Power Kite Forum

"Red hat" safety on Arcs?

lad - 23-8-2009 at 05:11 PM

Has anyone tried one of these fast, reliable releases on an arc?

Will the top lines drop back far enough to flag, say, a fat Synergy?

Will an arc do something unseemly (flap, spiral) when using this?

Will Auto-Zenith be affected?

I must admit - a leash system is not my cup o' tea. :yawn:

dgkid78 - 23-8-2009 at 05:15 PM

Oh good question as i am intrigued by Arcs and only accustomed to leashless safety

rudeboysaude - 23-8-2009 at 08:10 PM

The Twinskin Bar has a Red hat safety system. There is no "leash" per say.. The chicken loop stays attached to you and becomes a leash. What do you mean?

lad - 23-8-2009 at 08:30 PM

The newest bars? Still looks like a leash on the '07 - even if it does swivel.



The Red Hat on Ozone and HQ foils is also called a "re-ride" system. You can pull it back in w/o losing the bar or CL. My understanding is that releasing the whole bar and flagging w/ 1 line can tangle the lines w/ arcs - at least with the earlier safeties.

Or do I have it all wrong with the latest arc set-ups? (which I can't afford new at this time!) :no:

flexiblade - 23-8-2009 at 08:46 PM

I have an Ozone access that has the red hat safety - it works great for the access but may not work as well for the arcs - when deployed the red hat releases a determined length of line that is halved by a pully - I guess you could make something that could accomidate an arc - but it would require much more work than the leash safety - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KPES8pMZ1o&feature=chann... - , which works beautifully (I have deployed this several times in which it saved my but from a serious lifting and thrashing). The thing with any safety system is practicing with it - over and over again until the motion becomes engrained into your automatic muscle memory.

Yes deploying the leash safety can tangle your lines - but not like letting go of one handle on fixed bridle can (nightmare tangles). Usually a two minute walking of the lines is enough to remedy the problem - which after deploying it is a fraction of the time your heart needs to come out of your throat.

acampbell - 24-8-2009 at 06:21 AM

Of course the ARC's have a leash, and you have one pictured above so that settles that. Yes it completely flags a "fat Synergy" on one line. The Zero 7 and the current twinskin bar are one in the same, and they flag the kite on the rear line of your choice, depending how you set it up. Earlier bars flag the kite on a front line and there is a lot of debate about which is better. FWIW the new Chargers go back to a front-line safety. Most believe that the kite spins and flaps around less on the front line.

Using the red hat is a common way of landing an ARC solo, so yeah, most have tried it.

It has nothing to do with the auto zenith.

I have always been suspect of "leashless safety" systems for a couple of reasons. First, it is possible to become un-hooked when the donkey dong pulls out, and that leaves you holding the bar completely powered up- always a real eye-opener. Second the re-ride system stalls the kite by dumping it on the brakes, but it does not flag the kite out; rather it leaves exposed to the wind like billboard and will drag you in high winds. Ozones have the optional leash to the brakes/ landing handle for this reason and I highly recommend the same for the HQ's. I had a near brown-trouser moment with my Neo one day when landing it and will never again fly it without a leash.

Edit: Oh, and you should always hook the ARC leash to your harness and not the chicken loop as pictured above. That way, when you become un-hooked, you do not lose the entire kite downwind (right Mel?)

BeamerBob - 24-8-2009 at 06:56 AM

Very well said Angus. Mel's issue that day is a problem I had also experienced myself with my '07 bar and looked for a remedy. I found that I could pass my donkey dong through that ring at the top of the chicken loop preventing it from slipping towards the hammerhead on the harness. I haven't had any trouble with it since. I've deployed my safety on arcs a handful of times and sometimes it spins and sometimes it just lays down quietly. I haven't put 2 and 2 together yet to figure out what causes twists and what sets you up for a clean soft landing.

lad - 24-8-2009 at 07:02 AM

I guess I asked this because I have an earlier PL bar and was interested in being able to spin a bar w/o leash tangles and to easily(?) pull back the center-lines after a release.

rdavis - 24-8-2009 at 07:27 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by acampbell
Ozones have the optional leash to the brakes/ landing handle for this reason and I highly recommend the same for the HQ's.


Have any pictures of this setup? I think I understand what you said, but i'd like to see it to be sure. I'm not completely happy with the way the NEO safety works either and am looking for an additional layer of safety. It seems like my NEO will still get a lil powered up after the safety is pulled and lash around too much for my liking. I kind of prefer the way the ARC's fully flag out.

acampbell - 24-8-2009 at 07:47 AM

No pics but is straight forward. One end of leash to the middle of the landing handle and hook through the stake loop to keep it centered there. Other end to your harness.

If after you dump the safety and you still find yourself overpowered (over 16-17 mph with the Neo 11m in my case), then 2 things...
One , use the leash to pull the landing handle into arms reach. Then flag it by hand. Pulling the handle into arms reach by working your way up one of the rear lines will spin the kite until you get there- not good.

Two, dump the chicken loop and unhook altogether and let the leash flag the kite on the brakes

rudeboysaude - 24-8-2009 at 09:17 AM

Gunnar explained the new navigator bar at one time and how it's more of a re-ride system. Apparently the middle power line on the new bar extends up some 8M before it Y's out to the two front lines. This way when you hit the safety the whole bar travels up that line flaggin out the kite. Supposed to cause alot less tangles. You can reel back in the bar and hook it up and launch again.

I always leave the current leash setup as it is. If you clip it to yourself you lose the spinning leash option. If I unhook, I just hook another leash to the metal loop on the chicken loop. It's all personal preference and what you're comfortable with. I still have a PL spinning spreader which is nice to have also. Then you can clip anywhere you want and still rotate tangle free.

I think the new bar will be nice. Usually if I hit the safety, I want the kite down anyway so reride isn't high on my priority list, but it will certainly be a nice option and I'll probably use it more when it's available.

rudeboysaude - 24-8-2009 at 09:27 AM

Here's Gunnar's exact explaination..

From the Depower rope one 3mm Line goes up 8m to a ring. To this ring one front line is attached. The other Front line runs thru the ring to a stopper ball, making a big Y. Attached to this ball is the saftey line which runs down the 3mm line thru the bar and chicken loop to a ring. You leash is attached to said ring.

When you release chicken loop, the bar slides up the saftey leash flagging the kite on one front line.

lad - 5-9-2009 at 12:43 AM

I tried my Ozone bar on my 12m Phantom in lightish-moderate winds. Ran it thru the powerzone and pulled the red hat safety.

It was interesting.

The kite just kinda froze right there in mid air...like suspended animation - Matrix style...as the leading edge slowly folded back a bit. Then the kite slowly drifted down. Once it landed it flopped around in it's patented fish-on-the-dry-dock style. Not too easy to simmer down, but it flops a bit flagged on 1 line as well.

Dunno what it would have done in more serious wind - but it did seem to stop the movement and pull cold.