FKA Kiteboarding Forums - Excesssively gusty winds ... ?

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- - Excesssively gusty winds ... ? (http://www.fksa.org/showthread.php?t=1250)

don't trust any chicken loop quick release.
my favorite QR is
LET GO OF THE BAR
GRAB CL WITH BOTH HANDS
YANK THE BEOTCH OFF LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT.
CLQR's are a product of LAWYERS! :idea:
L8r

here you go RickI:

The best quick release rigged BACKWARDS (in death mode).

http://retroboxes.myvnc.com/qr3.jpg

Rigged, doesn't look all that bad.

http://retroboxes.myvnc.com/qr1.jpg

Under load, head of pin gets wedged making it impossible to pull.

http://retroboxes.myvnc.com/qr2.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by bayflite

don't trust any chicken loop quick release.
my favorite QR is
LET GO OF THE BAR
GRAB CL WITH BOTH HANDS
YANK THE BEOTCH OFF LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT.
CLQR's are a product of LAWYERS! :idea:
L8r

I wish it were that easy. Sadly, we often aren't strong enough to just unhook. I remember looking down and trying to unhook my chicken loop that was twisted tight on my harness hook. I also remember about a second of looking down at some trees from about 30 ft. up. I don't remember flying about 80 ft. through the air, smashing through a bunch of seagrapes and slamming into a wooden fence around a house deck. Thanks for small favors although recoverying fully was a HUGE favor!

Catch 22 - QR's can be unreliable, then again so is NOT using a QR.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomstock

Thanks for posting this Tom!

the 2006 cabby QR's seem to be foolproof, You have seen those Rick?

The new best quick release is foolproof also, it has the pin on the side of the chicken loop. The "grenade" swivel bar still has the death trap on it.

I agree with Rick, there is no way, zero, not possible, chance that i could have unhooked, because I tried. I remember briefly reaching down with two hands to feel that chicken loop pulled tight. It felt as solid as steel. No way I could have budged it even a centimeter or lifted my weight (times the amount of force pulling me) with two hands at my crotch.

The only reason pulling only the chicken loop normally works while standing on the beach is because the kite depowers when you pull the chicken loop. If the kite is already fully depowered (bar out) and you are still overpowered enough to be dragged and lofted, you are not going to dump any power by pulling on the chicken loop to unhook. It's already too late... add the factor of hanging from it with all of your weight and/or being dragged face first across the concrete and the chances of success are almost zero.

I would never suggest someone ride without a safety. You say the safety is a product of lawyers. Lawsuits are a product of injuries and fatalities.

Bayflite, bro, you're too cool to be taken out by bar without a QR. Get that thing fixed before mother nature proves you wrong. You can still be right with a QR, but if you're wrong without one you're in trouble.

Quote:

Originally Posted by E-Bone

I am happy to report that I am back to normal after the worst kitemare I have ever had in 5+ years of kiting. I figured out the problem with the kite, as well. My lines were not crossed in the usual manner. What happened is that the left rear bridle got tangled on a scuff guard or something else after I rigged but before I launched. My left rear line was thus effectively 3 to 4 feet shorter than the right rear line. Yeah, that might create some steering problems.

This is a potential hazard with flat kites that can be dealt with by using a little extra caution with the bridle while launching. Caution on my part was in short supply that day, and I got worked as a result. With high or gusty winds, everything changes fast when something goes wrong. The flat kites give and take away. Because they can handle high wind and gusts so well, we will likely be charging more and more high wind and gusty sessions. In doing so, however, we will increase the stakes should something go wrong.

Word on the QR. When I had my problem, I was on the 9m Waroo in 25 to 30. Megapower, especially given that the kite was looping in the middle of the window. After I pulled the chickenloop QR, the kite actually pulled on my SS bungee so hard that it yanked the ring out my Dakine seat harness. Had I not known how to use the QRs on my rig I would have been in deeper shit. It's hard to figure out your gear for the first time when you are busying tunneling into the beach like a mole rat on steroids. I had sand coming out of my ears for days.

Hello E-Bone,

There haven't been a ton of flat kite incidents that I have heard about to date. You think one of your bridle lines caught (and stayed caught?) on one of those neophrene scuff pads on the leading edge of your Waroo? Do you think configuring for a solo launch with the flat kite contributed to this? I solo launch a lot myself. The wind was about 25 to 30 mph or knots?

Did the kite launch and fire across the sky in a rapid arc? Did it then hit and relaunch again or did you hit your QR before the kite struck the ground? Congratulations on reacting quickly and well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigR

the 2006 cabby QR's seem to be foolproof, You have seen those Rick?

Hello Raul,

I probably have a couple of them but have limited time on them. Have you released them under load yet?

I made a suggestion to the industry years back about labeling QR with release tensions and reliability data (related to corrosion and weathering). Nothing like this yet, soon?

its impossible for it not to release under load once the rubber retainer is beyond the loop/ metal hook since there is nothing holding it together at that point.

If you ask me, I think it is almost too easy to release but it has never released accidentaly on me