Latest News:

Beach bonfire April 15th, 2010... Lakawa Kiteboarding to host bonfire on South Padre Island.

Free Higher Education Theory Classes... Free kitesurfing theory and repair classes begin this spring 2010 season.

Kite Landboarding on South Padre Island... The crew takes a test drive on some new kite landboard and kitesurfing gear.

Kitesurfing and Kiteboarding Equipment Store Goes Online... The New Online Kitesurfing and Kiteboarding Goes Online.

Vacation Rentals South Padre Island... Information about the condo rentals on South Padre Island.

2010 South Padre Island Kite Round Up... May 1st-9th, 2010 - Largest Kiteboarding event in North America! Equipment Demos, Amateur Contests, Kite Clinics, Pros, Parties and More.

New South Padre Shuttle from Harlingen Airport... $20 One-way Bus tickets available from South Padre Island, Texas to Harlingen Valley International Airport (VIA)!

Kitesurfing Trip to Puerto Rico... Air Padre Kiteboarding Team takes a vacation, and heads to Puerto Rico for kitesurfing adventures!

Air Padre Kiteboarding Donates Gear to students... Air Padre donates kite equipment to UTB Kiteboarding. See their reactions!

News Archives»

Kite Repairs, Canopy Repairs, and Bladder Repairs

Replacement Kite Bladders

Need a new bladder or two? Email us with the length from the valve to the trailing edge, for struts/ ribs, or for the leading edge bladder, measure from the valve to wing tip (half the length of the kite, unless the valve isn't centered). Also include the year, brand, model and size of the kite. Also let us know if there is more then one valve, esp. for leading lead bladders.

The Bladder Doctor

This isn't about your prostrate...it's about your kite bladder. We offer bladder repair services at our shop. We have been practicing repairing school kite bladders for years. There's usually 24 hour turn around, and the normal cost is $25-$40. If you think your bladder is too far gone to fix, you need to give us a chance to repair it. We can repair 95% of herniated or torn bladders so they will not leak. And there is NO bladder, that we have come across, that we can't repair to point where it will hold air long enough to save your South Padre Island sessions.

Kite and Harness Repairs

air padre kite canpoy, seam, and ripstop sewing machine

We offer in house kite and harness repairs. Repairs are $60 per hour which includes standard materials. You break it we'll fix it. As long as you bring your kite in clean and dry, we can typically get it back to you repaired same day. We do charge a $20 fee to clean and dry your kite, because our sewing machines do not like sand or water, therefore clean and dry is very important. We currently have a Pfaff 138 sewing machine as well as a Singer 457 sewing machine that we use to repair harness webbing, canopies, struts, leading edges, and to make leaders, pig-tails, and more. We have a wide range of colors in rip-stop and dacron to match your kite color. There are two methods of repair. This first cheaper method is one color rip stop. And the second, more expensive method is matching rip stop tape to your kite canopy color scheme, so it is harder to tell where the rip was.

Canopy Tears

On basic canopy repairs, we use rip stop on both sides of the canopy prior to stitching to ensure strength. This doubling up of material prevents future tears. The repairs that we do are stronger than the kite was before the tear.

Leading Edge and Struts

On the leading edge and struts we use a multi-layer style of repair. On the interior, we use several layers of rip stop as well as on the exterior. Depending on where the area is and the stress that is going to be put upon that area while the kite is flying determines the amount of layers we use on the external or internal portion of the strut or leading edge. On kites with leading edge issues and tears, that were not originally reinforced along the leading edge; prior to closing, we do reinforce that area, to make sure that you will not have an issues in the future. On tears that occur at the strut and leading edge connection points, or in cases where the strut is completely detached from the kite, we are able to rebuild and reconstruct the affected areas.

Harness Repairs and Modifications

We can do harness repairs and modifications for you. It is a well known fact that harnesses and wetsuits often shrink. We can extend the velcro belt or the nylon webbing to make your favorite harness fit again. Another common problem is nylon webbing is/has torn away from the harness. We sew these repairs by hand as the harnesses are to thick to sew with our machines. If you want to do it yourself we will rent you the huge needle and pusher and provide you with premium wax coated, UV resistant thread. All for only $5.

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