I have heard so many stories lately about blow outs .

I have never had one and am shocked. My little Profoils whole life has been abuse and I keep expecting a blow out that never happens ?

Both of Chris's blow outs last weekend were not caused by crashes and the winds were only about 25mph. I wasn't riding dunes with the Profoil but ???

I want to hear about what kites are blowing up and why ?

Hmmmm

I thought this would be a good topic.

I thought we might discover some common issues and ways to be proactive . A blow out can really blow a good day at the beach.

I blew my Twister 7.7 out at WW after it crashed leading edge down. Didn't even know it blew a cell out until someone started to give me an assisted launch and was able to look straight down into the cells. From the handles everything looked OK. My blow out was due to operator error. The kites was taped up at WW one night and flys fine.

I've crashed my smaller Flows the same way at even higher speeds but nothings broken yet.

Quote: Originally posted by Bladerunner

Hmmmm I thought this would be a good topic. I thought we might discover some common issues and ways to be proactive . A blow out can really blow a good day at the beach.

Canopy cells tend to be "out of sight/out of mind."

Some kites don't have mesh on the intakes which makes it a bit easier to see what's happening with the innards.

About the most proactive thing you can do is to make sure you don't put your kite away without checking for debris in the cells. This should probably include sand. Any sand that gets into the stitching and is never fully cleared out with just become a permanent wear point.

Coated nylon, sanding and packed kite is a recipe for failure... especially if creases and seams overlap.

Checking for damage after nose plants/crash is also worthwhile. Not all cell ruptures happen in a blaze of glory. Sometimes a nose plant/crash weakens and area of stitching that a subsequent crash blows completely open. "Stitch in time, saves nine" and all that.

ATB,
Sam

I've had a Beamer and a Toxic blow a cell. Neither kite can be held responsible for the damage. Both were inexperienced fliers or at least in conditions that became beyond their abilities.

I've seen my fair share of kites get blown out, even got two on video. Funny thing about getting them both on video was that it was the same guy flying the same kite 6 months apart! You know who you are!:D

In most of the cases that I've seen kites get blown out, hard pack sand, sand and high winds have been the culprit, coupled with operator ummmmm forgetting to let go before LE impact. I always teach people that if they get in trouble and seem to be getting ready to hit any hard objects LE down to let go and let the kite killers work like they should. It may not always save the kite totally, but will usually prevent major damage.

I also believe that leaving sand in the kite is very bad for it, as Sam points out. When ever I am done a beach fly and get home, I unpack the kite turn it upside down, let the sand come to the open cells and shake out as much as I can. With the Twins skins, it is much more difficult. I should try harder to get the sand out of them, but usually put it off till I can see most of it gathered at the corners of the kite.

Brand, I don't think has much to do with blowouts, from what I've seen anyway. I have witnessed, HQ blowouts, PL Blowouts, PL twinskin blow outs, and Ozone blowouts. When it comes to slamming a kite LE down, sand shows no mercy!

Oh, just post the damn video already.... :P

And it was a 1.4 Beamer btw...

I blew a cell on a PKD Buster while I was learning. I got it used so I don't know what kind of life it had before.

My Flexifoil Bullet has had more abuse than any other kite i own though and its still in great condition. No problems with any of my other kites but I don't crash them that often these days. If things go badly wrong I always let go the handles or pop the safety.

I also look after them religously, I always dry them thouroughly if needed and remove any sand or debris.

pilot error...gave my 2.2symphony on a bar to a friend to fly and get the jist of the sport and 20 min. later, i came off the water. he already popped it. no concern and just left...then the next guy i gave it to i told if he could fix it he could have it. so he did. and he is a cautious pilot. now he able to fix HIS errors AND avoid them!

4m PL Core crashed leading edge into the sand just recently at JIBE. Blew out 3 ribs-- torn stem to stern.

I was teaching myself to fly with a strop and harness and it just got away from me. Markite took it home with him and did the repair,... I just got it back and you'd never be able to tell.

I've never blown a kite. I'm either lucky or a skilled pilot. You can guess.

Had a friend blow a cell on a cheap trainer though. Gotta kind of expect that when teaching peeps to fly on off-brand equipment. I gave the kite away on PKF quite a while back. (I'm not so good with a sewing machine.)

I just got 2.5m and 6m Viron's for the kids. I am sure we will see if they can really stand up like the tests show. :bouncing:

Thanks folks,

I am guilty of packing a sandy kite. I wish I had someplace to shake them out at home.

It's starting to be clear that it's not any specific maker or model .

Ive never blown a cell but I sure do get a lot of people that have blown cells