1.Solo Flat Kite Launching-Safety Tip Of The Week

[BigR]

I solo launched C kites for years without incident in moderate to light winds. In higher winds the damn kite could dig itself out from the anchoring sand and launch. Or, even better, the lines could loop and snag on themselves in strong wind.

I have had only one problem that I described with flat kites. Not sure if this is a problem with all flat kites either. Augering into the hard stuff at high speed can suck big time though. I am prone to solo launch flat kites if there is sufficient room on the beach with other kites coming and going. In the future, I am going to try real hard to have assisted launches. Things won't go to crap all the time, just every once in a while perhaps to get a rise out of us.

If your kite will stay put despite gusts and not clothesline anyone walking down the beach, tethered solo launch may still be a reasonable risk.

agreed, But, I think self LANDINGS in over 35 kts are even more of an issue with flat kites, no?

I think self landing an SLE kite is difficult too, but it concerns me for my safety less than self launching.

To me, launching a kite is the most dangerous moment (with exception of unforeseen weather events and equip. malfunctions) in our sport. I know it's when I feel most vulnerable.
I agree Rick, in the high winds, the odds of the lines "getting tied in knots" during a self launch seems pretty high. There is a lot of time that they are slack and it only takes one loop knot to really mess things up and make the kite non-controllable. It seems the wind has fingers, because I have seen some pretty messy bird's nests created by the wind blowing slack kite lines.
These knots in the line have been the main cause over the years for my problems self launching in 20 plus. As you know, sh!@ hits the fan incredibly fast in these type of scenarios when the kite has a "mind of its own".

Most bad kitemares I have personally witnessed (ambulance rides) were related to launching. We have seen some bad ones over the years here, especially at East Beach, where the ground can be slippery and vehicles are often only 50 feet away.
It's probably obvious, but at launch, we are on/very near land and can therefore hit an object within only 2 seconds or less of launching, depending how near it is.
The thing that goes wrong (line tangle, bridle snag) is usually not known and catches people totally by surprise.
The thing is, when everything is cool, launching a kite is pretty ho-hum and 100 in a row might go perfect. It therefore is really easy to get complacent about an event that could actually be quite dangerous.

Unfortunately, here is another launching incident in high winds that Rick already knows about.

http://www.kiteforum.com/phpbb/viewt...342144&start=0

[BigR]

Yeah scott but in 35 kts bridle tangles can be at least minimized to some level on self launching >>>> self landing under these conditions will always just send the kite into a relaunch followed by endless kiteloops

...end of rant...nobody even thinks self landings are worthy of consideration...


On another topic, I guess nobody wants to do DP today, N @ 20-23kts SW southside? rainy the rest of day

I'm not. I am dead tired and it's due North with a high tide. Gusty, gusty.

No rant, just good conversation. I self land all the time and even have mods to my kites for self landing that help quite a bit. I guess for me, I am anticipating letting the kite go on a landing, already made sure nothing is downwind (for my kites safety) and am prepared to say "see ya'" when it pulls a "I ain't ready to land" on me. In 20 plus, both the self land and launch aren't ideal. I have done hundreds out of necessity (seabreeze, only guy there) and still feel very uncomfortable with both even though my success rate is probably 95% (that's ten or more possible whack jobs over time, where I have had to bail out or get drilled).
I feel even less comfy on the SLEs cuz of the bridles.
I don't think I would even ride alone in 35, let alone self launch or land in it.
I gotta at least have a person keeping an eye out for me, even if they aren't riding in that stuff.

[ricki]

Originally Posted by BigR

agreed, But, I think self LANDINGS in over 35 kts are even more of an issue with flat kites, no?

Big time and I wouldn't go as high as 35 kts.? Rare sustained winds in our area anyway. I wouldn't solo land ANYTHING in such wind aside from emergency depowering it. Too much can go wrong and has more than once.

The are only two solo landing techniques that I have used with flat kites. In light winds just dump it down on the leading edge with a quick pivot to flatten it out on the sand in slightly stronger but still light winds. The second involves reliably tethering the chicken loop to an adequate anchor and running over to secure the kite. By contrast solo depowering C kites has been very reliable for me if not a bit messy with dealing with the lines after.

Solo landing flat kites absent the tethering them has been tricky and to be avoided in my experience to date. You can get away with solo launching flat kites a lot (apparently not always) without problems unlike solo landing without anchors where you may have problems the first time you try it, hence this post. Assisted launches AND landings are a good idea with flat kites.