Inspect your lines, everytime!

[Leo Chan]

I was cruising uphill yesterday at Strawberry River and happily powered up in my 13 meter Ozone Frenzy, until a hard turn caused my safety line to snap! Imagine if I actually got airborne? It could have been ugly. And the location of the break is a place you would never imagine it could happen. So, make sure you inspect your lines every time after you fly and before you fly!

[joshlytle]

Crazy! Were you able to keep flying?

[Leo Chan]

Without the front line connected, it is impossible to fly. I managed to connect it and get myself back to the launching area. But the kite is now permanently de-powered. So, I need replacement lines or bar.
This is a potential problem for this type of safety system. The connecting point of the stop is pretty weak and repeated use of the primary safety could cause it to snap as it did in my case. So, if you have an Ozone kite, make sure you check the safety system frequently.

[Marty Lowe]

I have never seen this happen before,
except where a ski, or board edge has started a cut in the line.
Pretty easy to happen and not notice.
Any little crash where edges meets line can start the wear process.

So... as you stated,, better inspect lines every time they are unrolled.

Marty

[Leo Chan]

I can the edge of skis or snowboard creating a small cut that could lead to a bigger problem. But the part that broke is protected by the stopper (the little red ball). So, the chances of that happening is pretty small. Also, I only put the break line on the back of skis when I try to fix the lines. So, the break line should have more wears and tears. Anyway, this is a freaky accident that I hope no one will see it again. So, check lines for wear before it is too late!

[Heather Schenck]

Every part on every kite from every brand can and will fail over time. As we have always stated, pre-flight your gear no matter what you ride.

Leo brings up a great example, because even on a top brand like Ozone that uses the highest grade of materials, wear and tear can deteriorate your equipment. As kiters, we are ALWAYS hanging on by a string, so it is up to us to constantly check and upgrade our gear as neccessary.

Good news is for Ozone Kite Owners, National HQ is located within hours of SLC and we carry a full stock of replacement parts dating back to 2003 Snowkites and 2006 Inflatables so we can get your ride up and running safely no matter how old it is. unfortuneatly if you have another brand like Wipika, you may have trouble getting bladders .

Let us know what other parts may be worn, Leo, and we can help you determine wether it is best to just simply replace that one line, or if your entire bar should be upgraded or replaced.

Windzup.
Brian Schenck

[Leo Chan]

I checked the entire bar again and it looks like there are more wears in other parts of the bar. I think I might need to replace the bar.

At the very least, I need to replace these items:

1. The leader lines from the bar to the flying line. The break line is fine.
2. The line connecting the Y-line to the primary release (as shown in the photo). The clamcleat trimmer system is fine.

Let me know how to handle this. Thanks.

[Leo Chan]

.

[Sarah Ranes]

hey Leo, Just a thought.
You may want to contact them through either www.windzup.com or find their phone number from that site, to contact them for your parts.

[Leo Chan]

hey Leo, Just a thought.
You may want to contact them through either http://www.windzup.com or find their phone number from that site, to contact them for your parts.

Maybe there is a communication problem with the website. But it doesn't really matter now. I ordered it from fixmykite.com

I am switching to Slingshot lines!

[bordy]

Leo,

I would check the slingshot line length and the strength, I am pretty sure you are going to have to do some knot tieing to make them work, and when you place a knot in a line it weakens the line, The Ozone lines on your kite are 500KG(1100lbs) for the single front line, (that one you will have to custom tie from sling shot parts since they do not use a Y line), and 300KG(660lbs) for the out side lines. What are slingshots rated at again?

Good luck.

The windzup site is no longer up n running, Try flyozoneusa.com and or kiteutah.com

[Leo Chan]

Thanks for the info, Billy. I will check with the shop about the rating for those lines. I am guessing they will be just as strong, if not stronger. At any rate, I am not going to jump with the kite. So, I won't be in too much danger.

Update: I checked with the shop and the lines are rated at 500 kg. I think I figure out a way to solve the problem of the two lines v.s. single line. So, the only problem would be the control leader lines are going to be stronger than 300 kg.