Ken, there are two straps on the bar. The red strap is the depower strap... if you pull it, it should stay put. The grey strap is the re-power strap. You need to pull it gently, about an inch and when you let go of it, the red strap will snap back in about 3 inches or more. Thats how it works.. it is supposed to slip after you let go of it.

Not sure what Amber meant to say, but in correction, your kite will not fall backwards if depowered too much. But, it will do that if the kite is stalled (too much tension on back lines and no airspeed). It stalls similar to an airplane wing, and falls.

I think what Amber meant was that it will hindenburg in light wind if it flies too far over your head. Meaning, if you depower too much in light wind, it could overshoot your head, tucking the leading edge. It will flip upside down over your head and crash inside out. This almost never happens with modern bow kites .. you have to do something really wrong like swing under the kite, let the lines go completely slack, or over depower in really gusty but light winds. C kites and hybrids will typically hindenburg more easily. Amber is correct in that it is important to keep at least a little tension on the back lines when the kite is over your head. I use the stopper ball for this.

Light wind flying technique requires keeping the kite moving at all times (figure 8's above your head) to avoid slack in the lines.

I do not recommend riding alone, especially as a beginner.

However, if you are going to do it anyway, and you are self launching, I recommend connecting the chicken loop to an anchor of some sort (dog chain screw, trailer hitch, sign, bench), and walking the kite out into position, standing it on a wing tip. This will force you to be in the correct launch position or the kite will not stand up and sit still. Double check everything while it is ready to go, run back, unhook it, and launch, holding the chicken loop in one hand and the bar in the other, kite fully depowered. Once the kite is flying and looking good, hook in and connect your leash.

Don't do this near people. Find a place clear of a crowd and especially kids.

We are trying to avoid two important things here.

1) Getting lofted, dragged, and killed if the self launch goes wrong. Instead the kite will be ripped from your hands.

2) Hitting or hurting anyone with the kite, even if it gets loose. The best prevention for this is distance. Down wind should be clear of people for at least 300 (or more) feet.

Those are the two most important parts of the launch. Good luck, use lots of common sense. If you see a column of rain in the distance land immediately regardless of what you THINK is going to happen.

Also, fwiw, I do not recommend this self launch technique with a C kite.

-tom