I picked up this unit from John "powerzone " as a project,

FS Deluxe Edition( black/gold/white) Speed 3 12M

existing damage, 21 rib tears, most full chord and numerous cross cell limiters roughly 2/cell. translates to 80% gutted! not even sure most would repair it.

this is a huge repair by any scope, i have some pics and will add along... most look like a wad of torn ripstop, but some nice clear shots of typical rib repair.

currently i am at the mid point of the restoration with about 3 hours in it, going at a pace of about 3 ribs an hour. thankfully i did what i believe to be the worst side first. so may speed up the last half.

plus i picked up an Infinity II bar from DAVE(proletariat) which will add to the sweetness of this sublime device.

once i reset for the unfinished side i will start pics . i did not get initial inflation pics as the task at hand immediately sucked me in to work flow.

the kite DOES NOT have slam vents like my pulse2 and psycho4 ..if it had i prolly would not be doing this. looks to be pretty hard loop slams ,,and not the first by seeing old repairs inside.

anyway, definitely has deepened repair skills and process for FS units , not sure how common repairing this scope of catastrophic damage is in kite world...but the knowledge, understanding and experience have been priceless!

Pretty sure repair of that scope is limited to a select few. That's cool taking on such a task. After that you could probably handle about anything. I'm dreading just doing a small repair on a seam on the 8.5 blade that's crossing the pond soon.

i 'm just stoked to getting it finished to fly it....the dreaded start took a while, after the look see on the damage a moment of clarity produced a significant pause in action, but as i set it up for "one hour a day therapy" it painlessly has come together.

...sounds like the damage the one I had had. Sold it to PZ, he repaired it! I'm sticking with regular cloth in smaller sizes...

Good work, brave man! I can't get around to fixing the small tear on my p4 19...

may be very same one Kami, not sure.

i figured the unit had value of about $800-1000 and the repair would have been close $500.

so, i know i would not sell it , and just use it till its gone, maybe 1000hours. if i seal it certainly more. mixing it in with my P4 12m should give me ample FS unit service for solid 2-3years.

sounds like that repair would be way more than 500$ ...21 ribs your kinda butterflying that kite
good luck there Dr Frankenstein

I thought he fixed and sold it last year? Was in bloody good condition... before it exploded. Really crispy material. So nice...

Good luck - would love to see some pictures.

i have some pics and will try to get a good detail "before" of the remaining half that needs restoration.

the work flow sequence is the heady part. adjoin, tape and stitch are the easy fast parts.

the cross cell elements, which require fresh tabbing on the ends to replace pull out shreds, is the "where does these go?" moment in an already distorted orientation. and these German cats are serious with rigid cell control elements and load straps holy cow batman!

i'll try and relate with pics description ASAP

Quote: Originally posted by abkayak

sounds like that repair would be way more than 500$ ...21 ribs your kinda butterflying that kite good luck there Dr Frankenstein

its a guesstimate, never had a kite repair bill, so not sure how they(a professional) would bill for work like this and $80/hr is what i came up with , but more ! really, wow.

for restoration application and subsequent use for me fits perfectly.

and i have not come across a DNR tag yet..... so yes its reanimation is eminent...

ok wrapping up this repair. other half only about 8 profiles , took only 90minutes. so just under 5 hours to repair this unit.

got some pics along the way , kinda blane so i wanted to wait and get fly pics , should have a group of pics in couple days.

definitely satisfying getting it done! Nice looking unit never know it from the outside, few tiny LE points by a valve but one was old adhesive .

stoked for FS !

thanks John for the project!

You have a sewing machine now? You might start competing with the folks in Texas for repair work. If you call it therapy, it's good for everyone. Can't wait to see the results in flight.

Seems like those guys charge about $50 a foot.

hey Bob, this gonna sound funny and i say it like this everytime,

"i bought a sewing machine for $20 from an ashram in savanah" , a few years back and man it has keep alot of kite action in the non stop mod for sometime

fixed alot of tubes, even complex LE repairs , most of these are on aged units...but when its good you want your fav junk ready. surprising how fast tubes can be fixed

the FS repair has been a monster , i have used 50' of 2" ripstop tape, and thats single side and stitch! 2-3ft a profile, 21 ribs! plus tabs for cross members.

gained a lot of experience, technique and process flow with this one.

i did want to clarify its a "repair " not panel replacement "restoration"(really out of the question) but i use restoration as implied for function. still, definitely pro caliber in precise detail fit, finish. plus the machine action is deeply comforting! repairing it(the machine) was just as satisfying!!!

its fun in a "project " form and i really like seeing near garbage returned to full function.

what i could easily pay to be done, somehow, would leave me weak and empty ... this action and understanding, in all its glorious details, pheeds what $ can't buy.

Let us know how does that phenix fly, back from ashes.

will do, couple days, definitely get the bar/lines combo set up and leaf blower look at it as well.

Great thread, Chad. Can't wait to see the results.

I've got a damaged (and repaired) Charger that I can't trust enough to put on the market. The PL folks told me that the design was intolerant of dimensional repair variations outside of a mm or two. I fear that there may be a bunch of nice little white and greet nylon stuff sacks on the market soon.

That Charger and I have some history. I'd really like some closure like a stuff sack made from it would bring!

Chad you've found a way to "be the kite". The therapy of doing the repair and knowledge gained from the process all contribute to the phlow!

slight delay in the action .....had to go kite !

this kite is not from Kami... it is from hawaii which had alot of sun fading and salt as well as the repair. to me it was a total loss so just before i trashed it i remember Phree wanted a project kite. well.... he got one!

good job Phree ! your patience and diligence will pay off

here we go boys and girls


my magic kite box, contains a dismembered FS 12m speed 3 DELUXE EDTION by means of a lethal 22! rib fracturing king size slam! apparently in Hawaii....

and many thanks John, a premium device worthy of proper revival.

whoudini ...on guard....exquisite interest in the device as well

busted guts inverted



cracked ribs( standing profiles)

Gonna be a scraggly PHREE-range kite for sure.

taped


stitch


tab crossmember and stitch


complete rib repair



22 times, some with jacked LE edge joint sections
4 hours 40minutes

set with infinity II bar and lines, inflated with leaf blower...man thats one beauitful kite. feather light ... never know it from the outside! ....session and fly pics just around the corner.

Can't wait. Stuff like this reminds me of how much I don't know.

Wow...amazing job Phree. Can wait to see pics of kite in phlight!

Good work! I'm afraid to tackle a small, simple repair on my Psycho!

That's a great job. Well done. The kite deserves your name on it.
A phreesurfer.

a FS Phreed 3 dlux.....still tuff to understand 21 ribs at once...maybe had some ribs already done in and a secondary crash?
dont those things have blow out vents??? doesnt really matter good work sir!!

thanks guys, it came out great. by selectively rotating this unit with my P4, the balance of the material life its easily gonna be few years, it seems pretty decent life left in the material ... my pulse II is far worse off on material life span. may get a fly today, with pics

Quote: Originally posted by abkayak

a FS Phreed 3 dlux.....still tuff to understand 21 ribs at once...maybe had some ribs already done in and a secondary crash? dont those things have blow out vents??? doesnt really matter good work sir!!

this series did not have slam vents, a weight thing in the DLX case i think. most likely out of range slam...kite speed in 25 knots of wind in LE slam easily could be 40 mph+ when it jams, and with bridle tension, it just helps it propagate instantly in the wink of an eye!

definitely testament to outside skin material integrity at the time of the slam, if the material was truly at the end the outside would look like the inside. and the dlx fabric i think is actually stronger than the regular, material selection in design makes it crack this way.