New Tech Kites

phughes200 · Wind Seeker Joined: 13 Apr 2006 Posts: 9

First the good news. My daughter finally got to try her new Pryo XS that I got her for Christmas. Definitely a good time.

Now the bad news. It only took her a hour to break the lower leading edge which snapped right at the ferrule. She was supervised but dad is also new to this hobby. My questions are:

1) Where is the best place to get replacement parts? Is there a shop in northern NJ (Newark area). The shop where I purchased is over ninety minutes away. Not the best place for parts in terms of time and gas.

2) What is the best way to get the remaining part of the lower leading edge out of the ferrule? The leading edge snapped flush with the ferrule.

3) Is the arrow nook at the wing tip removable or does that also have to be replaced. Same for the ferrule on the upper leading edge.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Philip

phughes200 · Wind Seeker Joined: 13 Apr 2006 Posts: 9

Are there any other parts that I should carry spares for?

Chris · Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 9:31 am Post subject: Re: Pyro XS part help needed

Hi Philip,

Welcome to the wonderful world of kites! Thanks for the post and your purchase of the Pyro XS.

phughes200 · Wind Seeker Joined: 13 Apr 2006 Posts: 9

Thanks. The sites listed have the parts but shipping starts at $7 for a $2 part. I was hoping for a local supplier. It might end up cheaper in the long run to buy a new kite and keep the old one for parts but you said the new design is 6 mm. Is the current design at 5 mm consider too fragile and had to be upgraded to 6 mm? Will this kite continue to break even if it is properly handled?

Chris · Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 1:05 pm Post subject:

Hello Philip,
Breaking kites is a part of the sport. It can happen with normal use. Sport kites can travel at high speeds...and hard impacts tend to add up. The new Pyro XS has been upgraded to 6mm to increase the wind range and overall toughness. My suggestion is to purchase some extra parts (or kites! ) to help offset the cost of freight.

Cheers!

Chris
_________________
"Fly a kite for a child and you entertain them for the day. Teach a child to fly a kite and you entertain them for life."

phughes200 · Wind Seeker Joined: 13 Apr 2006 Posts: 9

Chris,

I know that these things break, even at the beach. What I was trying to determine was if I should replace all the 5 mm leading edges with 6 mm to help minimize the breakage factor since this is our first kite. I also was trying to figure out of the design was robust and why the change was made. The reality was I expected breakage when dealing with an eleven year old and an inexperience Dad.

Philip

Chris · Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 5:16 pm Post subject:

No need to replace the spars with 6mm. The leading edges do not tend to break as much as the lower spreaders. It may have been a freak accident. Or it have gotten a ding while in transit.

The change was made to increase the value of the kite and provide for a wider wind range with a stiffer frame.

I hope this helps.

Chris
_________________
"Fly a kite for a child and you entertain them for the day. Teach a child to fly a kite and you entertain them for life."

phughes200 · Wind Seeker Joined: 13 Apr 2006 Posts: 9

Thanks.

Albert · Wind Seeker Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 9

As a fellow newbie and fellow Pyro XS owner, I'll pass along a few repair ideas.

Buy several extra spars, 5mm (0.196") pultruded carbon. I've broken four, none of them the kites fault. Also get extra nocks for the lower leading edge, 5mm stoppers, 3mm solid carbon rod, and external aluminum ferrules.

Use a small fine toothed hacksaw or dremel tool to cut the spars to length. Practice on the broken one first. You can splinter it some if you aren't careful, but its not really hard to do. I wrap some masking tape around the spar to mark where to cut. Remember, measure twice, cut once.

Look at the ends of the lower spreader on the end towards the tee. The inside is filled with epoxy or something to reinforce it. If you have to replace one, cut a 3 or 4 inch section of 3mm solid rod to slide inside to reinforce the spar. Use gel type superglue for this (and be fast when you insert it), the nocks, and stoppers. I broke both lower spreaders, but haven't broken one of these yet.

The leading edge spars will slide through the sleeves with the stoppers and ferrules on, though it may seem a tight fit. Remove the good lower leading edge spar to use as a pattern for duplication. I glued the nock on the new spar first since it wasn't just like the old one, then cut it to be the same length from the bottom of the notch in the nock to the end. You also want to glue the stopper on at the same location so the spreaders are square across the kite.

Its easy to remove broken spars from ferrules and tee's. The tubes are hollow, so just thread a small screw in some and it will pull right out.

Albert

phughes200 · Wind Seeker Joined: 13 Apr 2006 Posts: 9

Albert,

Thank you for the tips. I appreciate it and will order plenty of extra parts.

Philip

phughes200 · Wind Seeker Joined: 13 Apr 2006 Posts: 9

Chris,

Any other ideas on how to remove the broken piece. Not enough to grab with a needle nose plyers. I tried threading a screw in the end and pulling. No luck. At this point it looks like I have to replace the whole leading edge.

Philip

Berserker · Posted: Mon May 01, 2006 11:54 am Post subject:

Phillip

Having just repaird the exact same problem on my PXS, I feel your pain.

Here is the fix I used:

Carefully drill out the offending material with a bit slightly under 5mm. The trick is not to remove any metal from the inside of the ferrule or drill too far and hit the upper leading edge. Once the bulk of it is removed, whatever is left in there will splinter easily making removal easy.

One that I haven't tried but was suggested to me:

Take a piece of coat hanger or something similar that will fit inside the tube and super glue it into the broken peice. This will give you something substancial to pull on. Just don't accidently super glue the piece to the ferrule. This should work better that a screw, because in order to get a good grip with the screw, it must force the tube outward making the fit in the ferrule even tighter.

Good Luck

Rod
_________________
8-D

Albert · Wind Seeker Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 9

Next time I suggest you give the screw a try first. I'm not talking about using a wrench and getting it as tight as you can, finger tight should do. I've done it and never had a problem. If for some reason it doesn't work, then I might think about a drill bit. It shouldn't come to that though. The spars should be an easy slip fit in fittings like ferrules and tees, it really doesn't take much to pull them out.

Albert

phughes200 · Wind Seeker Joined: 13 Apr 2006 Posts: 9

Thanks for the replies.

The screw didn,t work.

I tried glueing a metal rod and pulling. Didn't work. I used the wrong glue and the metal rod came out.

I will try the drill next.

Albert · Wind Seeker Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 9

Philip,
Are you sure its the lower leading edge stuck in the ferrule? The ferrule is glued to the upper leading edge, and I can see how that would be a pain to remove.

Albert

phughes200 · Wind Seeker Joined: 13 Apr 2006 Posts: 9

I am sure. This weekend< I will try drilling it out.

Chris · Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 11:38 am Post subject:

Philip,

Please send me an email to chris@newtechkites.com.

Thanks,

Chris
_________________
"Fly a kite for a child and you entertain them for the day. Teach a child to fly a kite and you entertain them for life."