On top of that, I've found it hard to completely depower or let go the Warriors in overpowering gusts.

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Postby RC-Kiter » Thu Jan 02, 2003 10:32 am

The newer product is most of the time better than the previous one. We will see what the G-Arc and Warrior II will bring.

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Postby gaffer » Thu Jan 02, 2003 11:17 am

I've had a few problems with my warriors as follows.

9.3 split near LE after releasing to the leash, repaired for free underwarranty.

9.3 ripped to pieces mid air during a jump, probably due to one or two bridles snapping under load causing the rest to fail and the bridle connection points in the tips to be ripped out. Too big to repair, not replaced under warranty but a good will gesture by the UK importer got me a replacement kite at a VERY good price. I am a very satisfied customer and have received numerous free replacement depower straps and pulley lines.

The flysurfers have a weak line near the bridle connection point which is easy to repair and is designed to fail before the bridles.

If you kite off pebble beaches then I would not recommed a kite with bridles, it is very easy to get bridles snagged round small pebbles, the bridles will pull free quite easy but can easily get weakened and/or nicked in the process. If you kite from sandy beaches then its no problem.

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Postby Guest » Thu Jan 02, 2003 12:26 pm

Thanks for giving a little more info Jason.
I think we can find out what went wrong if you describe the failure in more detail:
What were you doing when the line snapped, relaunching, jumping, cruising, recovering a collapse?
What was the time between the line snapping and the kite exploding?
Was it an upper or lower bridle line that snapped?
How old were your kites?

About the lines, they are probably good for 60-80kg breaking strength so unless they are worn, damaged or tangled they should not break. Knots will make the line weaker and the loading uneven. It's a really good idea for everyone to inspect the lines on a regular basis.

About the fabric, I talked with Armin, the designer, at Foilfest in Denmark. He said they are using standard "paragliding" fabrics, no extra coating. For paragliders the life expectancy used to be about 300h due to the UV-light breaking down the fabric. A friend of mine in the US was flying an old Airwave glider on which I could easily poke my finger through the top surface, the fabric had the strength and texture of paper!
So if you wanna increase the life span on your foils, don't leave them lying on the beach while waiting for the wind to pick up. Unpack only when you're ready to go, fold it up when you come in for lunch, etc etc... For a $1000 kite and 300h lifespan, that's $3/h when it's just lying there. Maybe the lifespan has gotten better with new fabrics but on the other hand the wing loading is about 3 times higher on a kite than on a paraglider, about 10kg/sqm compared to 3kg/sqm.
If you want to know more about fabric wear, take a look at the links below or do a search on the web.

Regards,
/Johan

http://www.crittermountainwear.com/colorcomparison.htm

http://www.blusky.co.za/tips-caring01.html


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