I just came accoss this topic as someone send me a question based on that regarding the kite release of RRD.
As a lot of info came together I thought I will post my point of view.
I am not from RRD - I just work with those kites and I am quite happy with that.
Cheers,
Alex.
www.kiteboarding-oman.com
This is an enquiry email via
http://www.kiteboarding-oman.com/ from:
XXXXX <
XXXXXXX@gmx.com>
Hi,
I'm hoping you can offer some advice. I have been looking at getting my first set of kites from Dukite in Dubai - 7 & 10.5m RRD Obsession with the V6 Global Bar. However, I read online some people had safety concerns with this combo as it fails to depower after the safety is released (viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2384406).
Dukite told me they had supplied these kites to your school, have you had and issues with the safety of this kite/bar combo?
Thanks,
XXXXX
Von: Kiteboarding-Oman [mailto:
info@kiteboarding-oman.com]
Gesendet: Mittwoch, 27. Mai 2015 13:30
An:
XXXXXXX@gmx.com'
Betreff: AW: Kitesurfing Oman, Kite Lessons and Kite Rental: Kite Advice
Hi XXXXX,
thanks for your email.
I have seen the posts in the forum AFTER YOU SEND ME THE LINK and honestely I cannot understand the one or other statement written in there. The case with a line around the tip and a looping kite never happened before to me.
Rarely it happens if a kite falls out of the sky and gets inverted that the lines are around the kite IN VERY GUSTY CONDITIONS AND WITH A CAPITAL STEERING MISTAKE IN THE SAME TIME but there are other brands which have much more problems here on the Island in strong or gusty conditions. We have with other brandes much more rescue cases with such things where we have to rush on our jet ski. But to make this happen there must be a really capital steering error as the RRD-Kites are really difficult to be forced into a capital front stall.
HOWEVER THE CASE I SHOULD COME BACK HERE WAS QUICK RELEASE.
I am an RRD-Center here in Oman since 2009 and so far I did not had any major safety issue on that side.
Conditions are pretty rough here with strong winds between 20 and 45 knots usually.
Main kitesizes between 10 and 5 meter here on the island and as you can imagine that winds of 30knots and more are never 100% constant and often a bit gusty.
I cannot remember having problems with the behavior of a released kite as described in the forum.
Usually the kite depowerd immediately, curles to the edge of the window, flips over into parking position (as it is laying on the beach – nose into the wind) and sits there hold stable by the 2 front lines.
I just did a course last Saturday on my own with the release of the kite – same result.
As certified VDWS-Kitecenter which is operating according to the teaching standards of the VDWS, releasing a kite and re-connecting on the water is part of the course. So we do that quite often and if there would be a problem I should be aware of that.
We had VDWS-Instructor Training beginning of May here, wherer the head of the VDWS Kite-Instructors was holding the course, and in that context our kites has been released as well several times with the same reproductive result.
We had a look on that on a pretty critical way as my deccition within the 500 VDWS-centers to work with RRD is not a mainstream one. But that is based on the extreme conditions here in the county from super light wind in Muscat to super strong winds in Masirah in a country with up to 56 degrees. Conditions which the majority of other centers don’t have to cope with and have its problems – last but not least with the heat.
Even-though RRD for me as Center is for sure a bit more expensive solution then working with other brands, the performance of those kites is for us as center is just the best and so we deliver that to our customers.
Reading all this made me curious again and I will be on the water later again and will put the Obsession 7 and 10,5 and the Obsession in 5,7 and 9 meter on the Global 6 - Bar through that situations. I really don’t expect any different result but I will keep you posted.
Not sure where the initial thoughts about that problem came.
I admit there was a problem long ago with the RRD Hypertype II in 15m which was not flipping over in light wind. The Bar at that generation was not creating “enough flagline” to flip the kite over. Worked in the sizes up to 12m but not on the 15m anymore. That was the situation the kite was standing with the front tube down in the powerzone and was not flipping over as the kite was too deep (center strut too long) to flip over on the short line.
But with the next generation of Bar (that was I guess 4 generations ago) things got solved.
- That’s all what comes up in my mind as explanation for the forum article you mentioned.
Last but not least, you should now that I am not a RRD-Center only.
I have other brands like Airusch, F-One and even Flysurfer (as complete different kite concept) in our program. It is because personally I am always curious to try other brands and don’t hesitate doing some efforts on that as you can see.
So my decisions to go for a certain brand is because I am convinced of that rather than a financial aspect.
Because apart of having the best possible performance for me as rider and for me as center under the local conditions I don’t forget that at the end me in person and my students I am responsible for are connecting their lives direct to this flying plastic bags… This beasts can deliver a power of 600-800 kg if you ask for it, so I really want to get rid of that in case as well
I am flying the same combination. Obsession 10,5 and 7 and I am more than happy with that in that conditions. Don’t want to say it is the best combination in the world but to me it is. And I am sure you won’t regret that.
Will get back to you after my tests this afternoon.
Cheers,
Alex.
Alexander Friesl
Managing Director
Masirah Island & Sawadi Beach, Sultanate of Oman
GSM: +968 96323524
www.kiteboarding-oman.com
info@kiteboarding-oman.com
https://www.facebook.com/KiteboardingOman
Hi XXXXXX,
I am just back from the water. Tested the 5 Kites as described on the Global 6.
As I was sure, the kites behaved as it is supposed to do and in the same way I am used to them since years.
My certainty on that is really high, as we often release the kites as part of our lessons in all kind of wind conditions, under- and overpowered , to make the students understand and give them some comfort as they know the Kites can be killed anytime in a reliable way. In rental use our guests make the most surprising things with our kites but even then I haven’t seen any safety issues in context with the release.
I have made a small video of the way I have put them into test.
Releasing during kite flying and a release under full power during strong powered riding.
Falling out of the zenith for some kites is a problem as the higher they fall, the faster the impact, the more the slack in the line is created which makes the line “slag” around the tip.
Never had this on a RRD ever but we see that regular here in the lagoon with other kites.
Second case is to release the kite full powered to see how it depowers with power and speed.
Yes, it shows just one example with the 10,5 , but the video was not done to proof the result it is to visual my not-native-explanation.
Instant loss of power in the 21knots we had today and resetting the QL with without any problems.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e-Nv9iuN-E
To make a long story short, I am really convinced about the safety-aspect of RRD-Kites and here on the Island with winds between 20 and 45 knots on a daily base we really have high demands on such things.
I hope you don’t mind if I bring the text up on Kiteforum – not name your name of course.
As mentioned, I’m not from RRD either. But at least I work a lot with their kites…
Happy Kiting with your RRDs.
Hopefully see you on Masirah Island.
Cheers,
Alex.
Alexander Friesl
Managing Director
Masirah Island & Sawadi Beach, Sultanate of Oman
GSM: +968 96323524
www.kiteboarding-oman.com
info@kiteboarding-oman.com
https://www.facebook.com/KiteboardingOman
REMARKS IN CAPITAL are added here for the forum in the hope of being a bit more understandable.