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Old 02-01-2008, 02:17 PM
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ricki ricki is offline
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Default VIDEO: Jon Modica Demonstrates A Novel Solo Landing Technique For SB III Kites

I caught Jon Modica at the end of the first day's competition at the 2008 Jupiter Kiteboarding Invasion. I asked him to demonstrate a novel solo landing technique that I read about online and captured it on video.

NOTE: Jon shows this one approach to solo landing a Cabrinha Switchblade III kite. This approach MAY work with SOME other kites in some conditions BUT WILL NOT WORK with ALL flat kites. Extreme care and caution should be used if evaluated and should be done initially in light winds with an adequate buffer area. If things go wrong it is possible severed appendages and/or impact injuries might result so have a care. NOT to be used with traditional C kites.

This technique or grabbing the trim strap to secure the kite IS NOT RECOMMENDED with Cabrinha IDS kites.





A website embedded this video recently, posted some of the precautions but not all of them particularly those related to the IDS system. IDS allows a much better and easier way of solo landing than described here. For that reason, I disabled the video. Sorry

Sorry about all the wind noise, it was my first time shooting video in high wind with a Canon G9 digital "still" camera. Still, the video quality is pretty good considering. I may yet figure out how to reduce it through filtering.
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Last edited by ricki; 03-17-2009 at 06:34 AM.
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Old 02-01-2008, 03:40 PM
TritonKiteboarding TritonKiteboarding is offline
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First couple times you try this make sure to detach your leash, or hook it to an "O-Shit" the cabrinha system will take you for a ride if your leashed on where john was and the kite doesn't land.
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Old 02-01-2008, 03:50 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TritonKiteboarding View Post
First couple times you try this make sure to detach your leash, or hook it to an "O-Shit" the cabrinha system will take you for a ride if your leashed on where john was and the kite doesn't land.
Good point. He had it attached at the "suicide leash" point, correct? As far as I know pretty much all kites will retain some power at this point, not just Cabrinha's. I think your suggestion about detaching the leash entirely and having a large clear downwind buffer along with someone to try to grab the kite's leading edge make sense if things go south.

btw, I shot this at around 5 pm on Friday, Jan. 25, 2008 with winds around 25 mph gusting higher. One difference that I have noticed trying this with other flat kites is that all don't sit on the sand as calmly. Some will bounce in winds lighter than this although substantially depowered. This may require an alternate approach or in some other cases this is not a suitable approach to use.

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Old 02-01-2008, 05:00 PM
Skyway Scott
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Do the Cabrinha kites have a front line attachment point for the leash?
If so, can you attach the leash there and use it to your advantage to land the kite, as opposed to grabbing a front line with your hands as the kite is landing? I have found that by attaching the leash there and pulling on the leash as the kite falls (same method Jon shows) the kite points dead into the wind as it lands and "pins" itself there nearly every time (leash has to be attached to "top" front line to work). I mimicked the ring system on my waroo bar after the Cabbies to self land my kites. (picture is at bottom of this page http://forum.bestkiteboarding.com/vi...r=asc&start=15 )

I like Jon's method, I just think that taking advantage of that front line ring might make it even easier by avoiding the need to grab a line by hand and by insuring the leash is on a flag out point. I actually wish all bars had the front line rings, this being one reason.
Any thoughts? Maybe Jon hasn't tried that approach using his leash or maybe he knows why we should avoid it. Obviously Jon knows what he is doing. I am not questioning how well that it works for him. I am curious if he has tried attaching the leash to the front line ring, though. If he hasn't I bet he will like that method even more when it's really windy. Maybe not though, maybe he got whacked by his leash once doing it that way.

Thanks for posting that video Rick. I read Jon's description on KF a while back, but pictures are worth....
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Old 02-01-2008, 09:48 PM
jon modica jon modica is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyway Scott View Post
Do the Cabrinha kites have a front line attachment point for the leash?
If so, can you attach the leash there and use it to your advantage to land the kite, as opposed to grabbing a front line with your hands as the kite is landing? I have found that by attaching the leash there and pulling on the leash as the kite falls (same method Jon shows) the kite points dead into the wind as it lands and "pins" itself there nearly every time (leash has to be attached to "top" front line to work). I mimicked the ring system on my waroo bar after the Cabbies to self land my kites. (picture is at bottom of this page http://forum.bestkiteboarding.com/vi...r=asc&start=15 )

I like Jon's method, I just think that taking advantage of that front line ring might make it even easier by avoiding the need to grab a line by hand and by insuring the leash is on a flag out point. I actually wish all bars had the front line rings, this being one reason.
Any thoughts? Maybe Jon hasn't tried that approach using his leash or maybe he knows why we should avoid it. Obviously Jon knows what he is doing. I am not questioning how well that it works for him. I am curious if he has tried attaching the leash to the front line ring, though. If he hasn't I bet he will like that method even more when it's really windy. Maybe not though, maybe he got whacked by his leash once doing it that way.

Thanks for posting that video Rick. I read Jon's description on KF a while back, but pictures are worth....

Scott,
very good point,
the leash on the center line is a very good idea for this method.
But i think its just as important to know how to do it just in case you don't have a leash

i always try to learn how to do things without relying on certain equipment, that way if something changes or fails i won't be the one who suffers the consequences

but the centerline leash WILL HELP!!!

JUST MAKE SURE ITS ATTACHED TO THE TOP center line.

please feel free to ask me any questions.


-Jon
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Old 02-02-2008, 06:05 AM
Tom Stock
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I've landed my waroos with this method for a year now and it works. However, no way I would try it in 25 because if the kite slides backwards and relaunches over zenith you may get a nasty surprise, even fully depowered. I was always afraid it would end up in the trees at backside (small launch surrounded by trees).

The graph I see for that time shows 15-18 (with some gusts above 20) up until just after 5:00.

The waves and chop are too clean for 25 gusting higher imo. Not to mention that both hair and the palm trees in the background aren't even moving. My guess is 15 - 18 mph.

But regardless this is an ok method for landing in a pinch... I like the front line ring better but this works.
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Old 02-02-2008, 10:05 AM
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ricki ricki is offline
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Not all kites are designed or perform the same way, not even within a given manufacturing line. Why else are there different models? That is why I made it specific to the SB III used in the demo.

I put some fairly heavy handed disclaimers and warnings in the opening post for a reason. It wasn't to discredit other kite models or brands but to state the simple fact that this approach may not work as well with all other flat kites. Some may do it even better, I have no idea. I do know that I would be very careful in evaluating this approach with any kite. As to relaunching unhooked in powered conditions? I would want to be real sure that my kite won't exert excessive power before trying that.

The impressive part of this approach to me is less about a way to solo land (there are already a bunch of ways of doing this after all), but about a way to very substantially depower a kite even beyond what you can do through normal bar inputs. As Jon detailed about his experience in that squall. I think this is a real important point to be carefully considered as an emergency option IF your kite supports it. Not all will.
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Old 02-02-2008, 11:29 AM
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I guess that's a "no" to the front ring method video.

I wouldn't be overly concerned with the front line leash method of self landing being overly picky about the kite being used with the technique. I have been using the technique since 2001 when Jeff Weiss showed me the mod for a front ring O-shit and technique to self land. It's worked for every kite I have owned (C or SLE) since then. I am pretty confident it work for all the Cabs. Isn't the worse that will happen is that the kite flags out downwind?

It'd be nice to see the video on here, since I think it would be helpful to many. Most won't use it on a regular basis for fear of scratching their kite, but in an emergency I think it'd be good for them to see the basics.
Still, in our society, I understand the fear of putting up a vid trying to help only to have some loser sue you over nothing. That leads to warning statements all over the place, etc. Sad, but true.

If you guys decide not to post the vid using the front line ring, I probably will. "They" can sue me and inherit my debt. ;-)
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Old 02-02-2008, 07:16 PM
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Have folks tried launching unhooked like Jon is showing above? Some flat kites I have would exert too much force to do this comfortably, others I am not sure about.

This looks more radical to me than almost anything else. It could even provide a new way to "launch unhooked" to provide some additional safety on launch. Launching unhooked the conventional way holding the bar you may have higher kite loads than when holding the center line on some flat kites.

Also, with kites that work with this above control bar tensioning of the centerline assembly, it could provide yet another option in allowing even more depowering that might be achieved with bar input alone in high wind emergencies, again in some models.

Not encouraging a bunch of folks to go out and tear things up in moderate to high wind. I would try gently tensioning the center line (chicken loop) assembly above the bar in light wind, with a detached kite leash, with a huge clear buffer area downwind, with a helper to try to intercept the kite, etc.. Take it slow, evaluate how your kite responds and let us know.

Scott, if you have the spin landing video email me the link, file, whatever and I'll put it up. I am pretty sure I've seen it online somewhere although it could have been years back.
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Old 02-02-2008, 09:18 PM
jon modica jon modica is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyway Scott View Post
I guess that's a "no" to the front ring method video.

I wouldn't be overly concerned with the front line leash method of self landing being overly picky about the kite being used with the technique. I have been using the technique since 2001 when Jeff Weiss showed me the mod for a front ring O-shit and technique to self land. It's worked for every kite I have owned (C or SLE) since then. I am pretty confident it work for all the Cabs. Isn't the worse that will happen is that the kite flags out downwind?

It'd be nice to see the video on here, since I think it would be helpful to many. Most won't use it on a regular basis for fear of scratching their kite, but in an emergency I think it'd be good for them to see the basics.
Still, in our society, I understand the fear of putting up a vid trying to help only to have some loser sue you over nothing. That leads to warning statements all over the place, etc. Sad, but true.

If you guys decide not to post the vid using the front line ring, I probably will. "They" can sue me and inherit my debt. ;-)
Hey Scott,
i think it would be best for people not to rely on the leash

the reason this method for landing works so well is

1. even if you screw up, you will be 100% safe

2. by using this technique you learn an important lesson on KITE CONTROL!!

-Jon
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