Fractured Axel

Well, I thought the Saturday morning breeze (gale?) ought to be just perfect for the URO that I'd failed to get airborne in lighter winds. Unfortunately I still had the usual problem - ie, an immediate dive to the left and no feeling of any actual control over the kite.
And one of the dives caused a wingtip to dig in to the rain-soaked ground, resulting my first-ever spar fracture (lower starboard leading edge). Luckily 8mm pultruded carbon doesn't seem outrageuosly expensive, but it will mean the URO is hors de combat for a while ...

I'm convinced the problem lies in the bridle setting. My other kites all fly automatically towards the top of the window when I give an equal tug on the reins, but this one seems to have no predictable momentum in any particular direction. On the rare occasions I've had it airborne, it hasn't responded positively to any pulls/pushes on the lines, and has simply fallen out of the sky as soon as there was the slightest dip in the wind speed.

So far I've persisted with the default (factory) bridle settings of U62, L69, I64.5 (with a 56 keeper). Markskites suggested 64/72/65 (56) respectively, and I'm inclined to try it, but that would mean a whole new bridle - there's not enough spare in the existing setup for the extra 11cm.
In any event, I really would like to get the darn thing airborne, and control it! I'd like to try a setting that makes the kite want to fly forwards when the lines are held evenly, and to veer left when I pull left, etc!

Help!!!

Brian, I've never flown an URO myself, but my (limited) experience with speed kites (i.e. Atrax) has shown me that a speed kite's ability to launch and fly well after launch is extremely sensitive to bridle settings, more so than a trick kite.

You say that it always dives to the left; that suggest that there is some asymmetry somewhere, either in the bridle settings or in the kite itself. First, I'd go over the kite and check, double-check and triple-check that the kite really is symmetrical in every aspect.

Second, if symmetry is achieved, I'd change the position of the tow-point (i.e. nose forward/back) by very small amounts and see what happens when launching/flying. Thing is that for speed kites the bridle setting is such that when it flies well, it launches with difficulty and v.v. So that's why bridle setting is so sensitive in these kites. It took me quite some fiddling with my Atrax before I had the bridle set such that I could launch and fly it predictably.

Good luck

If it is that sensitive, check your lines too.

Trying to fly Marc moss`s Tiger 2 we found the new lines just purchased were out of equal by 15mm , once leveled had straight launches, still was a b***tard to fly though. Keep on keeping on. Tim

Yep yep yep...... The lines were well out !
But we are still yet to fly her properly Tim

The URO's now flyable again. Broken spar replaced, and I've got a couple of spare ones now in case of further accidents.
Thanks for all your advice. Yes, everything looks & feels taut, balanced and correct when assembled. However, when I hold the kite up by the line tags on the bridle, I would normally expect an upwards tug to make the kite move slightly forwards. But it doesn't. There is no evident momentum in any direction.
When I initially measured out the lines from the reel, I was pretty careful about balancing them before I tightened up the knots on the sleeving. I don't think the lines are the problem (and anyway I was earlier using a pair of lines from my Silver Fox, which I KNOW are millimetre-perfect!)

Conditions aren't right for trying again right now. But when the time comes, I'll be experimenting with the bridle. I won't let this b***er beat me!

Well, three months on , and at last I had the right conditions today to give the URO another go.
I took a 2cm tuck in both the upper outhauls, set out the (40m) lines, left the URO in leaning-back mode and walked back to my peg. Picked up the handles, sorted the lines out, and tugged.
Whoosh! Up it went! Yippee, it was aloft at last, and I actually had a degree of control! I kept it going for several minutes, until the freaky wind suddenly let me down and the URO just flopped to the grass.
I think the 2cm tucks might be a bit too much. Might try 1cm next time. But the factory settings really didn't give me any lift at all, so it's going to be fun trying to achieve the best balance between power and control.
I did get the URO aloft 3 or 4 times, and each time I was able to keep it flying for several minutes before a lull in the wind brought it down. I reckon it ought to provide some really good fun on a deserted beach where the wind is steady and strong.

(I was flying the Rev for at least an hour before I switched to the URO. Exciting! It seems to be an ideal kite for changeable, squally winds!)

Friday afternoon. The forecast had said strong winds and rain. But it was dry, so it seemed an excellent afternoon for the URO.
I'd had it aloft a few times before, but in lighter winds. Frankly I'd began to feel disappointed with it - hardly any more 'pull' than my Silver Fox, and rather slow in the air. This afternoon, I thought would give it a chance to show its paces.
I set it out, leaning slightly back at the end of its 40m lines, and walked back to my peg. Took up the handles, and pulled.
Next thing I knew I was 20 metres downwind, sliding unelegantly over the grass on my belly, still with the straps on my wrists, watching the URO doing superbly fast (but uncontrolled and untimately suicidal) swoops across the sky.

I say suicidal, but I'm not quite sure. The poor thing suffered a broken spine, plus a broken aluminium ferrule on one of the leading edges. The longer pair of rather specialised-looking stiffeners are fractured too. The sail itself looks intact, although some of the stitching has pulled at the point where the alu ferrule broke. I think I could re-stitch that OK.

I think the wind must have been about force 7 or 8 (say 30-45 mph). From previous flights in force 5/6 I really wasn't expecting the URO to be so aggressive! My better half says she wished she had come along with me to watch!

Is it going to be worth trying to rebuild this kite? I don't want it to die knowing it got the better of me!

(Oh, and in case anyone's interested, I seem to have escaped injury myself. Although today (Saturday) I do feel very achey! Hooray for Voltarol and paracetamol!)

Glad yourself survived with out injury . You have got to rebuild it , not allowed to let it win. May be try F6 wind next time!!!. Grass stains show you are trying, i earnt mine recently flying Fazer in F7, what a beast, way to go.Also flew Long Dong Tiger 2 same day ,faaaaaast and what a noise. Managed to break spreaders ,fun while it lasted. Tried Tiger today after repairs but lacked sufficient wind close to ground to launch ,always other days.

Took the Delta Hawk out yesterday, first time I've been able to try it in 'proper' winds (30mph+). Wow for a 1.4 M kite it has an impressive pull, probably not in the same league as your URO but it gave me a workout. Quick too, looked like some of the Prism Micron vids on Youtube. And tough, crashed it at speed several times and it just bounched back into the air. Excellent fun!

hi you do seem to be having loads of problems with your uro i find if the wind is strong enough my atrax highar which is the same pulls very strongly but evenly once aloft it is quite usual for it to pitch up in the air and veer to one side then the wind gets in the sail and off you go i did have some experience with flat kites though i have an hq observer which is simular in design but only 2m wingspan and did break this many times .one point i would make is how long are your lines ? 25 meters is a good length for ease of launching untill you have the knack the longer the lines the more difficult with this kite i find anyhow you must repair to good a kite to let die if when you have bars drop me a message will get my atrax highar out and give you my bridle measurements and bar lengths and exact wingspan etc this should eliminate any futher problems good luck

Sstrangey, there was nothing wrong with the URO at lunchtime last Friday!
I knew how to assemble it, and setting the bridle with just a 1.5cm tuck in the upper outhauls gave me a nice degree of control.

Previous flights in moderate winds had been OK. Yes, it would fall out of the sky if the wind dropped, and the flight was, generally, slower than I thought it ought to be. I just assumed I needed a stronger wind.
Which, last Friday afternoon, I got.

The problem I had wasn't with the kite, it was with me! I simply wasn't expecting a stronger wind to have such an extraordinary effect on the URO's pulling power! I've handled (and loved) kites with a reputation for a strong 'pull' before, but this was something else!
When I launched it, it went up straight and FAST! Beautiful! But within a couple of seconds I was flat on my belly being dragged across the football field, watching the URO streak beautifully across the sky but in no position to control it. So it crashed.

I was using 40-metre Profi lines. My logic in going for longer lines was that it would give me more time to deal with a faster kite's movements. It doesn't seem to me that shorter lines would have saved me from my bruises and embarrassment last Friday.

I can repair the sail easily enough where the stitching's pulled. I've got a spare rod that looks & feels right as a replacement for the spine. But certain bits (especially the broken battens - sail stiffeners) will require factory replacements. And I don't speak German!

But I'm convinced my URO will fly again. And I'll stay vertical when it does!

hi the wing battens assume you mean the carbon to fibreglass ones with the rubber between them the fibreglass rod is available 2.3 mm i think could be 2.6 six and the carbon piece is 3mm tube volango .com is a good place to go german site but the page is in english just with one click of the flag

Thanks for the pointer, sstrangey. The broken fibreglass parts are 2.1mm (luckily the 4mm carbon tubes/endcaps are still intact). I just placed my order for the necessary bits with Volango, so with any luck the URO will be flying again in a few days time.

Volango are using DHL. Aaaaarghh! My parcel's been on hold at their Bristol depot for over a week now, allegedly with some problem over the address. But their tracking info says I wasn't in on 28th June, so if they really tried to deliver back then, they must have been satisfied with the addressing.
Volango have repeated my address details. I've given them my address details. Still no darn parcel!

But I've done the stitching, and replaced the main spars. When (if) the parcel does come, it'll be an easy job to get the URO airworthy again.