Get better, Faster! 2009 Slingshot CenterSafetySystem

shymac · Since 20 Jul 2005 919 Posts Home Valley, Wa. Bigfoot

For those unsure of what the Slingshot CSS is all about and how it works check this link for a good real world look at it.

http://wakayamaent.com/adam/SLINGSHOT/SLINGSHOT_CSS_480p.mp4

This system will be available on the T3,REV II, and FUEL which are all 4-Line Bars. If you have any further questions please feel free to post em and i will do my best to answer em...

pkh · Since 27 Feb 2005 6549 Posts Couve / Hood Honored Founder

I'm amazed there are quite a few REV owners that don't know about the safety system.

There are even more who know about it but I think are scared to use it.

Here's a tip, test it out next time you are on the water. If you are worried about it try it in a shallow water spot. That's what I did when I first got it. We did probably 30-40 tests of it in a row, crashing the kite everyway we could think and it always worked. It really boosted my confidence in the system.

Watch the video but the cliff notes version is: Its like a 5th line but with 4 lines. You can fully flag the kite but then recover it without tangles.

If you get a bridle wrap or inversion, deploy the safety. It will sort everything out and you can be back on the water.

sentone · Since 10 Feb 2006 66 Posts

forsure......saftey is THE big concern for this sport ...land -water-or elsewhere ......i had to self land in big winds the other day on a small beach with randon tourists....with older gear i would of put the kite over the water and let go......then reel in a rats nest.....with the einstienish SS bar i just backed into the shrub pulled the red depower loop .....the kite went 9999.9 % depower set down soft on its edge i hooked a thick branch walked the line to the kite set it down.......sweeet ready for the next sess....my kids learned more in 3 days with this new gear than i did in weeks being scared to death on the old stuff ....they learn saftey first...makes them less intimadeted to fly.....for thows just getting into kiteing those older kites are cheap but ........as stated learn faster.....be saferer.....have fun .....go with the new stuff ...lots of people have paid the price to get where we stand today........oh ya thanks for the long winters so the crew of rocket scienctists at SS can come up with this stuff..... Idea

pdxmonkeyboy · Fri Aug 15, 08 10:20 am

Is there anyway to keep the bar from sliding all the hell way up the lines when you deploy the safety? Not a big deal I guess but I had to pull a shitload of line in last time and was worried it was going to get tangled.

System works good though...

stringer · Since 31 Jul 2007 694 Posts Chucktown Flying Tomato

I like the vid, 2:31-2:34 is classic!
I thought Y8s was on 5 line fuels though...

stringer · Since 31 Jul 2007 694 Posts Chucktown Flying Tomato

brass · Since 15 Jul 2006 152 Posts Stoked

Can I retro fit my Fuel bar or would I have to get a new one? Hell I'm probably due anyway.

EY · Since 06 Jul 2008 76 Posts NW, Florida, Asia Made in China

Correction. The new coming up REV is not REV II. Is REV 09.

kitezilla · Since 22 Jun 2006 453 Posts gorge Obsessed

Kataku2k3 · Since 14 Aug 2005 3753 Posts Los Angeles, CA Videographer

Amery said that the majority of the people aren't going to be "firing" their CSS over and over again during a sess. That isn't to say there aren't a lot that do (because even I know a bunch of people that practice new unhooked stuff with it), but most do not. Because of this, they didn't put a stopper ball on the CSS line, as it would likely create more problems (just as kitezilla mentioned). We've fired the system 100s of times, and I've only had the bar run almost all the way to the kite, once. Even then, the kite relaunched without any problems. Just took a bit longer.

P.S. - Andrew, your FUELs shouldn't have that problem. At the end of the grey 5th line leader (where it linked to the spectra line), there should be a knot which prevents the bar from running any further. I guess it could be a problem with the upper block that the cleat is screwed into?

stringy · Since 23 Jun 2006 1734 Posts vancouver XTreme Poster

i just watched the video. great video adam. I am wondering about the comment at 1:28 "gently flag the kite off the center line". I assume this is still the four line system as on the current Revs, just calling one of the front lines the center, and not actually a five line system?
As for a question to SS, Why no pully on the sheeting line? I actually added one and the sheeting is much easier than against the ring. I mean no disrespect, just want the bar to be as efficient as well as safe as possible. sheeting should be something that can be done easy especially when the wind picks up and you need to tune your kite appropriately.

stringy (not to be confused with stringer...)

Kataku2k3 · Since 14 Aug 2005 3753 Posts Los Angeles, CA Videographer

Yeah, same 4-line system as last year... but the new bar is soooooooo much nicer! Bag looks cooler too!

JW · Since 28 Jan 2006 227 Posts portland Stoked

looking cool is every thing right adam ? Very Happy

boarderchick · Since 10 Aug 2007 196 Posts Wherever there's wind:-) Stoked

Liked the video, Katie looked oh so cute. Anyhow, it would have been great when they showed Katie releasing the bar if they would have showed her actually pulling the red ball, as it just looks like she unhooked her chicken loop and let the bar go. We use the SlingShot Surefire Spreader bars, so we hook-up to the ring of the red loop and then if there is an "oh shit" moment, we just release ourselves from the spreader bar and the kite goes down.

I accidentially hit the red ball release the first day I tried the rev, right in front of slingshot. What happened was that I was trying to adjust the kite to depower, and then all of a sudden in doing that I pulled down enough that I accidentially hit the red ball release and I was unhooked, I just held on for dear life as I thought the chicken loop broke on me. A gust came, and I had to let go of the kite bar, so, it went down. It all happened so fast, I didn't realize I hit the red ball release. Obviously, I now know how to re-connect it, but it is easy to hit if you are trying to adjust the kite. It's been awhile, so need to practice it again.

Getting back to my original point, when you get to the kite, you need to be able to secure the line you walk up to get to the loop and then connect the loop again. The video needs to show a little better to those who are not familiar with the bar where you "secure" the line while trying to connect the loop together again, and how to "unsecure" the line, then how you re-launch. Step-by-step. It showed Katie re-connecting the loop and then all of a sudden back to her starting position and then re-launching, not showing the steps in-between.

Practice, practice, practice. You never know when an accident could happen!

Kataku2k3 · Since 14 Aug 2005 3753 Posts Los Angeles, CA Videographer

I sent Shy the high resolution version, so it should be a bit more obvious in it, but Katie does in fact pull the release knob. As far as getting every single step... yeah, I probably should have gone more into detail, however, I only had 4 days to have a fully edited final draft.

seattlekite.com · Since 21 Feb 2007 61 Posts Seattle

Nice to see the full video! Much more fun to watch than the standard techy gear vids thanks to the sweet action shots of Amery, Tuck, Alex and gang.

It was a lot of fun to shoot the video and I am now more comfortable than ever deploying the system and the reride works really well. I used to hold myself back from trying new things because I was afraid of dropping my kite or letting go of the bar and not being able to relaunch. Not so anymore. I shot the release sequence more than a dozen times so we could get all sorts of camera angles and I did pull the pin every time.

I can see how you would reach for your sheeter strap and accidentally pull the pin, if your sheeter was turned around to the opposite side (the left) so that both were on the same side. As long as you swivel your sheeter to the right it shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks for letting me be a part of the video!

-Miss Katie Clack

Mocean · Since 21 Sep 2005 343 Posts Newport Obsessed

Here's a question: Under what circumstances would you use the red strap (oh shit?) attached to the ring on the center line? Is grabbing it an option to letting the kite go out to the full length of the leash, when you let go of the bar or pull the red ball release?