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Why is it so dangerous to fly kites near power lines?
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Author:  yogaslackers [ Thu Nov 23, 2006 10:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Why is it so dangerous to fly kites near power lines?

Why is it so dangerous to fly kites near power lines? (Kites in power lines can cause outages or fires. If you touch the string of a kite that’s caught in a power line, you could be shocked.)

Has anyone heard what happens to a power kiter if they hit a power line?

What do we do if we do?

Sam

Author:  kitesmurfer [ Fri Nov 24, 2006 10:19 am ]
Post subject: 

If you know you are going to hit the lines, pull your main QR and the one on your leash.

at the end of the day, just use common sense and don't go too close.

Chris

Author:  yogaslackers [ Fri Nov 24, 2006 6:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Not to be too cynical

I got that much I am not that dense, I want to know if anyone has ever hit a line and what the emergency procedures were. I know you are not supposed to touch the victim, and all the other basic safety stuff dealing with electricity. I am just looking for any info on these actual circumstances.

Thanks

Sam

Author:  kitesmurfer [ Fri Nov 24, 2006 9:31 pm ]
Post subject: 

sorry dude, can't always tell with people over the internet.

Author:  yogaslackers [ Sat Nov 25, 2006 1:07 pm ]
Post subject: 

It is all good, thanks for the advice.
Sam

Author:  Kayakman [ Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:00 pm ]
Post subject: 

Surfed around a little trying to find out about the conductivity of kite lines. I found this copied text on a kiteboarding site. Obviously, I have no idea whether it is accurate in whole or part. And, I have seen dozens of sites that of course repeat the traditional teachings of don't hit the lines. -- jim

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This happened to me more than once while flying a stack of maxima power-delta's on Kevlar lines. Kevlar from the litlle i know about it has a very high content of cristaline carbon which adds to it's tensile strength but also makes it a great electricity conductor. After the first few times i got zzzz'd i went home plucked my trusty ol' Fluke multitester and measured the resistence of the line . For dry kevlar 200# line i got 900 ohm/meter while salt-water wetted dyneema of the same test-strength was barely conducting anything through a 20 cm length... This means that wetted Kevlar lines of around 30-40 meters will probably have a total resistence of 20Mohm / 2 ( two lines ) . Supposing voltage differences of around 5000 volts between the kite and ground you'll have some .5 amper trying to flow through you towards theground..OOOPS You can either touch the handles to a metallic ground peg before you fly (this is temporary though) or use Dyneema lines - they show a world of difference regarding electrical conductivity. (BTW i never really met anyone getting zapped but it's good to know i'm not alone :)Fair sea and winds
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