RRD safety system fail

[JessicaWinkler]

I was teaching this week on a 2013 RRD kite (once a 7m Vision & once a 6m Obsession).
In the first instance a back line broke and the kite began to loop. After ejecting the kite with the leash correctly attached to the ring the 7m Vision continued to loop so I had to self rescue a looping kite.... NOT FUN!!

The following day my student dropped the 6m Obsession kite and after trying to relaunch it simply started looping with all lines intact. My student ejected almost immediately but the kite did not depower or stop looping. This time the kite continued to loop for about 15 minutes until finally he became very tired and released the whole thing. I recovered the kite and the student with no physical harm done and after closer inspection nothing had broken on the kite or bar.

Does anyone have any feedback or similar instances with RRD behaving strangely with ZERO depower when ejected?

[UKSurf]

Friend of mine was drowned by a spinning RRD kite after he pulled the safety. Luckily he was resusitated on the beach and didn't die. I personally don't rate their safety system and i would not have an rrd kite for high winds. north and cabrinha seem to be the brands with best safety.

[bnthere]

this is typical of double centerline leash system.

a bad outside line or bridle line wingtip tangle can have the same effect as the broken line when the kite is released onto the leash.


seen it on cabrinhas as well as others.

why in the world did your student wait 15 minutes before ditching it. an old guy would be dead. you need a radio.

regardless of why it happened, and what kind of disable system the bar uses, if the leash system fails to bring the kite down, (cause a single centerline system can fail too), that is why there is a secondary release on the leash. dont hesitate to use it when things aren't working like they should.

[JessicaWinkler]

I asked my student the same question but it happens a lot when people are learning. They don't do what they should fast enough, this is why the safety systems should be top notch. I have never worked with RRD before and am very concerned by these experiences so far. The owner of the school bought radios the day after it happened.

this is typical of double centerline leash system.

a bad outside line or bridle line wingtip tangle can have the same effect as the broken line when the kite is released onto the leash.


seen it on cabrinhas as well as others.

why in the world did your student wait 15 minutes before ditching it. an old guy would be dead. you need a radio.

regardless of why it happened, and what kind of disable system the bar uses, if the leash system fails to bring the kite down, (cause a single centerline system can fail too), that is why there is a secondary release on the leash. dont hesitate to use it when things aren't working like they should.

[JessicaWinkler]

thank you for your comment I appreciate it.

Friend of mine was drowned by a spinning RRD kite after he pulled the safety. Luckily he was resusitated on the beach and didn't die. I personally don't rate their safety system and i would not have an rrd kite for high winds. north and cabrinha seem to be the brands with best safety.

[tony montana]

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[dusta]

i started on obsessions and never really knew anything else apart from the flag to both centre lines . I've had mk2 and mk3 obsessions with v2 ,v3 and v4 bars . Even on the beginnner setting it never flagged 100% as claimed in the manual . Kite always stayed powered up . Had many times where the a steerling line tangled around a wingtip or something similar and the kite went into an deathloop even when flagged. RRD has a shit safety system . Glad i switched to ozone's .

[PVITfrumBYRAM]

The following day my student dropped the 6m Obsession kite and after trying to relaunch it simply started looping with all lines intact. My student ejected almost immediately but the kite did not depower or stop looping. This time the kite continued to loop for about 15 minutes until finally he became very tired and released the whole thing. I recovered the kite and the student with no physical harm done and after closer inspection nothing had broken on the kite or bar.

Jessica, thanks for bringing these experiences up. In the instance of the the kite looping after relaunching, it sound like a bar end float got stuck around the bottom of the bar. Having been using a 6 meter, I'm guessing if was crazy gusty and the kite probably dropped with a little slack of the student maneuvered the kite back to relaunch position maybe catching the float on the bar. This would perhaps cause the kite to keep looping especially if they had the leash on the suicide ring and not the flagging ring. Could you tell from your vantage point if the bar traveled along the mini 5th line?

I fly obsessions and sometimes in lulls when my kite drops, I save it at the last second by pulling the float and then I let go. But I forget and sometimes the float gets caught up on the bar and I go for a ride on a loop or two.

These days when teaching, especially when going over safety systems, I don't just tell my students this is your first release and this is your secondary which lets you ditch the kite if shit hits the fan. Now I say, "If you think shit is hitting the fan, you need to be ready to ditch the kite fast if your primary is not doing its job."

I tend to not trust any system completely, there is always something that could happen and it's up to your decisions and actions to get you out of it.

[JGTR]

I tend to not trust any system completely, there is always something that could happen and it's up to your decisions and actions to get you out of it.

But some are a lot better than others.
A system that "flags" to 2 front lines does not actually flag at all, it is not a safety system, it just relies on the depower of the kite and in fact the kite does not actually have a safety system.

[longwhitecloud]

"Friend of mine was drowned by a spinning RRD kite after he pulled the safety."

No shit!

What happened - bridle tangle, line bar wrap, pulley jam, leash caught over bar end?