close call

Denis · Post by **Denis** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 12:56 pm

Reading the wind speed this morning at 13mph in Minneapolis, I decided to head to Calhoun for a quick pre-work session with my 8.0 North Husky Foil. While setting up on the lake, I felt that the wind was pretty strong, but I trusted my skills to hold the kite down.

I launched, and was immediately overpowered. I tried to slow down to get the kite out of the window, but that only ended up boosting me in the air. I landed and tried to stop. My kite disagreed and I couldn't argue. I got dragged downwind really fast. Seeing the shoreline coming at me I decided to bail on the kite. I pushed the red knob. Nothing happened. Oh S**t! The safety eject was stuck.

Yeah, that one! I hate North's "Push-Release" system.

I kept pushing with all my might but I only had one hand. I was getting launched every 2-3 seconds, so I needed my other one on the bar to control the kite while airborne.

Finally the wind calmed down and I was able to sit. I kept trying to push on the safety but it wouldn't move. Then I watched in horror as my kite drifted back in the window. I knew that this lull was just a prelude to a gust. Suddenly, Boom! I get launched into hyperspace. Eject system still stuck and I am 15 feet in the air heading for the trees. In a desperate act, I reached for my kite leash and pulled for all I was worth. It depowered the kite enough so that I landed short of the shore. I kept yanking until the kite landed. I lost one of my gloves in the rush, so I tried pushing the eject with my bare hand. This time it went. I held on to the leash with a sigh of relief. Finally, I reeled the kite in by pulling on one side of the lines.

First thing to blame is my over-confidence. Note to stupid self: Always err on the safe side and there's a knife in the harness, remember? But, I was also lucky not to be injured after the Husky's eject failed. I love the flying characteristics of that kite, but the safety system needs serious work. I had to bail on my Ozone Frenzy once last year, and the pull pin obeyed right away.

Be safe out there. Rig small.
Denis

Tom L · Post by **Tom L** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 1:16 pm

Denis,

I am wondering if you know why the release failed?? I use a similar home made system http://www.loweprofile.com/images/qr/QuickRelease03.jpg which works flawlessly, under load. I use it everytime I kite because with a Fysurfer kite you pull the release when you want to land the kite.

Also I have noticed that the poly tubes used on chicken loops can get stuck in Wichard or a harness hook, that's why I use a stainless ring.

I would test that North system till I was 100% satisfied that it is going to work when needed. Especially when kiting at Calhoun, things can go bad there in a hurry, with lot's of obstacles waiting for you when you hit the shore.

Glad you came through it safely.

Tighe · Post by **Tighe** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 1:34 pm

so glad you weren't hurt Denis. Great incident report.

Many of us will never use our QR, though knowing it will the one time you need it is worth its weight in gold. TEST YOUR SYSTEM!. I've been preaching about the virtures of all the new safety systems, but even with all these innovations, one from a leading manufacturer almost made a ragdoll out of one of us.

While you may be shrugging this off questioning why Denis went out in the first place, but the same thing could happen with a sudden change in the weather.

Most of the safety systems out there are manually operated. The initial goal was to make a "dead man" system that would deploy even if you were unconcious. Not sure if there is even one of these on the market anymore. Good idea though. If the first injury doesn't kill you, getting dragged unconcious most likely will.

Sounds like you kept your head on your shoulders Denis and did the right things. Again, I'm glad you're ok.

Denis · Post by **Denis** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 1:43 pm

Hey Tom.

I heard about the safety release like the one you made and it seems that it works pretty well. I think that my Husky's safety failed for 2 reasons: The sliding red knob was too tight and lack of friction between my glove and the knob. That's why it went when I used my bare hands.

I also noticed that the hole in the center of the sliding knob is not symmetrical. I might have put the pin in wrong. I remember playing with the safety system trying to find the orientation that will cause the least friction in an emergency. Obviously that wasn't enough.

The center pin isn't smooth either. It has one bump that increases the friction. My best guess is that it was intended to avoid unintentional releases, but it causes too much fiction. Your smooth pin should be better for a release.

To Tighe's point, I think that I should've used a smaller kite in the first place. Especially on Calhoun.

Denis

Eric S · Post by **Eric S** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 2:01 pm

Glad you're OK Dennis. I noticed the sticky release when I tested the kite a few weeks ago. From Gear Reviews:

"Trim Loop:

It's ok. I noticed when activating it under a slight load it took quite a push away from your body to make it pop. even then, it didn't fly away. In the cold it seems that the plastic loop and finger are stiff enough to keep you connected. I would guess under heavy load this wouldn't be a problem but I would also imagine that the plunger would be even harder to push away from you. On the plus side, it's far easier to put back together in the field then the 03 Frenzy system which is a PITA. (comes apart great, goes together like crap)"

I guess I'd rather have one that comes apart great rather than having one that's easy to put back together in the field. I noticed the 04 frenzies have made the loops easier to put back together in the field.

I was trying to imagine what I would have done caught in the same situation. That was some high pucker factor.

BSMITH · Post by **BSMITH** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 2:13 pm

Hey! Don't you know it's illegal to kite on Calhoun! I guess I'm just the ticket king.

foxx0171 · Post by **foxx0171** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 2:29 pm

Glad to hear that you are ok Denis...those kind of close calls always make you question "why did I rig this size anyhow?" After a couple similar close calls (I've used my release twice, both when rigging to large of a kite for the wind) I've come to the conclusion that if you have ANY doubt, rig smaller. You can always rig a bigger kite - it only takes a minute. Don't try to rush rigging and hurry - this can sometimes cause you to compromise safety.

Interestingly, I have the 03 North Bar for my inflatables with a similar push release system. Problem with that one is that it often comes out when you don't want it to (as Denis has experienced many times)...does anyone know if this new North design was supposed to be an improvement over the 03 design? Maybe next year they will get it right.

Sometimes "technical improvements" are not really improvements at all.

Mike W · Post by **Mike W** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 2:35 pm

Glad you are still with us, Denis. I learned last fall to err on the side of a smaller kite in windy/gusty conditions. I went out this morning at WBL on my 9m inflatable-- I thought about the 12m, but decided to go smaller. Boy, was that the right call.

Tighe will remember a near miss I had last fall in the water when I went out with a 12m in strong onshore conditions. I was getting pulled so hard I could not hold an edge to get away from the beach. As I was pulled toward shore, I decided to let the safety go-- it got stuck! So now I am being pulled toward shore with no bar in my hand. Thank God Tighe was able to run over and grab my kite before in went in the trees. Two lessons learned from this incident. (1) Err on the side of the smaller kite if you are not sure. (2) Use a reliable, tested safety system with a backup if possible. The new spinning chicken loops from Airush have a very nice safety. A shackle can be used to back it up.

Tighe · Post by **Tighe** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 2:37 pm

my point was, yes rigging a smaller kite in this situation may have made sense, though there have been times where I have been on a lake and had the wind increase 20+mph in a matter of minutes...you just never know. Being prepared for the worse is always the best approach.

Tom L · Post by **Tom L** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 3:29 pm

Denis,

I have my release designed so the friction is just about right. I have found the slider down maybe 1/2" but never near releasing. It has elastic shock cord which holds it up, but takes very little force to release.

I have seen 2 home made systems in use on Kiteforum.com (there are many more), which both pull to release, which to me seems so much more intuitive when the s**t hits the fan. Why manufacturers can't seem to get it right pisses me off.

The ingenuity/simplicity employed by some of these home designers is awesome, and I don't know why the manufacturers don't just copy them, none of them are patented.

Also, I back up my homemade system with a Wichard, which is nice as a last resort but it releases everything, including the safety leash, so the kite goes also, which is bad if their are people or trees downwind.

Hunter Welles · Post by **Hunter Welles** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 4:20 pm

wouldn't ur frenzy bar work with your north husky kite?? Y dont u just rig that up if it works better?

SCOTT RIDOUT · Post by **SCOTT RIDOUT** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 4:51 pm

2 cents, I have run into two situations where I just had to get away from the kite from the chicken loop, I have a Septor bar from 2002 north kites and it has never failed me yet. The two times I needed it was when I had fallen and I was getting dragged, I pushed and it worked perfect, thing is I tested this quite a few times before I went out on the water. One time I went out to a lake to just get the kite in the air and as I dove it ejected when I figured I had the most tention on it, it took a few times to get comfortable but it IS really worth the time, especially when you really need it, thank God Denis is O.K. and had it in him to keep a cool head and work on getting out of the situation.

Coach · Post by **Coach** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 4:56 pm

I think there were some serious clues in your original post as to why it didn't work. And, I'll just say that these systems are clearly not designed for snow kiting.

You mentioned the thing not opening, losing your glove, and having it open right away with your bare hand... It would be a pretty good guess that your glove was blocking something, the glove gave you poor feel and you were not quite pulling the correct area, and/or the glove applied friction to a part of the release that wasn't designed to be operated that way.

I've noticed my gloves getting in the way of things like this, so it's safe to say that the release is probably designed fine and works well. But, you weren't exactly using it in the way and conditions for which it was intended.

Glad you came out unscathed.

Back when I started kiting, we didn't have releases, just a bowie knife an pieces of twine for kite lines... and the kites were made of canvas, yeah, that's it, thich canvas... and and...

-Coach

johnz · Post by **johnz** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 8:47 pm

Dennis,
I'm glad to hear you made it - these kitemares, while great learning opportunities, scare the crap out of me!

I'd just like to hammer home the rig small point to everyone. We sail in frontal winds here, not trade winds. They are by defintion unstable and very gusty. We read the mag's about this or that size kite is good for such and such knots, etc., but that's on the ocean where the winds usually are a lot smoother. Also, I think the surface we are riding on in the winter drastically affects our speed and control (e.g. glare ice vs. 4" of slush).

I was out on Sunday and brought along a tiny 3.5 Naish tube kite - just wanted to test it for my daughter. I flew it for a while with just my boots to check the bridle and was going to put it away, but decided try it with skiis on the hard pack anyway. I was cruising! Once I got away from the shore and experienced the big gusts in the middle of the lake, I was plenty powered - I couldn't believe it was picking me up in neutral!

Around here, when it's windy, it's gusty too.

Sorry for the long post - glad you're o.k!

Denis · Post by **Denis** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 12:02 am

Hey, thanks for all the well wishes guys. I must say that I am really lucky to have gotten out of my bone-headed move without any major damage. I agree with all of you that a smaller kite would have been the call.

Hunter, I think that the bar from the Frenzy has the chicken loop lines in a different spot from the Husky, so I don't know if switching bars would work. I'll give it a try though. Thanks for the idea.

I wish that the ejection system on the Husky was a little more glove friendly. So far, pull pins have my vote. I think that I also need more practice on bailing out, especially with gloves on. I tend to only go through the motions at home where I don't typically wear my hand warmers.

This incident reminded me that I should always respect the wind and be prepared for the worst.

Denis