First flight of 4D Berkeley... Yes! Yes! No!

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[RevJim]

I got to fly my new 4D Berkeley Star-Field Dusk today. It is one beautiful kite. The Star-Field pattern looks great in the sun. Winds were very low with gusts up to 4 mph. A great day to have a 4D. Very different flying compared to my Zephyr or Quantum. Although I knew to use subtle steering, it took a while to get used to how sensitive the kite is. Even though I knew better, I'd pull with my hand and arm, instead of subtle movements. Things kept getting better and better until the ferrule on the leading edge broke.   I double checked, parts of the ferrule are still attached to both upper and lower parts of the leading edge. Since the wind was mostly 2 or less I packed up and went home. So, I've written customer support at Prism. I am hopeful that they can send me the parts I need. I'll follow up with a post on their response. My question is, will I have any problem getting the old ferrule off of the upper leading edge?

[Ca Ike]

You shouldn't have any problems getting the ferrule off.  IF its plastic or carbon tube  and it didn't break even with the rod a few firm taps can break the glue loose. YOu can use a heat gun or boil it as some have suggested but I haven't tried this myself.  If nothing else a sharp knife and a little care not to carve the main rod and whittle it off.

I'm curious as to what might have caused it to break.  The 4D is a pretty tough kite for an SUL and other than the weak center T issues I haven't heard of anyone breaking them.  No matter though Prism is pretty good and a quick call into Sandy or Brent in the CS dep should get you a replacement part easily enough.

[RevJim]

Ca Ike, Thanks for the advice on getting the ferrule off. I do have a heat gun, if needed. I read on one of the forums where another person had this problem, phoned customer service, and found out that there was a problem with weak ferrules on the leading edges. They were told that Prism has a different ferrule now. I've already sent an email to customer support, so I'll hold off on the phone call. I got an automated response letting me know that they got the email and would respond shortly. If I don't hear from them by Monday evening, I'll call and talk to Sandy or Brent.
Like you, I was surprised at the break. I thought this was a fairly low stress day for the kite. Any crashes were mild. I did some recoveries, and those did put some pressure on the leading edges. I'm guessing that once I get the new ferrules and replace the center T I should be good to go.

[Ca Ike]

Yea recoveries can be tough on SULs.  You have to be a lot lighter on the inputs than normal and its hard to get used to.  Just a flick of the wrists or a finger twitch is all you need most of the time.

[ko]

if you want your parts ,call. e-mail can be iffy at best

[RevJim]

I'll go ahead and call tomorrow. Thanks for your help.

[mikenchico]

I'll go ahead and call tomorrow. Thanks for your help.

Probably have better luck waiting until Monday 

[RevJim]

That makes sense, I'll go with Monday.

[RevJim]

I finally had a chance (and remembered) to call customer service yesterday afternoon. Brent was very helpful. He's sending new ferrules and a new center tee today. I sure look forward to getting the 4D back into the air.
Jim

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