Author Topic: Learning the hard way why you don't hang wings from the front handle to dry  (Read 2057 times)

Norfolkfoiler

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I went out the other day on my 5m, and the centre struct deflated after 5 mins.
I never took the advice about hanging the wing from the front handle too seriously - but only did it a few times - that was a mistake.
Chris at sore kites (uk south coast) did this clip for me that shows why this causes the problem - amazing turn around - thank you Chris.


Badger

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I'm not getting any sound. What exactly is it that he is pointing out?

Does this happen from hanging the wing deflated or inflated? 

I can't imagine this happening with an inflated wing but I'm still new to winging. I've been hanging mine inflated and haven't noticed any problems.

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PonoBill

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It probably won't happen to an inflated wing because the strut bladder won't shift down--probably. There are a lot of ways to screw up the bladders since they are free to move inside the tubes of the strut and leading edge. Anything you do that promotes shifting, twisting, folding, or otherwise moving the bladder from the position it needs to be in and/or usually takes can cause big problems. I dry my wings at the beach, inflated, as much as happens between getting changed, putting away all the other gear, and then deflating and rolling up the wing. It's not a careful process, I'm a slob, I don't roll up the wings carefully, I fold them tip to tip, roll them together, and stuff them in the bag. Sometimes they smell like a long-dead muskrat, but I don't have trouble with bladders. I use one or two almost every day. People doing more occasional use might want to take a bit more time. But don't hang them from the handle.

I watch people doing a super-careful, tight roll of each wing before carefully folding them, putting a strap around them, and gently placing them into the bag. I wonder how the bladder does with that tight roll. Sometimes neatness is not the best prescription.
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foililm

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My first post here, so Hello! Growing up camping, we were taught to stuff our sleeping bags any which way back into their sacks rather than rolling them up neatly. It seems rolling tends to compact the insulating material inside which could affect its performance. With my wing, I tend to do the same - ball it up at the beach and then dry it flat when I get home by draping it over something so air gets underneath.

Dontsink

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I would not just ball it up.Rolling is good because it minimizes the number of folds,they weaken and stretch the material.

But rolling and folding always in the same exact way is bad because the folds will always weaken the same spots.

I roll sloppily,use a tube bag,never rinse,never hang to dry.Maybe i am just rationalizing my laziness :)
« Last Edit: August 09, 2021, 07:13:00 AM by Dontsink »

 


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