if you can look on the inside of the kite through the inflate or deflate and see if there is any detachment from the rib or not..... from the pic it looks like it is right above the strap that runs through the kite.

I had a small one like this in one of my arcs. It was right above the strap..... I figured it was from strap wear on the inside???? I checked the inside and there was no separation of the rib seam, the hole was right above the strap.......

I slapped a piece of tear aid on the inside and the outside and called it good...... have had no issues with the repair or the kite......

I think that repair is going to be much easier to deal with than getting that bar going......

hrmmm Interesting thought G00f. You can see the adjuster strap right there under my hand.. I was just not sure if I should take it someplace to have that thread fixed?

The tear as you can see is RIGHT on the sew line, but I am also worried about that thread continuing to undo once I inflate and start stressing the kite..

I recommend you send it to powerzone. He might be able to help with the chicken loop issues too.

He is up in Seattle I think? Does he have a website/email I can contact him thru?

I tried to get a picture but you can't see anything..... tear aid is clear and it just doesn't show up......

tear aid is some tuff stuff...... the repair I did was right on the sew line and was about the same as yours..... I popped a piece of tear aid on both sides..... I added about 2 inches in length to the outside patch to keep the thread from pulling out more......

I have only flown the kite 3 times since I did the patch job..... but it shows no sign of pulling apart..... I am anxious to see how it holds up in the snow.....

another thought..... I don't know how close to John at http://www.powerzonekitesports.com/home/ ..... I hear he does some bang up repair jobs...... I have a kite I have been planning on sending to him for a repair..... I just haven't been in a hurry because I have plenty to fly......

just a thought on the patch job..... tear aid worked for me..... I keep that and a roll of clear rip stop tape in my bag just in case......

One thing that I didn't try that I thought of after I did the patch job..... a couple of drops of http://www.kitebuilder.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/19... before I applied the tear aid just to keep the threads in place......

I just sent a contact form to powerzone. We will see what he says, probably help me with the bar/CL as well..

Hopefully the repair doesn't set you back too much ... would hate to hear you banished to the garage with a ripstop blanket... :P

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Originally posted by Bigbear97e Hopefully the repair doesn't set you back too much ... would hate to hear you banished to the garage with a ripstop blanket... :P

While not up to par with some of you, I could have quite a warm blanket arrangement with all the ripstop in my car trunk now!

for the outer skin the panels overlap each other much in the same way as shingles overlap on a roof (going left and right across the kite), and that overlap is about 10mm and has double sided tape applied to seal the two panels together. The rib is then stitched to the outer skin with a straight line stitch right down the centre of that overlap. From the stitch on the rib there is a about 5mm of material that sticks out beyond that stitch to the edge of the rib material. This bit is not taped down to the outer skin.

When a rib has a pressure tear it often pulls away from the outer skin and it could either leave the stitch in the outer skin and it pulls that small edge of rib material through the stitch (shreds it) or it tears the rib off along the stitch or the rib stays intact and pulls the stitch through from the outer skin resulting in a slit down the middle of the overlap.
The tear often runs along the rib and goes from somewhere within the middle of the rib out to the edge.

There are straps that run lateral inside the kite and in some places they are stitched in place when the rib/webbing strap and outer skin are sewn together. There are other parts of the kite where that strap floats so there is a gap where the rib is not sewn to the outer skin. The rib is stitched to outer skin along the length but a small gap the width of the webbing allows the strap to move. There is a stitch that still runs along the outer skin where that rib leaves a gap and there is a small reinforcing dacron d.s. taped and also held in with the stitching above and below that gap to strengthen and take abrasion.

It looks like you have a small wear from a floating strap and as noted you could simply put a small piece of repair tape and a small dacron patch for strength. Because it has split the overlap you could put a small stitch around it but you don't want a lot of extra stitching because it also perforates nylon and you there is a point where it strengthens and a point where it weakens. Certainly taping adds strength and air tight.

Because kites incorporate double sided tape in construction there is always going to be small amounts of sand or dirt that stick to exposed sticky edges as soon as you lay out a new kite and use it and some types of seams also tend to hold small bits of sand trapped so white seams or hems will look dirty with very little use.

Powerzone is good and should be able to take care of you. It's a fairly small thing but always good to catch before it gets bigger.

Thanks Mark!

Yeah I have to say this kite is crisp and sharp overall. It is used, but not abused by any means.. The seams look pretty good and I have a feeling he mostly used it on snow? (He is in UT) Zippers worked ok, a hair stiff, but all functioned fine.

The wind was gusting once I got it laid out and I SOOOO want to fill and launch her, but the tear, odd bar set-up and more importantly overhead High tension power distribution lines made me think better and call it a day..

Thanks to all that recommended John @ powerkite sports. I just got off the phone with him and we are going to hook up to get it repaired. Very nice guy, easy to talk/work with..

Got a reply from the seller. he insists there was no tear or dmg when he shipped it, said he woudl file a ups claim if I wanted. Problem is I know there is no way UPS caused the damage. Inside a fully rolled up kite, inside a heavy bag, inside an undamaged box... And the package was only insured for $100, base repair is $40 and looking at it closely tonight it looks like there may be a internal rib involved which shoots the labor time up.. Pretty sure if they pay the $100 they get to keep the contents of the package..? Not willing to take that trade-off :-p That said the seller has said to let him know what the repair cost comes to, he is not running away from it or giving me a cold shoulder..

For the loop he thought I knew what an older windwing bar meant. Bad assumption on both our parts, but he gave me a brief overview and basically it works much the same as a strop. You just loop the rope under the hook and off you go. I will write up more in my chicken loop thread since it has bearing on that conversation...

The location and size of that split would be hard to see unless looking over the entire kite carefully and pulling spreading material - I can see it being easily missed. Sounds like you both have a good communication going. If you had experience it's a small fix,more of a hassle for you in cost to ship plus the work involved. Even with the cost of repair it's a good price on the kite and maybe he'll split the cost with you? The bar ahhh I guess, I've seen a lot of thrown together pieces of crap just for the sake of including a bar and maybe some sellers aren't even aware that they are selling crap just passing along something that frustrated them. Not saying it's crap, sounds like it'll work but personally I'd make a few changes.
But keep it all on the positive side, everything just adds to your learning one way or another.

Mark - very true

Yeah looking at the pict he took of it inflated it might have been hidden in a crease.. The hangin thread is what drew my eye when I layed the kite out uninflated. I usually do a full check if I am selling or buying something so I can make sure a listing is accurate.

This bar is not great, but G00f sent me out a proper CL and line today, once it lands I will rebuild and clean things up. Bar is nothing fancy, but it will work to get started!

Ohh it is all about learning!! Very glad you guys are all so patient with my non-stop questions!!

CL is on its way USPS priority mail.....

Quote:

Originally posted by g00fba11 CL is on its way USPS priority mail.....

I approve of this message!:wee::roll:

I still have not gotten a chance to fly this badboy.. The New Kite curse is in FULL effect!
:eekdrull:

Me thinks a trip to the bean and broccoli bar followed by a toe-side launch should take care of that curse...

:moon: