solo launching

[Jules B.]

I have a question regarding solo launching!!! when launching on a sandy beach i usually make small piles of sand to hold down my blade! is this bad for the kite in any way?? also what techniques do people use for holding down their kites on beaches and anywhere else?

btw managed 3 story jumps yesterday!! the blade 3 is impressing me more and more every day

[rjw]

i fly on a beach also and use the same technique, little piles of sand. thats with a bullet and it works great, i have no idea if it is bad for the kite, i guess if you wash the salty sand of afterwards it'll be fine thiough.

 

i have only ever flown on beaches and was wandering the other day how you launch in a field or on some surface you cannot scoop up easily?

 

rjw

[8015]

Sanding the trailing edge is the recommended way on the beach, but there are other options.

 

You could put the bag on the kite to hold it down until you get the lines unwound and staked (Or even leave the kite in the bag whilst doing this). It helps if the bag is weighted a bit, you will need something to drink so a couple of waterbottles in the bag help :-)

 

You could also stake the brake bridle down whilst unwinding the lines, but kites tend to set much better with a bit of tension on the main lines and I don't think it would be wise to stake them out whilst running the lines through your fingers.

 

However IMHO the easiiest way is to parapack the kite between sessions (try this link http://homepages.manx.net/dangermouse/kites/parapack.html ). When unpacking you stake the handles down, and then walk downwind paying out the line until you get to the kite which you can unfold and leave ready for takeoff (assuming the brakes are adjusted so it will sit on the ground when just left with the lines taught).

 

JIM

[jtr999]

why don't you buy an stage two bag.

you can putt sand in it and when you leave you can putt you're kite bag in ithttp://www.s2kiteboarding.com/

[kitesurfa]

Originally posted by jules_b

what techniques do people use for holding down their kites on beaches and anywhere else?

 

I have not long started flying and I use a small rucksack which also doubles as my kite bag until I get more gear.. :-)

 

Remove kite from bag and leave folded up.

Place Rucksack on kite

Unwind lines and then stake Brake lines

Return to kite & remove bag

Unfold kite ready for flight.

 

 

On the beach - sand is abrasive but will not harm the kite.

Could also use Pebbles if there are any near by.

[Jules B.]

cheers guys!! but what do you mean by staking the break lines! i would imagine it would involve keeping the break lines connected to something on the ground! how would the kite behave? does it flap around a lot?

[BLADE2]

i dont know how you pack your kite away but if you stake your handles down with a stake ,through the loops at the bottom of the handles the kite should just sit up on the beach untill you pick the handles up and power the kite up into the air???

[superbman]

The foolproof method:

 

Leave the kite in the bag. Take out the handles and unwind about 30cm of line. Work out which are the left lines and which are the right. Now the clever bit - STAND BETWEEN THE LEFT AND RIGHT SETS OF LINES... Now walk upwind, unwinding the line (holding the handles in the same hand they were wound on with. When you get to the end of the line you will be standing between the left and right lines (NO TWISTS!!!). Put a kite stake in the ground and rest the handles on it (Pulling on the brakes).

 

Walk back to the kite and take it out of the bag.

 

Fly!

 

When you pack it up do everything in reverse - fold the bridle lines into the kite and fold it up tight and neat. Go back and grab your handles and wind the line on nice and tight and neat. When you get to the bag, slide the handles in neatly on top of the kite, ready to take out again.

 

I've NEVER had a problem using this method. A little bit of time spent making sure everything is packed REALLY neatly saves a lot of time when you come to set up!!!

[8015]

Originally posted by jules_b

cheers guys!! but what do you mean by staking the break lines! i would imagine it would involve keeping the break lines connected to something on the ground! how would the kite behave? does it flap around a lot?

 

This suggests to me that you might not be using a stake at all at the moment? What do you do when you stop?

 

You should always have a ground stake (which is at the very least a big tent peg, or on the beach a corkscrew dog lead stake works well) which you can stick into the ground and loop your handles over. The loops at the bottom of the handle are designed for this but you can just pop the whole handle over making sure the tops point towards the kite and the bottoms are by the stake (useful if you have handles without loops). This effectively disables the kite on the ground - some kites rise and fall a bit and you might need a second stake near the top of the handles to apply a bit of pressure to the main lines so the kite sits up and the wind can't get under the trainling edge.

 

I always have at least 2 stakes with me (very easy to lose track of the first one and you might need to control the kite in a hurry), and it's a good idea to tie something bright to them so you can fnd them. A lot of people use stakes with golf balls stuck on top so they don't get impaled if they fall on them, I just move away from the stake when flying or pick it up and stick it in my pocket.

 

I think I suggested staking the brake bridles if you can't weight the kite down on grass, what I was meaning by that was to find where the lines are tied to the bridles and put a stake through the loops to hold the whole lot down - the kite would flap a bit because with the main lines slack the wind will try and lift the trailing edge. Generally staking the bottom of the handles down applies enough brake to hold the kite and stop it from flaping.

 

The groundstake is the one essential item missing from the new kite package, and isn't terribly well explained in the manual - there is a lot of reference to disabling your kite but no explanation as to how!

 

JIM

[Adrena1in]

If it's fairly windy it sometimes might not be enough to just use a rucksack on the tail of the kite, with the kite directly downwind, so what I do is side-launch.

 

Lay the kite out on its back with one wing-tip pointing into the wind, and put an object on this wingtip. This will stop it flapping about. (For the sake of this example let's say you've put the object on the left wing-tip as you look at the kite.) With the lines and handles unwound, move to a position 45 degrees between having the wind on your back to having it hitting you on the left of the face.

 

Put some tension in the lines and the right wing-tip will rise up, lifting the kite into the air and pulling away from under the bag.

 

Fly.

 

Landing can be a little awkward if there's no-one there to help you. I tend to land the kite, then release one handle so the kite lies flat again. Then I wait until it's calm and run for it.

 

If it's not calm I land with the brakes on and wind the lines up round the handles.

 

And as long as you stake the handles down through the loops at the back of the brakes the kite shouldn't flap about. Sometimes kite's tails do manage to lift up, and the kite rises into the air, and maybe spins over, but not very often.

[kitesurfa]

Originally posted by jules_b

cheers guys!! but what do you mean by staking the break lines! i would imagine it would involve keeping the break lines connected to something on the ground! how would the kite behave? does it flap around a lot?

 

Quad kites have 4 lines - The rear 2 lines are the brake lines. When these are taught the kite is un-powered. If in flight kite falls to the ground. when normal flying these are/should be slack. Kite is flown on the Main Lines (Front 2 lines) Brake lines are then used to help fast turns etc. or to depower in an emergency situation eg. too much pull or lift for you to handle.

Theses are the same lines kite killers are connected to. If there is a sudden gust of wind which pulls the handles out of your hand the killers are your safety device. Kite will depower and float back to earth.

 

Difficult to put into words better - Would be better if you maybe asked your local flyers to give you a demonstration or watch them setting up ready to fly.

 

Does it flap around ?

Depends how much wind and in which direction.

But generally remains in one place.

 

If flying by yourself and you have the kite staked correctly you can walk to the kite and reposition without your kite trying to fly away by itself.

[BobTheRussianGarbageMan]

I always detach the lines from my kite then wind one side up to one handle on a winder then the other side up to the other handle. I never get tangles this way because left and right lines are always separated. I only have one decent set of hanfles and a couple sets of lines (poor student) so I cant leave them with the kite. Never had any problems setting up or packing away like this. Takes a little longer but I can now wind superfast cause Ive done it so often.

[KiteMark]

If you use the following method of packing / unpacking the kite will sit parked until the lines are unwound, with no need to weigh the kite down. Then you can either fly or stake your handles with a groundstake ( a must in my opinion) I have flown on the beach and inland and use the same method each time.

 

 

Packing

 

Land Kite, tilt handles forward (brakes on) then wind around handles fairly tightly ( I dont use figure of 8). When you get close to the bridle pull lines in between each handle. Lay kite in the direction of the wind, fold one half to centre and again until kite is folded enough, place handles on folded half to keep still, repeat on other half then roll up with handles in the middle.

 

Unpacking

 

Open kite, unwind handles using same hands as wound. Fly. Or stake handles and get the next kite ready

 

This method takes less than 2 minutes to pack, and I can be airborne in less than a minute.

[Dr-Manic]

parapacking is the way to goput the handles on your ground stake walk the length of the lines get your kite out . If it neeeds weighting down use sand or shingle oh and only fly on the beach its much better

[HD462]

This is the best pictorial way of packing/unpacking I've seen. I do it this way and you don't get tangles, you just need to get a method to it, do it the same way each time. The kite's the last thing out of the bag, and first thing into it, so it can't flap about.

 

Ozone Packing Tips

[Nick G]

The foolproof method:

 

Leave the kite in the bag. Take out the handles and unwind about 30cm of line. Work out which are the left lines and which are the right. Now the clever bit - STAND BETWEEN THE LEFT AND RIGHT SETS OF LINES... Now walk upwind, unwinding the line (holding the handles in the same hand they were wound on with. When you get to the end of the line you will be standing between the left and right lines (NO TWISTS!!!). Put a kite stake in the ground and rest the handles on it (Pulling on the brakes).

 

Walk back to the kite and take it out of the bag.

 

Fly!

 

When you pack it up do everything in reverse - fold the bridle lines into the kite and fold it up tight and neat. Go back and grab your handles and wind the line on nice and tight and neat. When you get to the bag, slide the handles in neatly on top of the kite, ready to take out again.

 

I've NEVER had a problem using this method. A little bit of time spent making sure everything is packed REALLY neatly saves a lot of time when you come to set up!!!

 

That's the way i also do a self launch. I fined it's a methodical way of doing a self launch. I use draw string bag's for all my kites and i figure 8 the lines around the handles. After you have taken the kite out of the bag ,you just put the bag in your pocket. I fined it saves a lot of grief.