So, the remains of Tropical Storm Fay have hit North Carolina today with some nice winds (as nice as inland winds can get). I decided to go out and fly my Lovely Beamer 3.6m in the nice winds. Picked the wrong spot in harddrive8's front yard to fly and put my baby in a $#%$% tree, then it started to rain. After cutting the limb out of the tree I was able to get my baby back. Took it in the garage and found 2 rips in her belly. Both are on the seam, and setting here with my soaking wet kite I have just found another smaller rip on the backside.


Will Duct Tape work for the repairs with them being on the seam ? If not, what do I need to do to get her back in the air ? Or better yet, what is the repair kit I have heard about called (probally something that is going to make me feel like an idiot for asking)?


Back to inspecting and crying. I will try to get some photos to put up so you lads can see what I am trying to fix if that will help.


Thanks,
Shannon

This is from left field, this suggestion of mine, but you could try something called micropore by 3m. It's a first aid tape, very thin and quite sticky when applied to something clean and dry, won't work if the kite is salty from ocean water. It has worked one of my kites, much better than I would have thought, otherwise i wouldn't suggest it! But if it would work at all on the seam, the rip would have to be small and you would have to use lots of 3-4 inch long pieces to make the repair strong enough.

Not as strong as duct tape, but it's white and thin and very light. It needs to be layered and applied across the rip on both sides, just one piece won't work.

If it's a big long rip and the seam is blown, this won't work...

sail tape for fixing spinnakers would be much stronger, but it can be heavier than duct tape.

try also these threads, esp. if your rips are big and bad...

http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=6112&pa...

and

http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=3750&pa...

those posts, have some good information.

i've suggested in the past: KiteFix or Ripstop Repair Tape or that Mylar stuff from 3M if you can find it. i prefer Ripstop Repair Tape since you can get them in assortment of colours to match the colour of you kite. if worse case you cant find anything, i can send you strip of clear ripstop repair tape when I send Harddrive the demo kite.

also i've found this shop, i believe its near you.
http://windtoysfun.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&p...

if it needs to be resewn, i suggest contacting a kiteboard or sailmaker shop that can suggest a good place for repairs. kiteboarders destory their LE / Sails from time to time. no offense. =)

lastly, what are you doing flying in the front yard? is harddrives front yard that big?

We have ripstop repair tape in multiple colors, tedlar tape and clear mylar tape that will get your sail back in the air. The tape is good for smaller rips usually less than 6 inches long, works best if the rip is not along a seam. If you rip is larger than that your best bet is to have the sail repaired by a professional shop. Not sure if I can post links to other shops here so pm me and I can get you the name of the shop that we use for serious repairs. Even shipping the kite off it will be much less than replacing the entire kite....unless your looking for a good excuse to get a new kite anyways.

My front yard is probably 2-3 acres total and we live in a ranch style house. The wind was actually blowing parallel to the house. We normally fly either in our side yard or in the field behind the house (~30-40 acres of land with just high grass). I wasn't looking at his kite as the event unfolded as I was flying my new Beamer 1.4 in the side yard. Our yard (especially back yard/field) is pretty nice for flying when the winds are blowing the right direction.

As for the rips I saw after it came out of the tree, the biggest one was probably about 6" long and the smaller one on the belly was probably 4" long.

Here are some pics of the rips.

2 rips side by side on the belly



this one is on the back



Not really crying or complaining to much as it was all my fault and there is only 3 of them instead of what I pictured finding in my head.

Here is a repair shop that a lot of US distributers and dealers use for warranty work...
Windfire Designs
Tim Elverston
1319 NW 7th Ave.
Gainesville, FL 32603
Email: tim@windfiredesigns.com
Tel. 352-219-4269

Sandman, now that everybody is getting the patient hooked up. It's time to hook you up . WHAT THE HELL WERE YA THINKIN? ( that tree isn't as close as I think ,) We have just spent a week talking about LOCATION ! LOCATION! LOCATION! anybodys front yard isn't the place. All we need now is some kid to get lacerated to the jugular. We as responsible kiters ,GOTTA start policing ourselves, or they(established authorities) are gonna police us out of their way! Sorry bro' but it had to be said. peace.

still friends, WG

Dude I had that dilemma with my Montana tiny little tears and a 2 along the seam when i got it caught in a bush....was looking everywhere for ripstop Nylon tape....finally went to walmart went into the camping section and found this clear adhesive tape to repair tents, rain coats even normal clothes like jeans and stuff, super strong. it's been 4 months and have had no issues at all with it peeling or anything. funny thing is it cost like $1.99 I wish i could remember the exact name. All i remember was like "K Tape" or something along those lines. small rectangular box. M actually heading over to get dogfood if i see it. i will let ya know

Quote:

Originally posted by WELDNGOD Sandman, now that everybody is getting the patient hooked up. It's time to hook you up . WHAT THE HELL WERE YA THINKIN? ( that tree isn't as close as I think ,) We have just spent a week talking about LOCATION ! LOCATION! LOCATION! anybodys front yard isn't the place. All we need now is some kid to get lacerated to the jugular. We as responsible kiters ,GOTTA start policing ourselves, or they(established authorities) are gonna police us out of their way! Sorry bro' but it had to be said. peace. still friends, WG

Actually this is what I was thinking the whole time. Dont feel bad for saying the truth, you only said what I said to myself over and over last night.
And yes, still friends.


Also thanks everyone for the help and advice.

Shannon

Thanks everyone for the replies. I went to Walmart the other night night and found the tent repair tape dgkid78 mentioned. Took the beamer out Monday and she flew in about 5-6mph winds. Hope to get some stronger winds to test her soon to see how she holds up in the higher winds.


This is not a permanent fix, just something cheap to hold me over till I can make up my mind whether or not I want to spend my money and a bigger kite or on a replacement 3m.


Either way the beamer will be kept and will still be my go to kite. She was my first and my favorite.