Hi people, i bought a Peter Lynn 3.0 Impulse, 2 line with control bar. It has a kite killer on the right line.
At the weekend in pretty strong wind my mates girlfriend tried it out, when she panicked she let go of the bar, instead of the kite dropping it went into a violent spin and dragged her for about 50m on her face.
I thought it was very funny, but it did make me question why it happened. Anyone experienced this? Any1 know why?
Heres the video if you want to see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3_TDZUO2QA

You'll need it attached to both brake lines or it acts like it's just turning the kite. Imagine flying the kite on handles, if you pull the right brake line it just spins in circles. That's how I imagine it working. The only thing is i've never flown on a detached bar so not sure how the killers are supposed to work, maybe different?



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woops, i just saw it's a 2 line. not sure how the killers are supposed to work on a 2 line kite... there's no brake!

Its only a 2 line kite though

the kite killer joins the line about half a meter up, hence should fold the kite up when you let go of the bar. didnt happen though??

I will assume it's on a bar ?

It looks like the line the safety is on didn't allow the bar to run up it very fast ?

2 line kites are a pain in the :moon:! That spiral like that should be expected on a low budget kite. Relaunch will be very hit and miss without a set of brakes.

100% depower is a concept and a sales gimmick.

Even with a 4 line kite and Kite Killers ( you have a safety leash on your bar. ) the pull as the kite flaps away can be dangerous.

the KK/leash did pretty much what was expected and put the kite into a hard turn. in that turn the kite is still generating a lot of power (obviously. glad she is OK).
this happened to me 'once' when i 'mistakenly' thought that using only one KK (attatched to the brake line of quad line foil) would work and save time. wrong:Ange09:
question is should a KK/leash be used with 2 line kite to start with? i doubt it.
if leash is attatched to both lines or at dead center of bar, so as not to put kite in a turn, the kite will only stall for a short instant (at initial time of letting go until leash becomes taught). same effect as simply running downwind real quick for a few paces. once you stop running downwind, or when the leash becomes taught, the kite will power right up again.
to best of my thinS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-n a KK is designed to be used with a kite that has "brake lines/system". when operator lets go the KK applies 'BOTH' brakes.
PAUL

Where was the kite killer lead attached to the line? It should be attached to the right or left line up at or above the leader where the line attaches to the leader. If ti is attached near the bar, it will only put the kite into a hard turn, as in the video. If it is attached far enough up one side, it will flag the kite on one wingtip, pretty much killing it.

Using kk on a dual line kite the kite will spin every time. I have not heard of anyone using them on that type kite. I thought they were for a four line kite to attach to the brake lines. I flew dual lines for years before I swiched over to quad lines.

Susan (npw goddess)

just a thought.
the leash 'was' joined about 0.5 meter up (from bar). i wonder if it slid down to bar position?
also i'm guessing 0.5 meters is not enough leash length to flag the kite out (beyond a turn/powered up position). i'd think you'd have to attach it much further away from bar to flag kite out.
*i have a Flexifoil (~10 foot long X ~30") 2 line foil that i turn using fully extended arm added with (turned) torso (like an archer). the pull on the turning line is a lot more than a full meter compared to the other line.
Paul

Wolfee has a Cabrihna (Cabrinha?) two liner and the bar slides merrily up the leashed line when you let go. It sounds like this bar setup / leash attachment might be more like how we set up killers on our handles? I think I've got an old airush bar around here that's all yours if you want it. Then you could set up the kite like the old lei kites so it'd slide up tiwards the kite. You'd have to get a stopper ball I think. Pay the shipping and buy me a coffee for the drive to the post office and it's yours....it is "rollup the rim" season in Canada afterall

Attach the leash to the flying line, above the leader, if necessary, then in cannot slide down towards the handle.

2 lines on a bar the safety should attach to one line below the bar. Letting go allows the bar to run up the one line while the other goes loose and the kite " flags out " just like in the video ? Just like an old C kite safety. It just looks like the bar was just a bit slow running up the line .
Not uncommon and to be expected with a cheaper model of kite.

More expensive kites on a bar are 3 or 4 line and go to the brakes just like on handles and killers. Much safer and easy relaunch !

I can't imagine how/why it would have moved so slow though. The holes in the bar ends are huge aren't hey?

Quote:

Originally posted by Bladerunner 2 lines on a bar the safety should attach to one line below the bar. Letting go allows the bar to run up the one line while the other goes loose and the kite " flags out " just like in the video ? Just like an old C kite safety. It just looks like the bar was just a bit slow running up the line . Not uncommon and to be expected with a cheaper model of kite.

Not on the PL Impulse- just checked the manual on-line. Wish I had one to look at but I carry the HQ stuff in 2-line and it serves me well.

The small amount of detail their manual shows indicates that the leash end slides over the flight line before it is attached to the leader.

After re-reading this I'm off base here. Sorry.

It sounds like the Impulse you are flying came with a single kite killer and a bar ??? That is one odd set-up , even for P.L. ? It sounds like you had it connected right and what I saw is what I would expect going about it that way.
I was stuck on the idea that P.L. would use a safety as I described.

2-line kite with safety? I'd just let go if you think you are in trouble. A kite-killer on a 2-line kite just doesnt sound very safe to me. Kite-Killers on a 4-line kite make a lot more sense to me. A 2-line kite doesnt really have "break" lines. Sorry you had a bad experience.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't using a single kite killer on a two line foil create the same effect as having a line break?

(i.e. your kite spins violently out of control - and crashes to the ground - creating uncontrolled pull - potentially damaging your kite - and tangling the @#$% out of everything!!!)

So as a "Safety" measure...... How is this better than.....oh say......just letting go.

Really!!! This setup seems more like a REALLY MEAN PRACTICAL JOKE by some sadistic kite shop employee, than an actual "safety device" :evil:

Or maybe a Pavlovian "teaching tool" to encourage people not to let the bar go!

The kite killer needs to be pretty far up on the line to allow the kite to flag out and dump some of the power. Note that it is only SOME of the power. It is just about impossible to use any kind of leash or kite killer on a dual line bridled foil to fully depower the kite when activated. The bridles are designed to keep the kite at optimum curvature for flight. There is no way a kite killer can change that so even when activated, half of the kite will still be capable of being powered up, thus causing exactly what was mentioned; the kite going into a death spin while still being somewhat powered up.

I never recommend using any kind of kite killer or leash device on a normal fixed bridle DUAL line foil. It just doesn't work and can cause injury or damage to the kite or both.

Glad that the person wasn't seriously hurt.

Hi All:

Although this thread is old, I thought I would clarify this problem as it was never resolved ( for other new kiters searching the issue): the KK on the right line is designed to run up the line on a ring, as long as the KK has not tangled the flying line, once released it will run REAL fast up the line and completely flag the kite, no death looping involved. This was my trainer many moons ago.

I also think the kite killer line was not far enough up the line to effectively "flag" the kite out...maybe needs a little "extension"...glad she's ok...

The kk needs to be Attached at least 2-3 ft above the bar on Either the left or right line

Seeing as you were flying your kite in an empty field with nobody else around, I'd leave the kite killer at home.
Use your kite killer on a crowded beach or park where people or objects are nearby and downwind of you but in an empty field don't bother.

Letting go of the bar will instantly kill the kite and you won't be jolted forward or face-plough. It will only blow a little downwind before coming to rest gently on the ground. Just be mindful of your downwind objects and leave plenty of room should you let go.