Kites ripped from edge to edge more happening?

[downunder]

Hi there

I noticed this AU season more kites than ever ripped from the leading edge to the trailing edge!

Just yesterday, very new and shiny almost unused kite (big Brand, no naming here), slammed into the flat water and instantly ripped from the LE to TE.

The other big brand, one week ago same thing. Which makes me wondering why this kites are bursting on the same, identical spot?! Always on the seam between the two pieces of LE and canopy.

Which begs a question:

why is everything sewn in one single spot making a stress point? Like this:

I do understand the technicality of making a kite, but it is a stress point and should be addressed in the manufacturing process. This kites never rip from any other point due to the water impact.

What is your thinking?

Thanks

D.

[plummet]

Some designs are more prone to splitting with a tomahawk. Delta kite for example.

Making kites is a tradeoff between performance and strength. The lighter it is the better it performs. the strong it is the heavier and lower performance it is.

Strong, light, cheap. You can only pick 2!...

[downunder]

Plummet,

this has nothing to do with a tradeoff between performance and strength. It is a stress point.

What you are saying is applicable to anything. The stress point, however, must be addressed with a design. It might be even a sawing needle thickness making this.

If this kites are coming from the same manufacturing plant, there you go. It's down on the manufacturing line.

[plummet]

It has everything to do with performance V strength. All kite companies can make bomb proof kites but they would fly like shit. So they push the envelope down in weight and strength to get to a kite that is the right performance to weight ratio for the market.

[downunder]

Ah well,

we beg to differ on this.

Imagine all LE under extreme stress? Where it will explode first? On a seam with overlaying multiple sawing or on one ultrasonic welded seam? Would a tire explode where is thinner or where the valve is?

There are so many examples of stress points introduced by wrong manufacturing that I do not what to say...But I would think there are bomb proof kites out there and fly extremely well.

[alamos_kiter]

I think first you have to identify where the kite usually starts to rip. This stress point you depict is not necessary the weakest link. I remember years back we were trying to identify why PL Arcs rip on impact, and what you could do about it. We thought it's internal pressure getting too high, and some vents would help, like FS used them. Alas, it wasn't. Flysurfer did get rid of them vents as well after they found out they were mistaken. It was in fact a shock wave sent through the kite, which folded some piece of fabric and peaked on one particular seam we had never thought of. Slomo footage helped resolve the riddle.

I would agree with plummet about the triangle cheap-light-sturdy

[foilholio]

I disagree . I think internal pressure definitely contributes, even if just from providing some rigidity. Single skin foils are indestructible to crashes, no internal pressure, no rigidity. The buttflaps/deflate on earlier PL's were well know for opening on crashes and the kites harder to damage because of it. I read about some flysurfer riders folding their deflate socks so the deflate opens on impact preventing damage. I disabled the magnetic blow offs on one of my pansh's and first crash after I blew 4 cells and I had done other crashes similar before with no damage.

As to the kite in question I agree with plummet it would be down to lighter construction. Newer kites particularly wave and race kites are being made lighter and lighter to get an "edge" . Durability is lowered the lighter they are made. Unless the design is radically different like strutless, foil or single skin, durability can't be expected to be maintained or improved with weight loss. I am surprised someone so versed in making boards would not see it this way? yes it could be a weak point but there will be another not far away and another and so on.

[marlboroughman]

It is a design and not build that matter. We have more designs this year that wan't split easily. These are incidentally my favourites. Open C designs with squarish wings like Switch Nitro, Cabrinha FX and Airush Union are least likely to split. Delta design is worse because after the middle section hits the water the wings have a whip momentum. Race kites with long swept wings are the worst because the whip effect. There is no amount of reinforcement that can hold the kind of stresses generated by the wing whipping after hitting water.

[downunder]

The kites in question are not the race kites. This ppl are not unhooking and slamming kites every now and than either.

What I see on my local is that more and more kites are ripped. I would be really concerned if the boards start desegregating as well due to some tradeoffs and ppl brake legs because of it.

To an uninformed consumer, it's absolutely irrelevant what the design is. They buy coz it's green. Or blue.

Lets' face it, if the airliners spit in half on landing, someone would notice!? I don't think we would discuss, well, you know, it's a design issue, a trade off using a cheap flights, etc.

I did not read about the solution, all I read is defensive, manufacturers, side.

@foilholio, I am on a customer side here and think as one.

[Eltreato]

I would expect any kite to rip if you slam it down hard enough on flat water.