I'm ready to get back in the sea right-now but the wind is very northerly, it'll probably take me best part of the summer to gain my previous levels of fitness and strength but I'm back in the sea at the next opportunity. I send all my kites to be modified, I can't cope with those exposed cross-joints for the amount of self-launches and landing I do, anyone had any problems ?
Pulling my pants on was a land-mark 2 months ago, then getting down to my toes and being able to lace-up shoes recently was huge.
Regards
to all
Richard
Hey Richard,
ReplyDeletegreat news - sounds like u had a horrible time!
hopefully summer will be better.
lets hope for a good summer!!
good to hear you back richard. just in time for the warm weather or maybe not.....
ReplyDeleteNice one Richard, I bet you're dieing to get out there! I go mad if I cant get out for just a few weeks!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean about the exposed cross joints? Do you self launch by weighting a wingtip (C kite style), or bow style launch (kite nose to wind, then expose part of the canopy to the wind from a cross wind direction ?)
I launch all SLE's and 5-th line kites by first rigging the lines down-wind then swinging the kite around into the edge of the wind, the windward wing-tip is then lifted by the wind, the kite turns-over for a launch but the consequences of this is that the leading-edge does drag along the sand a little and the cross-joint stitching suffers if it isn't protected. Some manufacturers have addressed this problem and some have-not.
ReplyDeleteJust one emergency landing on a gritty beach can do a lot of damage to those cross joints, it has been said that the zig-zag stitching isn't important to the strength of the joint. If you ever get the opportunity to take the leading-edge of a kite to pieces you'll see those zig-zag stitches are very important.
Still waiting for some wind.
Richard.
Ah yes, that's the way I launch them too. I'm always very picky about where I launch from though, make sure I find somewhere without shells, stones etc, to minimise any damage (I don't think I've damaged a kite from self launching yet)
ReplyDeleteAs for self landing, I prefer not to deploy the safety on land. Instead I find something sufficiently sturdy to hook the chicken loop over, depower it and steer the kite down to the edge of the window, where it will sit quite happily until I go pick it up (be sure you're happy with its attachment before leaving it!). Most of the time I'll make sure there's someone there to land my kite for me (especially in strong or gusty conditions), but if I'm caught out, I'll land it as above.
I'm just being pedantic Pete, it's happened to me on a number of occasions that I'm coming-in off the water over powered and no-one around to help me land. I'm only 75 kilos at most so if I'm overpowered my heels and ass are plowing-up the beach then I hit the release. This is when you don't have to-much control and when the damage is done. The picture I posted on kiteboarder-forum of a scrubbed cross joint was as a result of being overopowered on my maiden voyage. The Chrono is much-more powerful for it's size than any kite I ever flew so the 12 is like a 14 for me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your view though Pete.
Richard