Fractured Axel

Hi, new member here.
Dug out my old stunt kites the other day - eldest son showing an interest.
All in reasonably good nick except for a broken lower spreader on my old Spirit of Air 'Shuriken'.
Tried ordering up some replacement spars but got it woefully wrong - WAY to thick.
The spar I need to replace is marked Excel rcf 6 82.5
Googled the hell out of it and can't find what the modern equivalent would be.
I know the 82.5 is the length, but that's about it.
Any help out there?

Lazzard wrote:

The spar I need to replace is marked Excel rcf 6 82.5

No it isn't. It's marked EXEL RCF 6. Exel is a Finnish composites company and they made a series of carbon tubes and rods at the behest of Dutch firm Vlieger Op aimed at the kite market starting in the early 90s. Both have drifted away in the past few years.

With respect to kite spars Excel is the name given to Avia's wrapped, constant diameter products. A totally different animal.

History lesson over.

Googled the hell out of it and can't find what the modern equivalent would be.
I know the 82.5 is the length, but that's about it.

Get a handful of these. Change both sides for equality and you'll be fine.

Mike.

Did I not mention I was blind as well as old?

Great - now, am I after the 5mm or the 6 mm?

Cheers

RCF 6 is 6 x 4mm. You need the 6mm.

Depending on how the centre-T is dealt with you may need a little something to make this fit together too but IIRC Spirit of Air just used an Exel external centre-T so anything 6mm OD should slip right in.

Mike.

Trouble is, it needs to be pretty accurate to allow the spar grabbers ( for the stand-offs) to slide back on.
Or do I have to get new ones of those to fit??

6mm is the same to Exel and Structil

The issue you may have with the spar grabbers is that they've reached the end of their life. Again from memory, SoA used Tradewind parts and these don't last forever. If they fit but slide about then just apply some electrician's tape to the spar either side of the fitting to keep it in place.

The leading edge rubber connectors similarly eventually get old. While repairing the frame it might be a good move to freshen up the fittings before they fail just as a bit of preventative maintenance. I suspect The Highwaymen might be a good bet for this.

Mike.

Cheers - will pursue these solutions.
Thanks

Larry

The Shuriken saga continues.
Checking round , as suggested, all seemed in good working order (it didn't get a lot of use before 4 kids turned up and put a stop to most things).
However - one of the stand-off spars - not the main ones appended to the stretcher, but the little ones that 'stretch' the wing tips, if you get my drift ( is there a technical term??)
is weak and frayed.
The fittings either end are OK
It's sort of doing it's job but won't take much to give up the ghost.
What grade/diameter of carbon would that be?
Is it pretty standard?

BTW loving this board.
It's extraordinary how things have moved on since I last took up this hobby.
I thought I was pretty OK at it - I now see I have a LOT to learn.
Thanks.

the common size for standoffs etc is 3mm diameter solid carbon, but you should try and measure it - if you get enough you could always replace both sides so you know it's balanced.
There is also the possibility of them being made of fibreglass rather than carbon - I'm hoping someone else can come up with a way of telling them apart...

3mm sounds big.
Is there a device/guage for measuring the OD of things like spars. tubes etc?
It's all a bit hit and miss with a tape measure!

Simple caliper will do the trick.

I don't know the Shuriken in particular, but those short wingtip battens are often made of fibreglass rather than carbon fibre ( short lengths of carbon are really stiff). Probably 2mm or possibly 3mm. If you have a Radio controlled model shop near you take the other good batten along to them - they usually have a good range of glass fibre and carbon rods in 2, 2.5 & 3mm in stock as they are used a lot in RC planes and helicopters and should be able to sort you out something suitable.

SteveC wrote:

I don't know the Shuriken in particular, but those short wingtip battens are often made of fibreglass rather than carbon fibre ( short lengths of carbon are really stiff). Probably 2mm or possibly 3mm. If you have a Radio controlled model shop near you take the other good batten along to them - they usually have a good range of glass fibre and carbon rods in 2, 2.5 & 3mm in stock as they are used a lot in RC planes and helicopters and should be able to sort you out something suitable.

Or look round bins for discarded kites, which was the alleged source of the cheap stunter I observed a few years back being flown (on proper lines,mind) by a local power-kiter.