Had a bad experience on weekend where I was hit with a big squall of wind, where I had to flag out my 17m Zypher. As the the tether reached its full length the metal swivel part holding the leash broke.
I watched my kite fly about 1/2 a km but luckily landed in mud salt flats with little damage, apart for a 1/2 hr of washing the mud off.
So lesson learnt I should have held the leash for at least the first tug.
Has anyone else had failures with this swivel ring which is is at the bottom of the chicken loop.
Can I buy a replacement for this, or I could attach the ring straight to the rope. Does it really need to swivel?
That occurs due to corrosion... check and replace corroding stuff before it breaks.
Agreed with Plummets comment. The corrosion is clearly evident and your bar is not exactly new. All parts on that bar can be replaced as they wear. I have 6 year old bars that are still in good shape but have had to replace parts like the ring over time. You also had a lot of pull from the Zeph, there is a lot of catchment area and a rusty ring is no match for that. Glad nothing or no one was harmed.
I'd attach the ring directly onto flag-out line, as any bars I've had don't have a swivel there and it probably wasn't swivelling anyhow. Just observe for excessive twists in the flag-out line if you've been looping it a lot in one direction.
Did you have a long stretchy safety leash or the short ozone one that doesn't stretch?
Maybe a good thing it did break or you might of gone for a six lol
Pretty crap when nothing else is corroded though. So how much does all that cost and they have saved 20c by making that bit from die cast matchbox cars material....? The bit that's important in an emergency...?
Select to expand quoteMark _australia said..
Pretty crap when nothing else is corroded though. So how much does all that cost and they have saved 20c by making that bit from die cast matchbox cars material....? The bit that's important in an emergency...?
Cue all the Ozone boffins to talk about how awesome their gear is and nothing ever goes wrong
I favour ozone bars based on the their function and safety which is directly related to the simplicity of design /lack of over engineering. However the swiveling flag out line ring always seemed unnecessary to me and is easily replaced with a solid ring.
Year agree with above. A solid ring gives a bit more clearance below the chicken loop where leash attaches. I flag out probably only once or twice a year, so can live with a few twists in the line when this happens.
Sorry you had a bit of a heart starter moment, would not be fun watching the Zephyr fly off on its own! Your swivel was already badly corroded and at a gues I've say at least 5-7+ years old (based on the model of bar).
The good news is they are improved and you can purchase a new one here ozonekites.com.au/collections/spare-parts/products/ozone-flagout-ring-with-swivel
Also check with your local dealer, its a part that many of them carry.
