Harness Spreader bars?

Quote:

Originally posted by soliver pretty sure my budget won't allow for the wichard and QR. Would it work to just get a standard bar and use it with a strop then later add the wichard set up later as budget allows? Also then having the ability to use it with depower when the time comes? Can someone post a pic of their wichard on the standard bar set up so I can see?... I saw the post where PTW showed his made after BigKid's plans, but I haven't seen one hooked to the standard bar's hook.

No photo but I can try and describe and remember to take a picture tomorrow. Mine is now on a bullet bar with the pulley removed but I ran it on a standard hook bar for quite a while. I use a c. 1.5" "U" shackle from your favorite Home Project Warehouse [the kind with a crossbar that screws in] and then a small "breakaway" link [like a miniature locking carabeener] from the same section of the hardware store to keep the "U" bolt from slipping off of the hook.
I have loved the Winchard QR and Holt pulley setup but similar to you tried the cheaper options first. I tried the cheaper QR's with the sliding pin & hole rather than the bale & post style but had issues with the pin sticking and the strop hanging up on the mechanism :wow: A cheaper option for the pulley is a climbing one but they do not secure to the strop so it goes flying [and gets lost in the grass/ sand] when you pull your QR.
Following the discussion a couple of months ago regarding "dead man" rigs to pull your QR if the kite gets behind you or starts to llift you out of your bug I made one as well which I have been quite happy with including a long week of Gonzo flying on Red Lake and Ivanpah. I put a c. 1" long loop on the Winchard release which I can put a 'beener through. The 'beener is attached to a "calibrated" length of webbing that is attached to the tail of the downtube. The webbing has a loop on each end which allow you to adjust its length.

There is another option and that it to not use any spreader bar.
Below is a picture of the setup I use in the buggy (its a libre harness, but the PL harness will work the same).
There is an 8mm stainless steel triangle rings on each side strap. I can either attach a pulley and quick release to the loops or run the chicken loop of my depowers through the loops. Best of both worlds and a fraction of the price.


Ignore the blue strap. That's the leg loops from a climbing harness that I added for comfort.

this is the setup that Libre sells, and is close to the same set up I have.

and this part has a ball to pull, I replaced the ball with the strap to the buggy down tube under my butt.
I also turned the snap shackle around and it stays with the spreader bar, which lets go of the pulley/strop/kite.

Thanks for the laugh.

Will you have a bar and a QR system available for less than $100 at SOBB?? Or sooner?!

I'm on just a regular pivoting hook right now and need to upgrade. I feel like the system that you, Jeff, have in place is just as safe (or safer even) as having a regular hook or wheel. Once you're getting yanked out of the buggy, there's no way in hell you're gonna unhook with a standard bar. All you can really do is grab a brake line or yank on one handle and hope the kite dives to the ground and actually stays there without powering back up and taking you on another ride. I see myself easily grabbing a ball and pulling to unhook. I'll shoot you a U2U.

Quote:

Originally posted by TEDWESLEY While the Wichard release is the best. It is forged stainless steel, bullet proof, and worth the $90.00 price tag,there is another option for the strop. The people who skijor on crosscountry skis pulled by sled dogs have the same quick release problem that we do. they have a release that is $10.00 , is reliable and easy to use. It is made from plated steel and thus needs some care to avoid corrosion. Look at a company such as Nooksak Racing or other mushing supplier.

If you are talking about something like this:



or



They are called panic snaps.... they are used with dogs and horses.

Can be found made of plated steel, stainless steel, nickel or brass.

Be extremely cautious as even if they look the same, some have ridiculously low break strengths. This is especially true of many of the offerings on eBay.

For beach applications, fouling from sand might also be an issue.


ATB,
Sam

Jeff, are you making friends again? Please stop issuing knowledge, experience and truth with absolutely no filter. It scares the timid and aggravates the contentious.

Prussik, welcome to PKF.

So, I've done a couple different QR solutions on handles, and both worked as well as one could hope for. I'm a huge fan of the approach that you never know what's going to go wrong, so plan for a total #@%$#!storm and then be pleasantly surprised when you don't have to use it. I was flying all FB's on a wicked-tight budget, so I went down to the hardware store and picked up one of these release shackles (for dogs, I believe).





Later that year, I splurged on a ronstan orbit QR block ($50) and put together the 2nd one. It was perfect but I should've tied a better monkey fist in that one. I missed the release once and had to go scrabbling around for it while filling my lower teeth with dirt and grass. Again, my bad, not the QR mechanism I "designed."



and another:

Quote: Originally posted by actd

Hi Just resurrecting this - I was looking at the various options for quick release, and heading towards the wichard (why is it so expensive compared to a snap shackle) when I had a thought that perhaps the quick release could be incorporated into the strop itself at one end, and came up with this: quick release sheet bend - ignore the first part, you want about 2 minutes in, and obviously, instead of leaving a loose end, it would have a ball to grab on to. It struck me that the release is much closer to hand as the release ball would be always close to the handle. Is there a flaw in my logic?

Wichard gear is produced to very high, border on insane, standards.

If you have a West Marine or similar nearby, go in and handle some of the stuff. It will be hard to keep the phrase "bulletproof" out of you head.

Depend on the slickness of the rope material you are using the chances of the QR sheet bend "walking"/working itself free as the direction of pull constantly changes during a session increases.

Release tension will also tend to vary based on weather/water/snow/ice.

In addition to quality, the high price of a Wichard shackle or other gear also buys more than a little peace of mind.

ATB,
Sam

Quote: Originally posted by actd

Thanks - always good to have a decent explanation of what seems like a good idea actually isn't. So, assuming I go for the wichard, is there a reason why not to have it at one end of the strop rather than on the harness - that still seems like the most logical place?

If you are using a pulley spreader bar, repeated impact of the shackle against the nylon wheel will damage it.

The shackle slapping against your hand/wrist will get annoying. Any contact with the shackle and control handles will wear on the neoprene/EVA coating.

When the "safety" is deployed the shackle will travel downwind with the handles with the uncoated metal possibly striking a civilian/bystander.

ATB,
Sam