Hi All, I'm new to Power Kites, I'm new to this forum and I'm an idiot.

I purchased a PKD Buster Soulfly and made the mistake of disconecting the birdles. I am now not sure what to connect to what

I have the colour coded lines but there are many white lines and I dont know how to identify the White Break Lines and the White lines that should be connected to the power lines (or how to connect them)?? :megan:

Thanks in advance to anyone that can help.

Regards

Sandy

Hi Sandy, and welcome!

The bridles on a 4 line power kite are in two groups. The top, Power lines and the bottom Brake lines.

Just tug on one of the left side bridle attachment knots - if the top side of the kite moves, it's the left, top Power bridle (and whose line attaches, correspondingly, to the TOP leader line on your LEFT handle). The handle's Power lines are often thicker than the brake lines. The left Power line is often RED colored (or have a red tag or marking). The right Power lines are sometimes Blue or neutral.

Following this, tug some more bridle lines, if the bottom part moves, the Brake lines go there and attach to the bottom leaders of your handles.



Courtesy of Anguses' excellent tutorials at Coastal Wind Sports

You use the "LarS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s Head Knot" to attach lines:


I can still mix up my line attachments after I take them off when untangling or untwisting bridles, so don't feel bad.'

The biggest tip I can give any new, power kiter:
Your skill levels will jump like 200% when you get to the beach (or anyplace else that has a clean, steady, ground-to-sky wind).

I was struggling between 3 different kites yesterday in an inland, tree-lined field nearby where the wind kept dying or shifting all day. Believe me, I pretty much felt like a "newbie idiot" ALL day!:singing:

I think he is saying that he removed the bridle lines
In which case I won't be to much help I have never seen one of those kites

Welcome Sandy, now why would you disconnect perfectly good bridle lines?????? From the canopy or from the bundle where it joins the leaders?

I can send you a pic to help sort this out

Sandy said
"I dont know how to identify the White Break Lines and the White lines that should be connected to the power lines "

I dont' think (or hope) Sandy managed to remove all the bridle attachment points from the kite itself!!! (you'd probably need something SHARP for that, wouldn't you?) :-)

thanks for your comments so far guys,

you are correct in the fact that i have disconected the bridles form the point where i connect it to the lines, not from the kite itself.

Where i have messed up is that i disconected the lines from each other, as in they all come to 4 points (L/R Power and L/R Break) now i have about 10 lines not tied to anything and i'm not sure what ones go where?

Again thanks so far.

you would have to take apart the bridle

ok I got out my 3.3 buster

WELDNGOD - I did say i was an idiot lol!

your brakes are the ones at the trailing edge of the canopy,it should have it's own white leader

so they just come to a white leader, is it the one that doesnt have the loop on the end, it just has not?

all the others just larkshead to pigtail(knot at one end loop at the other) Put all the lines from one side of the sail through the loop on the pigtail. then put the knotted end through the loops of the lines,pull tight. Try to get both sides layed out evenly and not twisted or it will affect canopy shape.

Quote:

Originally posted by sandy-m2 so they just come to a white leader, is it the one that doesnt have the loop on the end, it just has not?

yes, that should be the two that are attached to the bottom of the kite

What a nice guy, Don. You have patience.

here is a pic of the bundle

Quote:

Originally posted by Scudley What a nice guy, Don. You have patience.

:saint: I'm tryin...

WELDNGOD you are an absolute star! but.... I'm still not sure, I've done one side and i think i have it but just want to check.

There are 8 points that go to the break lines, 4 on each side, and they are the 8 in the middle on the bottom edge - if we just look at the right side, these join together and then join to the break line.

I really apreciate everyones patience with the stupid scottish guy!

no do not join to brake line

I used to disconnect my lines every time I was finished flying.
I found disconnecting and wrapping the lines in a figure 8 pattern was actually quicker than wrapping the handles.
You just have less tangles/headaches when you unwrap

ok 2 seconds i'm just uploading a diagram....

this is a 4 line kite 2 power leads(1 left and 1 right) and 2 brake leads(1 left and 1 right). the brakes should be fine already,you just need to get the powers back together.

ok i think i have it, WELDNGOD thank you very much, i'm going to go do the other side and then pack it up ready for the beach this weekend.

THANKS!!!

THIS is why I love PKF! New and seasoned kiters, help is here without bias. You da man WG

Wait Wait, just looked at the left side and got myself confused again! - How many points on the kite go to the break line white leader?

quite a few

half of all the lines on the trailing edge

all the trailing lines are brakes ,the ones on the left half ,go to the left brake leader and the same thing on the right. All the other ones are power line Bridles

ok, thats awesome. i'll get it sorted! :bisou::bouncy:

I spent 2 hours untangling a pkd buster last night. My son packed it and one of the power bridles was a huge knot and the other just had a few twists. The bridle lines are soft and flexible so they find tangles easily. Also they are all white so its difficult to figure what needs to pass through the knot to make progress. It's the worst bridle tangle I've ever dealt with. I was actually fearing defeat and was looking to see how the bridles attached to the kite for a "plan B" bridle replacement. Victory in the end though!

WG, good job getting the OP out of his mess. Welcome to the forum Sandy! Remember, there are 2 kinds of idiots: The ones that know it and the ones that don't. The ones that don't know it are the dangerous ones. In the end, you know MUCH more about how a kite works than you would've if you hadn't made your mistake.