Line care?

[Madoldlad]

So I was wondering what if anything the good folks of the forum do to care for your flying lines? I have a couple of sets of pro gold lines and other than;

• Check for stretch and adjust.
• Keep them on a winder in a bag so they aren’t damaged in transit etc
• Visual check as I unwind / wind in

I don’t do anything else…. I wondered what others do. Do people clean their lines?  Lubricate them in some way?

or any other care routines…interested to hear your thoughts on this.

 

 

[riffclown]

When winding your lines after flying in a sandy environment, it's a good idea to take a very thin slightly damp cloth and run the lines through that as you wind. it will get rid of dirt particles that could rub and cause damage. Using a thin cloth to do this you will feel anything that may be trapped in the weave of your lines.

[Madoldlad]

I'll remember this when the decent weather arrives and I can get to a beach👍

[Brettgrant99]

I don't do anything special.  Twenty years ago, I tried using Armor All on some lines and it didn't seem to do much.  I fly on grass and I have linseeds that are almost 20 years old.  I do check them for stretch and adjust accordingly.

Quadlines I tend to check when the wind is light and I am not doing anything.  Dual lines I tend to just do when I notice that they are off.

Years ago I took a 1x2 about 8 inches long, put two brass hooks in it on the 1" side and then tied a small cord to the center.  I use this to check if the lines are even, it is pretty easy to do.  I like this better than just using my fingers, but you can do it that way, too.  Really, you only need to check new lines, or after you fly them in stronger than normal winds.

[Madoldlad]

thanks for your thoughts ,  I'll be pinching the brass hooks and the 1" x 2" idea and giving it a try.

Interesting thoughts on the Armour all.  Be interested to see if anyone else has tried something similar with the same or different results.

[mebeatee]

In the past....and advice from the ol’ GWTW forum...I have used a silicone lubricant on lines a la Riffclown’s method above...spray a wee bit on a cloth and run the lines through.... Usually I let the squeak sounds of the line tell me when to do this....;)

One thing I’ve always done with quad lines is to reverse the lines after every session....ie the top lines get set up on as bottom lines next time... Dualies not so much, but I do reverse the lines from time to time.

Another thing is a little over the top, but it has helped out and takes a couple more minutes to get airborne. I fly over a mixture of sand and pebble kind of beach depending on the tides so after unwinding I always return to the groundstake and walk the lines again through my fingers before attaching the kite, and then after the session repeat before winding and as mentioned I reverse the top and bottoms lines for the next session.

When the lines get too worn out...ie very squeaky...I use them for the kites I have that I don’t mind dunking into the water....older beater revs for instance...some 25+ yrs old..... I don’t mind if those kites or lines get wet as again my flying field is determined by the tides....and am extremely fortunate that the beach is across the street from my house!!!!! Speaking of which I very rarely fly over grass....although on grass at times......puff puff...

bt

[Madoldlad]

On 3/26/2023 at 7:13 PM, mebeatee said:

In the past....and advice from the ol’ GWTW forum...I have used a silicone lubricant on lines a la Riffclown’s method above...spray a wee bit on a cloth and run the lines through.... Usually I let the squeak sounds of the line tell me when to do this....;)

Interesting, might try this when my lines get older, maybe with a gt 85 spray onto a cloth.