How many hours off air flight is a kite built for?

[vela99]

Hello

My North Neo 11m has about 375 hours of flight and my educated guess is that it looks like it could handle a total of 800 hours to me, maybe more but looking worn out by then and with less performance I guess.

I never leave the kite on the ground unused. Inflate, start, kite, land, pack.

[Flyingseb]

Personal experience: I’ve flown extensively my Rhino 4 during 10 years. Couldn’t figure out that there was better kites available . It was still flyable, as long as bladders were airtight.
I would say at least 1000 hours, but my country is not very sunny, and sun is the biggest enemy of fabrics.

[windfreak74]

cool to see some different opinion hopefully all kiters will post brand and hours!! better yet cloth type would de usefull since mos brands keep improving canopy cloth tecnology.

[windfreak74]

Windbreaker, I have 2008 nemesis 6, 9, 12, and 14m kites that I still fly. Replaced Valles in 6 and 12, but other than that they are still pretty crispy. My kiting in the summer is pretty limited due to where I live, but snow kite a lot in winter. Didn't answer your original question, but what bar do you use on the 12. I still use 2008 best bar and chicken loop and the flag out are pretty sketch.

hello Back country i use switch bar v3 55 cms on all my kites!2008 chicken loop from best its a very troublesome and old system some times it jams

[JakeFarley]

My 14m HP Nemesis is 2009 and I think that I have close to 300 hours on it. Re-glued all the valves on it a couple of years ago (they practically fell off) and it is still going strong. Kite leading edge and canopy are in great shape. I use an old 2006 Best bar (45cm) with it that too is still going strong.

My 11m and 16m xbows are 2010 with probably 400 hours each and are still going strong. Minor wear on leading edge tips, canopy still good with some wear areas around strut air tubes.

My 9m Yarga (2007) has low hours (less than 100) but used in extreme high winds so it is nearing the end of its life. I'll probably try converting it to a wing when the valves delaminate.

My Flysurfer Speed 5 (2017) and Soul (2019) are newer kites and are in excellent condition (don't get much use when the beach conditions where I kite are not conducive for a foil kite launch and land - not enough room). They are now my go-to kites if I have enough room to launch and land.

[Eduardo]

My 14m HP Nemesis is 2009 and I think that I have close to 300 hours on it. Re-glued all the valves on it a couple of years ago (they practically fell off) and it is still going strong. Kite leading edge and canopy are in great shape.

There aren't many kites worth finding the end of life for as usually kites improve by the time the kite is getting that old. But this is one of the exceptions. I probably replaced all valves in the end but eventually got rid of it. I miss it. Good job hanging on to it!

[sms-kite]

Hello,

For me a tube kite can do 250h without any problems ( teijin t9600 and polyant 170 LL) . To do more you have to take car of pulley and rope. At 500h the kite is at his end of life. To me you it is not a good idea to repare it if you have a problem.
In the past, a foil kite was abble to do 500h easely (like frenzy) . But no all the bridles are thin, the fabric is light so now we are in the same life than a tube kite.

I think that build a kite with a longer life is not really good. Because kite design is moving so change the kite all the 3 or 5 years is a good balance between durability, weight and price.

Nono

[dice]

1.Year of kite means squat! this parameter is just for knowing when kite was launched.
most important parameter is hours of flight?

I think the hours of flight is one of the least important parameters.
How it's flown is more important.
How it's stored is important.
How old the kite is matters a lot, since plastic doesn't last forever, especially when exposed to sun.