I was flying my Tensor 4.2 yesterday, and the winds were somewhat spastic. I used the kite killers a few times when gusts came up. Then, when I felt a particularly strong gust pick up, I let go of the bar to activate the kite killers, and the top hat safety deployed without my touching it. Naturally, the kite jettisoned, and began flying away. It was caught at the end of the field...by a tree. With the help of a few buddies, a wrench, some paracord, and a tow line, we managed to get the kite down.

Upon my quick initial inspection, the kite itself was undamaged except for some staining from leaves and whatnot. There were no rips or holes. The bridle looks intact. One break line and one steering line snapped. The left side of the bar is also slightly loose around the connecting ferrule.

So, what now?

Obviously, I need to replace all the lines and not just the snapped ones, since they would have gotten stretched. Are the bridle lines something that will stretch? Is the bar something that needs to be replaced? Has anybody heard of the Prism top hat deploying on its own? Should I contact Prism about what happened?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Quote: Originally posted by Kiznosh

Are the bridle lines something that will stretch? Is the bar something that needs to be replaced? Has anybody heard of the Prism top hat deploying on its own? Should I contact Prism about what happened? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Not sure if the bar end is held on by a combination of epoxy and the aluminum rivet or just the rivet. If the former, the epoxy seal could have separated or the rivet could have deformed inside the bar (really wish manufacturers would switch over to stainless Chicago screws, but I expect that would add to production costs).

You should be able to tell if the bridle has been unequally stretched by hold all 4 of the final cascades and seeing if the kite "hangs" properly. The bridles are sleeved dyneema/spectra and stretch should have been minimal. It's quite possible that the kite being released saved the bridle. You can also measure the individual bridle segments to confirm their lengths with Prism.

The Tophat should not have released on it's over, but it's just held in place by friction. It may have been jostled out of place in the kite bag, unless you checked if it was fully seated as part of your pre-flight check.

Contact Sandy at Prism (206.547.1100) on Monday and she can tell you the best way to proceed. They are in Seattle, so keep PST in mind.

ATB,
Sam

A picture of the damaged bar would help .

If you are a DIY guy then you can order in some Bridle line. Order extra. I usually keep a batch of bridle I got extra with my Blade with me and it has been a game saver a couple of times.

Odds are petty good the matching bridle has not been stretched. If you are tying your own bridle, knots take up a LOT more line than I first realized. Be sure and account for the losses.

Has anybody heard of the Prism top hat deploying on its own?

When I was using the bar on the exact same kite I had mine pop out multiple times.
If you are fighting the wind you probably would not notice you hit it - I watch someone else do this in real time once.
During flight I have notice the kite leash was already disconnected and had to bring the kite down to fix it but who knows how long it was disconnected before I noticed.
So your leash might have been disconnected before you let go of the bar.

FYI - it is much more fun on handles...

Quote: Originally posted by indigo_wolf

The Tophat should not have released on it's over, but it's just held in place by friction. It may have been jostled out of place in the kite bag, unless you checked if it was fully seated as part of your pre-flight check.

I always walk my lines and check my safeties/disconnects before I fly, especially because that tophat always seemed more loose than I'd like.

Thanks for the contact info, I'll give Prism a call probably on Tuesday.

Q - I converted my Tensor from bar to handles last night and noticed the 'top-hat'. Never realized that it was used to 'eject' the kite. What is the workflow to have it engaged?

IE - let go of bar... then kite killer's engage (brake lines) - when is Top Hat supposed to release?

What kind of winds were you flying in? Gusts up to ?

Quote: Originally posted by terraxkite

Q - I converted my Tensor from bar to handles last night and noticed the 'top-hat'. Never realized that it was used to 'eject' the kite. What is the workflow to have it engaged? IE - let go of bar... then kite killer's engage (brake lines) - when is Top Hat supposed to release? What kind of winds were you flying in? Gusts up to ?

If you let go of the bar and you're still getting pulled for some reason, or the kite killers fail to engage somehow, you pull the top hat away from you and it completely jettisons the kite.

I was flying in really sporadic winds. 20mph for five to ten mintues or so, then nothing for five, then back to 20. Gusts of 30-35mph...a bit more than I'm comfortable with when flying static.

Just got done flying my 5 and 4.2. five is on handled and kite killers worked fine on my tests. My brake lines are fairly taught and when I let go brake line or limes are pulled and bring the kite down immediately. My 4 is still on the bar and kite killer worked as advertised. Brake limes on my 4 are anything but taught. They hang down quite a bit but since I plan to convert on next flight I have not bothered adjusting.


Have you tried adjusting them?

Quote: Originally posted by Kiznosh

....Obviously, I need to replace all the lines and not just the snapped ones, since they would have gotten stretched. Are the bridle lines something that will stretch? ....

WOW, I was well powered on a 4m Viper in a buggy in that wind [over 36 KPH on grass], you must have been nuked flying static :o be carefull!!

Stretching is not a bad thing, uneven line length is a bad thing. Kite lines are usually pre stretched so there will have been very little stretching from this event and, unlike climbing rope, a stretch/ shock event does not "destroy" the line. I am a cheap steak and usually resize rather than replace particularly with overpowered breaks [as opposed to abrasion breaks] as these usually occur at the ends. I am going to guess that you snapped both lines on the same side as opposed to a diagonal pattern.
Get yourself a sleeving kit and remake the lineset at a new length, probably less than a meter shorter than the original. If you want to meet up with the locals we would be glad to help you with tips, advice, diagnoses and fixing your kite [like here on the forum but in person] and get you flying again.

that "safety" system looks more like a recipe for kitemares as you have just experienced.

Take the opportunity to get a set of handles if you are flying static or get a decent traction bar set up with a chicken loop.

Quote: Originally posted by Cerebite

WOW, I was well powered on a 4m Viper in a buggy in that wind [over 36 KPH on grass], you must have been nuked flying static :o be carefull!!

I was anything but nuked. The wind wasn't consistent enough to do anything, and I decided I was done fighting to keep the kite in the air when that last gust came up. I was well north of you, though, in Fort Collins, so I doubt we were flying in the same conditions.

Just got off the phone with Brent at Prism. I explained the incident, and he said if I shipped the kite back to them, they'd take care of the repair. I have always had great experiences with Prism's customer service for my stunters, glad to see that hasn't changed!