Weird puzzle: Perfect bar & lines but Switchblade hardly fly

[Imba]

Main point: 2007 14m SwitchBlade. Waesnt used until 2010. And was used sligthly after 2010 until now. So, its an old canopy kite... but rather in good condition.

Issue: Its almost un-ridable now. If you keep the bar "straight" the kite start to turn(fall?) onto the right side. The only way to keep the kite at 12 - is to "steer" the bar to the left. And if i really need to go the left side, i have to pull the bar to the left... really really hard\harsh.
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The most reasonalbe explanation to this is ofcthe "lines" which got to long\too short.

And here is the puzzle: I start to feel that the kite is "overfly" to the right about a week ago.
By that time the effect was very very light. I can feel it when keeping my kite at 12, but i was fully "okay" to ride the whole day...


So after i feel that the kite is flying properly, i check my lines. They were perfect. Abosulety equal without & under full tension.

So today, i was hardly been able to ride the kite. Kite have wayy tomuch tendencyto oversteer to the right. At some point i realize that its a)very uncomfortable. b)dangerous?
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So, ive decided that probably im dumb.. and there is still something wrong with the lines.
But two independant IKO instaructors (sepparatelyone from the other) check my linesunder tension, and both say that the lines\bar isin the perfect condition & have same leight.


Kite. Okay. But what can happen with the kite, that suddently at some point of life it start to behave that way?

Twisted bladder? But how can i check this?
Twisted cannopy? Ermm... can it twist itself?

Something is wrong with the bridals? But how can i "measure" them? Any special technique?


Clues? Advices?

[sarc]

I'm guessing bridles are the most likely culprit. Maybe email Cabrinha for measurements and check?

[matth]

Measure all the bridal lengths from one point to another. Make sure both sides are identical.

Is there possible sand or water in bladder?

Are you using the original bar?

[edt]

Sounds like your kite is flying sideways. The most common reason this happens is that one of the center lines is longer than the other. Another way for this to happen is if you rig the bar wrong. For instance, if there is a ring support (this is all brand specific) that both center lines are supposed to attach to and you happen to drag one line through the ring, instead of the full power of the center lines being transmitted to the chicken line, instead one of the lines transmits the power to the chicken line but the other center line (because it is rigged wrong) will transmit the power to the chicken loop itself. Besides the kite flying weird, you will notice the chicken loop comes off a lot if this is the problem.

It is very uncommon for the bridles to get stretched out so far that they cause the kite to fly like you have described. Yes the bridles stretch but it happens year after year and it is a very slow degradation of performance and almost always the bridles stretch equally because the force is transmitted pretty evenly across the bridle.

Here is what I would do first of all.

Take the lines off the line and lark's head them to a strong pole. Set the trim at maximum power.

Now pull the bar straight back. At this point, you should have equal tension on both rear lines and the center lines. Check the lines and notice how the force is transmitted down the lines. Does it seem that there is tension on the safety IDS line? That should be straightened out but not really under tension. Is one of the center lines under more tension than the other lines?

If the bar is fine, I would fold the kite in half and look at the center bridles. As I said it sounds like the kite is flying sideways. So if it is in fact a bridle problem you should notice one of the bridles is much longer than the other (about 2 inches for you to notice it this much). This could be caused by a nick in the bridle so it is only holding on by a few threads.

But first of all I would check the bar it's possible somehow the bar got messed up.

Twisted bladders don't cause the kite to fly different. They might explode the bladder when you pump up but that's it.

[Laughingman]

didn't they still use the 2-1 bar in 2007? Does all lines equal at full power still work with a 2-1 bar?

[edt]

didn't they still use the 2-1 bar in 2007? Does all lines equal at full power still work with a 2-1 bar?

I think from the cabrinha compatibility chart that this 2007 model is the switchblade 3 with a 2:1 bar, but it's possible to fly it on a 1:1 bar if you don't mind the kite being extremely slow to turn.

Original poster hasn't mentioned exactly which bar he is using with it.

I think those 2:1 pulley systems are normally equal line length

[tautologies]

how much does it fly to the side? Is it turning hard so you really have to pull on the side or is it just kind of floating to one side?

How experienced are you?
Are you sure you have not messed up attachments? Or that there is a wrap of lines somehwere. Make sure your bridles are okay...that the pulleys feed the lines through properly...to me this sound like a bridle issue.

You can still fly that kite, but newer kites have come a long ways.

[blacktip]

If I remember correctly the 2007's were using bridle lines that are prone to ''shrinking''. Yes, shrinking that is. Im talking about the dyneema bridlelines that are running through the pullies. The main culprit is the part of the bridle that is connect to the rear flying lines. On that part there are a few pullies and bridle lines running very close to eachother and are likely to get twisted. To ensure longlevity of these bridle lines, make sure these lines are untwisted when flying. You can prevent these lines from twisting by connecting the front en rear bridles to eachother when you pack away your kite.

[Don Monnot]

You might also look for knots in the bridle lines, especially those that run through the pulleys. If you've checked the bar and lines, it's gotta be the bridle lines or pulleys (or water in a bladder). Maybe one pulley has somehow opened up enough for a line to slip off the pulley and get caught in between the side of the pulley and the "housing" (don't know the correct term). If it jams up in there, that would certainly cause the kite to want to turn. I once had a bridle line wrap weird around a pulley, and it flew exactly as you describe. I set the kite down and looked at it, and it was obvious. I doubt if your situation is the same, but a jammed-up pulley might also cause the problem.

Good luck.

Don

[xenosd]

If you could get a similar kite and use your bar to the other you could determine if it is the kite or the bar that has the problem.
I also think that folding the kite in 2 and check the bridles is a good idea.