18
2011 CROSSBOW IDS™ KITE USER MANUAL
REPAIRING LEADING EDGE BLADDERS
1. First, lay the kite out with the struts facing up.
2. Each end of the Leading Edge (LE) bladder is folded over
and secured with a Velcro closure. You will also find a zipper
access pocket at the center of the LE. Undo each Velcro
closure and unzip the center access pocket. This will open
up the sleeve of the strut and will allow you access to the
bladder. (Fig. 1,2)
3. Separate the Airlock Valve Assembly from the leading
edge. Carefully lift the retainer ring from the bladder. Using
the small pull tab on the Velcro ring, carefully peel the Airlock
base off of the inside of the LE. Keep track of the assembly
for later use. (Fig. 3,4,5)
4. Next, disassemble the Sprint™ valves. Remove the tubing
lock collars of the strut valves (Fig. 6).
5. Slide the air clips off of each tube. (Fig. 7).
6. Remove the screws (2) from the base of each LE valve.
(Fig. 8).
7. Keep track of the valve parts for later use.
8. For the next step, you will need two flying lines. Starting
with one end of the leading edge, tie one line around the
wing tip end of the bladder. Cinch the line down well. Using
the second line, follow the same procedure with the other
end of the leading edge bladder.
9. Next, gently push the valves down into the strut sleeve.
10. Now, access the leading edge bladder through the
zippered access pocket near the leading edge valve. (Fig. 2)
11. Gently pull one side of the bladder out of the sleeve at a
time, leaving the flying line through both sides of the sleeve.
Having the flying line through the sleeve will allow you to
easily replace the bladder once it is repaired.
12. Once out of the sleeve, attach the air clips. Inflate the bladder
and close all clips and the airlock valve so that it maintains
air. Do not over inflate the bladder.
13. Submerge the bladder in water to locate the hole. A bathtub
or large sink full of water is best. You will need to submerge
one section of the bladder at a time in order to locate the
hole. Look for air bubbles to locate the hole.
14. Once you have located the leak, dry the area and mark the
hole with a circle. A permanent marker works best for this.
(Fig. 9)
REPAIRS
FIG. 1
FIG. 2
FIG. 3
FIG. 4
FIG. 5
FIG. 6
