Date: 19 May 93 17:50:03 GMT From: steve@acorn.co.uk (Steve "daffy" Hunt) Message-Id: <23765@acorn.co.uk> Organization: Acorn Computers Limited, Cambridge, UK Subject: Repairing a torn Flexifoil At a recent flying session in very high winds up in Yorkshire, my 6ft Flexi sufferred a long rip in the (so called) ripstop fabric. The tear is on the bottom of the end pocket, parallel with the short side of the kite, and is about a foot long. I don't really know how it happened because someone else was flying it at the time - I guess they brushed across some barbed wire, judging by how clean the tear is. Since I work quite close to the Flexifoil factory, I have taken it there for repair, which seems to involve opening the sail up and applying some kind of patch. Does anyone have any experience of how this repair will affect the kite's handling? Should I budget for a new sail and keep the repaired one as a spare? (Or for lending to careless friends!) Also, should I have saved some money by repairing it myself? Can it be done without loads of sewing? -- Steve -- Steve Hunt steve@acorn.co.uk = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 12:12:01 -1000 From: jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu (Jeffrey C. Burka) Message-Id: <1tebbh$58f@hecate.umd.edu> Organization: University of Maryland at College Park Subject: Re: Repairing a torn Flexifoil In article <23765@acorn.co.uk> steve@acorn.co.uk (Steve "daffy" Hunt) writes: >Since I work quite close to the Flexifoil factory, I have taken it >there for repair, which seems to involve opening the sail up and >applying some kind of patch. Did you have to pay much for this service? >Does anyone have any experience of how this repair will affect the >kite's handling? Should I budget for a new sail and keep the repaired >one as a spare? (Or for lending to careless friends!) The kite should fly just fine. I've done loads of repairs on 2 of my 3 6' Flexis (including patching an outside cell wall, replacing 2 other outside cell walls, patching a rip similar to the one you described, and re-sewing some seams where the thread was coming unraveled (the kites are going to turn 6 in just over 3 weeks...;-)). All 3 kites fly quite well, still, in winds ranging from 2 (with an Ultraflex) to 40+ (and one of the repaired kites was flown in a wind of 50+!) >Also, should I have saved some money by repairing it myself? Yes, but only if you're comfortable with using your sewing machine and opening the kite (one of my kites had a patched-but-not-sewn cell for 4 years because I was afraid to sew it myself and didn't want to spend the money to have professional repairs). >Can it be done without loads of sewing? Not really...that is to say, not if you want a quality, long-lasting repair. The kite described in the above paragraph had a 1.75' rip in the 2' long outside cell wall. It was patched on the inside and outside with ripstop tape (the rip was big enough that I was able to get a layer of tape along almost the entire rip from the inside...) and that held up for almost 2 years. Then it blew again, and my second patching attempt only last a week or so. That was when I finally decided it was time to learn how to take apart a Flexi... Jeff -- |Jeffrey C. Burka | "When I look in the mirror, I see a little clearer/ | |SAFH Lite [tm] | I am what I am and you are you too./ Do you like | |jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu | what you see? Do you like yourself?" --N. Cherry | = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 23:47:31 -1000 From: steve@acorn.co.uk (Steve "daffy" Hunt) Message-Id: <23788@acorn.co.uk> Organization: Acorn Computers Limited, Cambridge, UK Subject: Re: Repairing a torn Flexifoil Jeffrey C. Burka (jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu) wrote: : In article <23765@acorn.co.uk> steve@acorn.co.uk (Steve "daffy" Hunt) writes: : >Since I work quite close to the Flexifoil factory, I have taken it : >there for repair, which seems to involve opening the sail up and : >applying some kind of patch. : Did you have to pay much for this service? No - it was surprisingly cheap. It cost about seven or eight pounds including VAT (sales tax). At that price it didn't seem to be worth trying to do it myself. Maybe if it had been 15 or 20 I would. I haven't seen the result yet - I collect it tomorrow - but I don't think they are likely to botch it up! Thanks for the advice on repair techniques - maybe next time I'll be braver and open it up myself. -- Steve -- Steve Hunt steve@acorn.co.uk = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =