Michael E. Allen Posted September 18, 2013 Report Share Posted September 18, 2013 My first major damage caused by a," I cant believe I did that " . OK the story goes like this. Had a great day for flying so I grabed two kites and headed to the field. Until recently I only owned one kite. I bought a couple from Allen Carter. So I grab the NewTech Seduction that I got from Allen and proceeded to get it assembled to fly. Now remember this was my first time with a kite different then my older kite. Got the kite into the sky and in less then 3 min. the kite made a terrible sound and collapsed together and fell to the ground. As I took that long sad walk to the kite thinking I had broken the kite because of the wind. Come to find out I was so excited to fly my new toy I forgot to put in the upper spreader ( I think it's called a spreader not sure ). But either way I still broke it. Could I get some advice on how to repair the sail and I also need to replace the bottom left spreader, it cracked and went through the sail. The rip is about 3in. long and aprx. 1 in. wide at the top. The spreader is pretty thin wall and 29 and a half inch long. If you respond PLEASE remember I am still very new to stunt kites. So if you could explain it to me like I was a 12yr. old I would greatly appreciate it. True Rookie,,, Mike P.S. Allen, Im so sorry. I know it belongs to me now but somehow I feel like I gave your child a spanking. I so wanted to take extra special care of them. I know I will have a learning curve but no excuse for not putting the kite together all the way. On the plus side I did my first tip stab (I think thats what it is called). Did it with my old dual line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyphert Posted September 18, 2013 Report Share Posted September 18, 2013 Ohh buddy! Welcome to the world of fix and fly! I have been flying for 20 plus years and I head to the local kite shop on a regular bases! That's a big rip. smaller rips just need some tape. You learn fast due to cost repairs, spars are fairly cheep and any real kite store can fix you right up cheers mate! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Barresi Posted September 18, 2013 Report Share Posted September 18, 2013 Hi Mike, this might be a good place to look for info... http://kitelife.com/forum/topic/5429-what-to-do-about-a-tear/ Good luck brother, looks repairable, just need the right stuff and a little borrowed know-how. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatakam Posted September 19, 2013 Report Share Posted September 19, 2013 I put a very similar hole in my Prism Zephyr about two years ago. "TEDLAR" tape (see your local kite shop), large piece about 1" beyond the tear on all sides (cut it to follow the outline of the hole) applied to the back side of the sail, carefully drawing the torn edges to meet each other where they were originally. Two 1/4" strips to finish the front side. Should be invisible from 20 feet, and will make no difference in the performance of the kite. The cross spar, if it is only splintered, can be repaired with verrrrry thiiiin mylar tape (find it at your local hobby/craft shop), and turned 180 degrees so the splintered end is at the outer edge instead. The tape repair must be thin enough to go into the fitting. If the spar is tapered you have no choice but to replace it. Happens eventually to everyone; I did mine by actually doing my first tip stab a bit hard. Keep smiling, fix it, get up, brush yourself off, and get back in the saddle! P.S. -- Don't forget to breathe. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael E. Allen Posted September 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2013 Thanks for the help. Looks like I should be able too fix it with the great help from you all. Thanks again 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reef Runner Posted September 22, 2013 Report Share Posted September 22, 2013 Happens eventually to everyone; Keep smiling, fix it, get up, brush yourself off, and get back in the saddle! Hey Michael, As Mark said, just fix it. These things happen to us all. Just take it apart and replace or fix, the parts that are damaged. Put it back together, and keep on "gettin-up". As I've mentioned before, "this isn't Rocket Science", just kites.............they're really not all that complicated. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatakam Posted September 22, 2013 Report Share Posted September 22, 2013 Happens eventually to everyone; Keep smiling, fix it, get up, brush yourself off, and get back in the saddle! Hey Michael, As Mark said, just fix it. These things happen to us all. Just take it apart and replace or fix, the parts that are damaged. Put it back together, and keep on "gettin-up". As I've mentioned before, "this isn't Rocket Science", just kites.............they're really not all that complicated. Except for the original "crossover active trihedral bridle" on a Benson Gemini! Took me a day-and-a-half to get my head around it and bring back to proper adjustment. The effort was definitely worth it though. Flew it today at the IKE (Illinois Kite Enthusiasts) annual kite retreat. SWEEEEEEEET! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbailey49 Posted September 24, 2013 Report Share Posted September 24, 2013 Pictures, mark? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joespickles Posted September 30, 2013 Report Share Posted September 30, 2013 Al I can say is listen To all the advice, Take pics if you are disassembling , recently been through a rebuild, Stinks but I learned a lot, ( I think ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatakam Posted October 1, 2013 Report Share Posted October 1, 2013 The Benson Gemini is parked at the "X". X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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