Today my Beamer 1.8 went into a spin from hell! 20 -30 MPH winds -gusty. It was at the edge of the window and the front of the kite folded on itself.
When it repowered it caused the kite to be backwards and then went into a spin that would not stop. The brake lines were useless due to the tension on
the lines and I could do nothing but watch my kite spin faster and faster out of control. I tried to pull on both lines to steer it into the ground
but it was useless. Occasionally it would stop just long enough to power straight up in the middle of the wind window[where else!] and dart
uncontrolled back and forth. Irionically, my safety system of kite killers were now keeping me from detaching from the kite! I watched as my twisted
lines kept creeping closer to my handles and I did not know what would happen when they met the handles- does anyone know what fate I would have met
if I let the twists complete there journey to the handles?
So there I was; with a kite from hell and no way to stop it from flying. Luckily there were lifeguard chairs on the beach. I managed to drag the
spinning kite to the side of the chair and let it slam into the chair to stop the spin. I was so exhausted from the 3 or 4 minute fighting that I was
willing to destroy the kite just to be out of the situation. It worked with no damage!
I just spent the past 1.5 hours untangling my lines in my driveway!
My questions are: What can you do in this situation? What did I do wrong? I had no steering and no brake line control!
Thank God it was only a 1.8!! If it had been a 3 or up I would have dragged into the 43 degree ocean! :wow:ratindahat - 19-4-2007 at 09:58 AM
I'm not sure about recovering from the spin, but i know my kite killers have a nifty red tab to grab that makes it easy to unvelcro them. Barring that
you can keep a knife on you and cut the killers or lines if need be.
Those are just my ideas, but that doesn't mean they are the only or best.
-Dusty-awindofchange - 19-4-2007 at 01:03 PM
Ahhh...the uncontrollable spin. This is very difficult to recover from. This is more common on very small foils (2.5 meter and smaller) than with
the larger foils. The other thing that makes this more common with the smaller foils is that smaller foils are much faster in the air than larger
ones and are usually much more twitchy.
What happens is that the kite collapses on one side----or you have your brake line pulled on one side and the kite begins to spin. The smaller kite
spins super fast making it difficult to pull out of the spin. What complicates this is that you are usually flying in super strong (or gusty) winds
and when the kite does spin the lines are under extreme tension and will have a lot of friction which makes it even harder to get the kite back under
control. After about 6-7 spins (which takes only a matter of seconds in strong winds) the lines start to lock and you lose all control. The kite
goes into a "death spin" which is exactly what was explained in the original post.
The only way to keep this from happening is to be aware of what will happen right when it does happen. As soon as you see the kite go into the death
spin pull your brake lines as hard as possible and don't let them back out. This will eventually stall the kite out and it will eventually land on
the ground (usually with many twists that will take some time to undo). As the kite spins the brake lines will eventually tension. If the kite locks
and does not come out of the spin you can either wait till it spins itself right up to the bridles which will eventually collapse the kite and pull it
out of the air or let the kite go.
Another option if you have the room is to run towards the kite FAST while pulling the brake lines. As you stay put and fight the kite, you continue
to keep strong tension on the lines, by running forward you can lessen the tension and hopefully get the kite to drop on the ground or pull enough
brake into the kite to kill it.
The only precaution you can take to help avoid this situation is to purchase high quality spectra lines that are more slippery than most factory
supplied lines and to have more experience in your flying to keep this from happening. Being more aware of the situation will also help you avoid it
in the first place or allow you to kill the kite before the lines lock up solid. Even 100% spectra lines will eventually lock if you have enough
twists in them.
Be safe when you fly and be very aware of your surroundings and who is in your flying area. Keep everyone at a very safe distance when flying in the
stronger gustier winds and always know where you can put the kite or where you can go if you need to. Remember to use your safety systems (kite
killer releases, safety releases, etc...) There really isn't a sure fire way to keep this from happening other than to have enough control and
experience so that it doesn't happen in the first place. Remember the smaller kites in strong winds are fast and explosive, be ready for them.
Hope this helps.beachrights - 19-4-2007 at 08:31 PM
The only reason I did not completely release via undoing the killers was the 43 degree ocean that was 20 feet behind my kite! But trust me, I was
getting close! My lines are spectra with about 20 sessions on them so I had that right. The problem was really a fluke, the winds are finally coming
down from the 40 mph+ that have been here on the east coast for the past week and the clouds were breaking. This led to unstable very gusty
conditions. I thought about not flying but I have been grounded by rain for 8 days! I thought about the running forward theory as I was driving to
work today. If it ever happens again I guess I will have to put it to the test! I had also thought about having a knife handy for the past couple of
sessions but did not act on it- I guess the kite gods were trying to tell me something!:evil: Thanks for your thoughtsTigger - 19-4-2007 at 10:54 PM
Quote:
Irionically, my safety system of kite killers were now keeping me from detaching from the kite!
I read the Lama's post informing newbies about those "Kite Killers" sounds like this is a text book example.
I can understand the possibility of using a kite killer system on one wrist because you can let go of the killer side and the tangle will be nominal.
If push comes to shove, let go of the other handle and the tangle will be worse. In the event the end of the world is about to happen.
Cut it loose and hope for the best.Taper123 - 20-4-2007 at 06:24 AM
I have a kite that used to do that now and then. Of all things... it was a New Tech 3.6 I took a close look and saw that I had split a rib. I
took the kite a apart and fixed it... and now it works perfect again.
It would only do the spin in high winds... now it flys just like it's supposed to. Was my first kite to get, and it took LOTS of abuse from me
while I learned. Then it took a beating from my son, and then from my wife... But after enough crashes into the ground, water, and the one time I
managed to get it into a the kite eating tree... guess that's a testimony of just how tough some kites really are... to put up with all of that
and only split a rib.beachrights - 20-4-2007 at 03:48 PM
I like your idea about only using 1 killer. I have never had to use them in a panic or out of control situation in 2 years but this death spin really
made me rethink my systems. I know I dont have any broken ribs because I did a through kite inspection after the windmill show! It was a freaky wind
at the edge of the window and it went to hell from there.
