Awesome she will love that kite!

I hook my chicken loop to my board handle (board covered with sand) and walk out and launch my kite, resting it on one wingtip... then I casually walk back and pick it up and hook in. THAT ALONE has made my waroo worth the investment. No more sketchy self launches in the dark!

I land the same way. Why crash a kite to land it when you can just walk over and put it down. I dont understand the need for all of these bizarre self launch and land techniques people are doing with these kites.

I have never done this.. but i have seen it done and think its prob the safest way to self launch.

When I first got my waroo i did the typical fold n sand method at least 20 times and never had a problem. Landing I just flew to the edge and dropped the kite on its wingtip then grabbed the top inside line and pulled the LE down to the sand.

folding the waroo wingtip does require a lot of sand and i could tell that it was putting a pinch on the LE bladder.

after a while i realized that i could just do a hot launch and never looked back.

rig downwind of the kite, turn the kite a bit so one wingtip catches some wind..hook in.. walk around to the far side and start pulling .. as soon as the kite starts to catch the wind, pull on the far outside line and the kite will flip to its wingtip and launch.. simple and easy.

one time i flipped the bar the wrong way and the kite did a loop and then launched.. that was scary.. but happened so fast i didnt have a chance to shit my pants before the kite was in the air and i was set.

i pay more attention to how i rotate the bar before i try to launch now..
:)

How much sand/weight do you need to put on the board? I imagine it varies with the wind speed. I'd hate to start walking to the kite and then off it goes!!

Not much... I've launched my 16m waroo in 15mph with it attached to the handle of my anomaly (heavish board) with NO sand on it. I casually walked over put the kite in the air and moved it around until it was stable.

Walked back (no hurry)... grabbed chicken loop and hooked in. No tangled bridles, no crossed lined, nuthin. I LOVE THIS KITE.

I did it at the skyway the other day and it dragged my board about 2 feet before I got to the kite... no big deal. In retrospect I should have put some sand on it and turned it 90 degrees to the kite, but I was experimenting.

Now in 20-25mph with a small waroo in gusty conditions it would be better to bring along a sandbag with a leash attached for launching. Clip the leash to the chicken loop and do the same thing. I am avoiding a stake because I dont want anyone to get a broken toe or fall during a hot launch and get dragged over it.

I think randy connects his to his bumper to launch it.

Now I think in really gusty conditions, if landing in a remote location alone on a gulf beach, I think you could *probably* just stick/burry the board in the sand, set kite down on wingtip, connect leash or chicken loop to handle, and quickly run to kite and catch it. It's probably a good idea to SIT on the ground, one leg on each side of the board when doing this landing until you are sure it's not going anywhere on it's own before you run to the kite. Last thing you need is a flying kite with 20lb object attached to it tumbling down the beach.

I am very hesitant to crash land any kite except for a C kite on a 5th line... I dont like surprises and I have already had plenty doing that routine with C kites before I started using a 5th line...

So far I can see no need for a stake to be put in the ground.

BTW, dont ever do this with a C kite.

Tom, how long have we been trying to get you to buy a waroo for????

just wait til you take the 9m out in 30-35 :)

next time we are out ill let you try the 07 if you want, it smokes the 06 in all aspects, except turning speed where its a little slower...

self landing has never been an issue even w/o the CL method.. the kite flies so far forward in the window that you easily drop it gently to the ground.

a lot depends on all conditions .. beach/room/wind/ect..

safest method would be to attach the leash to an outside line and attach that to a stationary object other than the one that is holding the CL.. in the case of a failed launch/land it would flag the kite.

oh..

also want to add to the actual subject of this thread that you can all SUCK MY FAT BUTT as I will be a couple thousand miles away from my equipment when this beast of wind rolls in next week.

Dan and I are heading up to Boston for the week but are kicking ourselves ..

You might have to come up with some dandy of excuses to get away for a few hours.. but at least you will have that option.

oh well..

My vacation is much needed.. but .. damn.. its showing 25+...

blah.

Bryan I know you can self land these things, but honestly, in 25mph, when that kite flips and relaunches with bridle lines tangled on rear strut you are in serious trouble, and you are hooked in.

Ask E-Bone about that one!

I avoid landing that way unless it's very light wind.

true true..
ive never had to self land in those conditions..

when its blowing that hard there always seems to be plenty of riders at the beach to help out.

Bryan,

Boston ROCKS!!! That is where I grew up! Wish I could take a vacation up there...just not when it's blowing... :lol:

If you guys were real kiters you'd take your gear and go riding on Cape Cod!!! :shock: :lol: