deerislandbrew Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 Thought I would run this by the group for advice. I have a Gomberg 60 skyform parafoil. It just does not fly right. It leans to the left all the time now. I think when I first got it, (less then a year ago), It flew fairly straight with a touch of lean. I got some advice on re-brideling this kite. All the five lines were the same length, so that was not an obvious issue. I was told that as you move from the center keel, that you should increase the line length 4 more inches. I did this. After the center line, the two on either side are 4" longer, then the two outside lines are another 4" longer, (five keels-lines)n This did nothing to fix the problem. The more wind, the more it leans over. I had it fall out of the sky twice this last weekend in 16 + mph wind. The keels appear to be the same size, so I may rule out that part of the kite. I notice that from the left cell to the right and spanning at least four cells there is a ever present crease in the material across the top of the cell and about three inches in. I begin to suspect that the kite was sewn improperly and uneven. Any ideas? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmadz Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 Sounds like you measured each line to make sure there has been no stretch not matching it's corresponding pair. When in doubt contact Gomberg. They would probably have an idea. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatakam Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 I'm not an SLK guru, but from my experience with foils in general, I believe the bridle lines moving away from the center should be progressively shorter. I may be wrong, so like Tmadz said, check with Gomberg. All that being said, I'm absolutely sure that if you shorten the lines on the right side it will make it go to right more than it does now. How much to shorten them will require a bit of trial and error. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave362 Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 Gosh Alan, I just don't have the expertise to offer much, but the crease doesn't sound good. If thats the problem, shortening the bridle lines on the right side as mentioned above seems like the easiest fix. Its either that or send it back for replacement. I'm betting the Gombergs would make good on an issue like this. When my 30 shipped, it was a few days late and Sue put in a free spinner just to thank me for waiting. Good folks, for sure. Please keep us posted on this. I'm curious to see how it plays out.. . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerislandbrew Posted June 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 I will contact Gomberg I think. I did try shortening the bridle lines on the right to compensate with no luck. This seems to be a complicated issue with no easy fix unfortunately. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Barresi Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 Please let us know the result. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystainedskin Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 So far all of the above sounds like pretty good advice. Even if the "creasing" were stretched area in the material of one of the cells or paneling was a bit off.. Bridle tinkering should cure the issue and decent flight obtainable. Interested.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystainedskin Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 Found this off Gombergs sight for bridles. Pilot Tuning? Lines and fabric may change after a few first flights -- like a new pair of shoes settes in with wear. For simple "field tuning", I simply gather all the lines in one hand. I adjust the bottom row until the kite is flying straight. Then adjust the top to orient for lift. Then remove the slack from any other lines. I tie a knot in all the lines, connect a flying line, and send it up to see how the adjustment worked. If correct, I just cut off all the loose bits. Same works for SkyForms. Also,found some info on the trailing edge venting for high winds...check the stitching and possibly close pin shut. Essentially, making the opening smaller. Cured some other peoples issues as you described. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatakam Posted June 19, 2015 Report Share Posted June 19, 2015 Found this off Gombergs sight for bridles. Pilot Tuning? Lines and fabric may change after a few first flights -- like a new pair of shoes settes in with wear. For simple "field tuning", I simply gather all the lines in one hand. I adjust the bottom row until the kite is flying straight. Then adjust the top to orient for lift. Then remove the slack from any other lines. I tie a knot in all the lines, connect a flying line, and send it up to see how the adjustment worked. If correct, I just cut off all the loose bits. Same works for SkyForms. Also,found some info on the trailing edge venting for high winds...check the stitching and possibly close pin shut. Essentially, making the opening smaller. Cured some other peoples issues as you described. Sounds like the probable cause, especially if the material got wet or damp, and the solution makes absolute sense. On a small kite the settling-in of the fabric is a few millimeters and makes very little if any difference. On something that size it's probably a few inches, which can make a big difference. When making the adjustments you'll need decent wind near the ground to keep it inflated, and to short-line it to where you can reach the parts of the bridle that need adjustment. If you can, do it at the top of a hill or rise that has no obstructions upwind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerislandbrew Posted June 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 I am sending the kite back to Gomberg to check over. The kite never got wet, although could have stretched over time even though I have had it less then a year. I tried all kinds of line adjustment. I also held it in the wind near the ground and pulled lines to see what it would do. It seemed that in pulling the right two bridles in about 3-4 inches while doing this, that it evened up. I shortened up those two by 3" and let it back up. Still leaned bad to the left. Had it fall out of the sky in stronger winds twice. Bummer.... I still think that the fold of material along the top left cells may be an indication of a uneven sew job that may be the problem. I'll let David figure it out. Hope to get some feed back about what did cause this, however if it takes to many hours to troubleshoot he may opt to just replace. That's what I would do if my time was really tight. I do look forward to next year when I am retired. Then I will have time to take time, (and fly kites more often of course!) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerislandbrew Posted September 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 Kite was returned. The right hand bridle was shortened about 3 inches, (same thing I tried before sending it back) While checking that, I found that the knot was a temporary slip knot that came apart with a slight tug. I re-tied it properly. Took it to WSIKF for a fly. The kite does OK up to about 10mph. After that it starts to lean to the left, just like it always has. It gets worse as the wind picks up and crashes at about 13 mph. I guess I have a kite that has a pretty limited wind window and will fly only in wind between 6 to 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 Sounds like something is still out of balance there. Look the sail over closely to see if there is any problems in the sewing - panels misaligned, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepinjeepin Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 Sounds like something is still out of balance there. Look the sail over closely to see if there is any problems in the sewing - panels misaligned, etc. Yeah, I was wondering about panel bias. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerislandbrew Posted September 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2015 Yeah, The ever present crease in the top cells, the unreliable flight, the reason I sent it back to Gomberg....... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KytNut Posted April 9, 2020 Report Share Posted April 9, 2020 I know this is a very old thread but, I thought I would check to see if anyone came up with any other suggestions. I also have a SkyForm 60 that suffers from the same symptoms as "deerislandbrew" Leans slightly in light winds Rolls over and falls out of the sky in moderate/heavy winds Has a crease/pucker on the top just behind the leading edge I have tried the pilot tuning suggestions but they are more applicable to a parafoil with rows of bridle lines vs the single row in a Flowform. Thanks in advance for more suggestions. Ken "KytNut" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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