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Self launching, self landing and foolproof rigging method videos

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Created by KPSS Used > 9 months ago, 29 Oct 2019
KPSS Used
NSW, 372 posts
Site Sponsor
29 Oct 2019 7:52AM
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Seems like a good time to post these vids up again. The method of rigging works for any kite. The self launching vid works for any kite, but learn the technique in sub 15 knots away from other beach users. The self landing method works best with Ozone bar and lines because the flag out line runs freely because it is not concealed within the main line PU tube. Practice in sub 15 knots and if the kite does not release properly and land like in the video then get your gear checked and find out why the landing line does not release cleanly.

Best rigging method



Self launching



Self landing

weebitbreezy
617 posts
8 Nov 2019 9:04PM
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Nice videos!

With the self launch, you might find it useful to take a few paces downwind once the kite is ready to pop up. Taking a pace or two downwind moves the kite closer to the edge of the window so you don't get as much power as it lifts up. Allows you to keep your hand on the bar during the launch for more control.

Ozone Kites Aus
NSW, 884 posts
Site Sponsor
10 Nov 2019 10:39AM
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weebitbreezy said..
Nice videos!

With the self launch, you might find it useful to take a few paces downwind once the kite is ready to pop up. Taking a pace or two downwind moves the kite closer to the edge of the window so you don't get as much power as it lifts up. Allows you to keep your hand on the bar during the launch for more control.


Thanks we put a lot of effort into making sure the videos showed the method clearly. Which part of the video makes you think there is any lack of control?
My hand is on the bar until the kite "pops" and is ready to launch and fly to the edge of the window - which is very close. Once the kite pops up I let go of the bar. This is an important part of the launch technique as it stops the kite from generating much power or pull. There is nothing accidental or unplanned about where the kite will fly to once it pops and launches.

If I were to step back downwind, the kite will slide, or not pivot onto a tip. In the video the kite is at or very close to the edge of the window. The wind is dynamic and variable in strength and direction, so practice makes perfect and once the skill is learned it becomes instinctive to know when the kite is in the right spot to pivot and launch, then it flies a very short distance to the actual edge and therefore does not have much pull.

2stubborn2quit
WA, 169 posts
10 Nov 2019 9:08PM
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Great videos... I have seen them many times before and learned something from them.
In certain circumstances I do however agree with Weebitbreezy. Launching in high winds especially with a bigger kite size for those winds. When the kite is about to pop up it really does help if it is a little closer to the edge of the wind window. Again the OP is correct in saying with practice it becomes instinctive to know when the kite is in the right spot.
As in the video...practice in light winds with a small kite.
Don't screw up...mistakes can be painful.

weebitbreezy
617 posts
12 Nov 2019 1:22AM
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The bit I am talking about is shown here :



I'm happy to be shown a better method, but I find with my freeride kites I get the least sliding by only using the rear lines until the wind starts to just catch the far side of the kite (I can rotate the kite most of the way before hand on the beach before walking back along the safety line) and then releasing the bar as I continue to walk slowly upwind before the kite starts to pop up (in other words front line tension only). At this point it will be sitting on the edge of the window unpowered. I can then walk back downwind to move it forwards in the window to the normal position I would try to get a helper to launch from - before reaching back to the bar to launch the kite. My theory is that using front line tension only seems to make the kite roll over around the leading edge rather than around the tip.

I have tried the method you have shown here but for my local conditions (one spot with a sea wall offering a small wind shadow between the rigging area and the water) it hasn't worked as consistently for ME. I kite at a stony beach so try to avoid dragging where possible. It might be that this works better for me because we rig the lines cross wind as the wind is generally onshore rather than side shore (less chance of getting caught in beach debris as the lines are closer to where you are launching from too)?

I appreciate you are doing a general technique for everybody rather than a specific one. Just wondered if you had tried this slight difference and why you chose not to use it?

2stubborn2quit
WA, 169 posts
12 Nov 2019 8:47PM
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Personally I definitely wold not recommend self landing any kite in strong winds by grabbing a kite line. Much prefer the OP's method. Plus the tether on that tiny log...are you serious???? Just watch it collect your head as you walk down to your kite.
That is not a good instructional video

NorthernKitesAUS
QLD, 1061 posts
13 Nov 2019 9:43AM
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2stubborn2quit said..
Personally I definitely wold not recommend self landing any kite in strong winds by grabbing a kite line. Much prefer the OP's method. Plus the tether on that tiny log...are you serious???? Just watch it collect your head as you walk down to your kite.
That is not a good instructional video


It is, but in ideal, mild conditions. Try doing any of that in 20knots or more. Sudden change in wind, sudden pull of the lines, etc.. it all goes to &*%^&* very quickly.

Ozone Kites Aus
NSW, 884 posts
Site Sponsor
13 Nov 2019 5:28PM
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weebitbreezy said..
The bit I am talking about is shown here :



I'm happy to be shown a better method, but I find with my freeride kites I get the least sliding by only using the rear lines until the wind starts to just catch the far side of the kite (I can rotate the kite most of the way before hand on the beach before walking back along the safety line) and then releasing the bar as I continue to walk slowly upwind before the kite starts to pop up (in other words front line tension only). At this point it will be sitting on the edge of the window unpowered. I can then walk back downwind to move it forwards in the window to the normal position I would try to get a helper to launch from - before reaching back to the bar to launch the kite. My theory is that using front line tension only seems to make the kite roll over around the leading edge rather than around the tip.

I have tried the method you have shown here but for my local conditions (one spot with a sea wall offering a small wind shadow between the rigging area and the water) it hasn't worked as consistently for ME. I kite at a stony beach so try to avoid dragging where possible. It might be that this works better for me because we rig the lines cross wind as the wind is generally onshore rather than side shore (less chance of getting caught in beach debris as the lines are closer to where you are launching from too)?

I appreciate you are doing a general technique for everybody rather than a specific one. Just wondered if you had tried this slight difference and why you chose not to use it?


With respect to Jake, this is one of the worst vids I've seen and I'm sure it has contributed to some very scary launches and landings. Jakes video is shot in really light winds - unrealistically light. Jake also has no flagging system on his kite, which is a bit of a WTF for me. Jake is in the habit of pulling in a large amount of line quickly with his hands and letting it spool around/near the bar - BAD IDEA!!! (because this method does fail and when the kite takes off again there is a real good chance you'll have a rear line wrapped on a bar end and you are in for some death loops) Jake also does not weight his kite with sand and when he slid it around to get it in a better position, he did not clear his lines. The tether is ridiculously inadequate if it was 20 knots his kite would be gone!
Basically his intentions were good, but what he shot and made public is pretty much dangerous misinformation.

I've used the method shown in the vids I made for several years, refining it from other vids I've seen, other kiters methods, and my own experience. The method has been practiced in 30-35 knots with a 6M and all the way to the other end at 12-15 knots with a 17m and in all of that time I experienced maybe 3-5 times that the kite did not sit down properly due to my poor timing and it rolled over once and then sat down LE into the wind. While it was doing this I was in no danger as I was only connected to the kite by the flagging line and could ditch the kite if I needed to, but the kite has always sat down LE into the wind, just not where I intended it to be.

I definitely recommend and prefer the kite to launch slightly "hot" but basically just in from the edge of the window, this way it pivots up nicely and one small step back is all it takes to make the kite launch and immediately fly to the edge of the window with very little pull.

The key to success is taking the time and effort to practice in light winds until you are nailing it 9.9 out of 10!

Regards

Steve

psychojoe
WA, 1797 posts
13 Nov 2019 4:29PM
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Select to expand quote
weebitbreezy said..
Nice videos!

With the self launch, you might find it useful to take a few paces downwind once the kite is ready to pop up. Taking a pace or two downwind moves the kite closer to the edge of the window so you don't get as much power as it lifts up. Allows you to keep your hand on the bar during the launch for more control.


I do this. Standing a bit upwind has the kite slightly powering into the sand prelaunch which stops the drift. Then I just walk downwind until the kite launches itself

weebitbreezy
617 posts
13 Nov 2019 8:53PM
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Select to expand quote
Ozone Kites Aus said..

weebitbreezy said..
The bit I am talking about is shown here :


I'm happy to be shown a better method, but I find with my freeride kites I get the least sliding by only using the rear lines until the wind starts to just catch the far side of the kite (I can rotate the kite most of the way before hand on the beach before walking back along the safety line) and then releasing the bar as I continue to walk slowly upwind before the kite starts to pop up (in other words front line tension only). At this point it will be sitting on the edge of the window unpowered. I can then walk back downwind to move it forwards in the window to the normal position I would try to get a helper to launch from - before reaching back to the bar to launch the kite. My theory is that using front line tension only seems to make the kite roll over around the leading edge rather than around the tip.

I have tried the method you have shown here but for my local conditions (one spot with a sea wall offering a small wind shadow between the rigging area and the water) it hasn't worked as consistently for ME. I kite at a stony beach so try to avoid dragging where possible. It might be that this works better for me because we rig the lines cross wind as the wind is generally onshore rather than side shore (less chance of getting caught in beach debris as the lines are closer to where you are launching from too)?

I appreciate you are doing a general technique for everybody rather than a specific one. Just wondered if you had tried this slight difference and why you chose not to use it?



With respect to Jake, this is one of the worst vids I've seen and I'm sure it has contributed to some very scary launches and landings. Jakes video is shot in really light winds - unrealistically light. Jake also has no flagging system on his kite, which is a bit of a WTF for me. Jake is in the habit of pulling in a large amount of line quickly with his hands and letting it spool around/near the bar - BAD IDEA!!! (because this method does fail and when the kite takes off again there is a real good chance you'll have a rear line wrapped on a bar end and you are in for some death loops) Jake also does not weight his kite with sand and when he slid it around to get it in a better position, he did not clear his lines. The tether is ridiculously inadequate if it was 20 knots his kite would be gone!
Basically his intentions were good, but what he shot and made public is pretty much dangerous misinformation.

I've used the method shown in the vids I made for several years, refining it from other vids I've seen, other kiters methods, and my own experience. The method has been practiced in 30-35 knots with a 6M and all the way to the other end at 12-15 knots with a 17m and in all of that time I experienced maybe 3-5 times that the kite did not sit down properly due to my poor timing and it rolled over once and then sat down LE into the wind. While it was doing this I was in no danger as I was only connected to the kite by the flagging line and could ditch the kite if I needed to, but the kite has always sat down LE into the wind, just not where I intended it to be.

I definitely recommend and prefer the kite to launch slightly "hot" but basically just in from the edge of the window, this way it pivots up nicely and one small step back is all it takes to make the kite launch and immediately fly to the edge of the window with very little pull.

The key to success is taking the time and effort to practice in light winds until you are nailing it 9.9 out of 10!

Regards

Steve


I posted Jakes video as it was the only video I have seen where someone has mentioned walking downwind again to reduce the pull. Its at about 50 seconds in. I agree the landing looks a little sketchy though. Wasn't trying to suggest it was the gold standard. Its clear from his videos that he only gets light wind (he's like 70kg wet and rides a 14m most of the time)

I seem to remember Christian from Kitebud doing something similar to your videos for self landing. From memory, the only difference was that he walked upwind as he pulled in the safety line.

Ozone Kites Aus
NSW, 884 posts
Site Sponsor
14 Nov 2019 12:27PM
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Select to expand quote
weebitbreezy said..

Ozone Kites Aus said..


weebitbreezy said..
The bit I am talking about is shown here :


I'm happy to be shown a better method, but I find with my freeride kites I get the least sliding by only using the rear lines until the wind starts to just catch the far side of the kite (I can rotate the kite most of the way before hand on the beach before walking back along the safety line) and then releasing the bar as I continue to walk slowly upwind before the kite starts to pop up (in other words front line tension only). At this point it will be sitting on the edge of the window unpowered. I can then walk back downwind to move it forwards in the window to the normal position I would try to get a helper to launch from - before reaching back to the bar to launch the kite. My theory is that using front line tension only seems to make the kite roll over around the leading edge rather than around the tip.

I have tried the method you have shown here but for my local conditions (one spot with a sea wall offering a small wind shadow between the rigging area and the water) it hasn't worked as consistently for ME. I kite at a stony beach so try to avoid dragging where possible. It might be that this works better for me because we rig the lines cross wind as the wind is generally onshore rather than side shore (less chance of getting caught in beach debris as the lines are closer to where you are launching from too)?

I appreciate you are doing a general technique for everybody rather than a specific one. Just wondered if you had tried this slight difference and why you chose not to use it?




With respect to Jake, this is one of the worst vids I've seen and I'm sure it has contributed to some very scary launches and landings. Jakes video is shot in really light winds - unrealistically light. Jake also has no flagging system on his kite, which is a bit of a WTF for me. Jake is in the habit of pulling in a large amount of line quickly with his hands and letting it spool around/near the bar - BAD IDEA!!! (because this method does fail and when the kite takes off again there is a real good chance you'll have a rear line wrapped on a bar end and you are in for some death loops) Jake also does not weight his kite with sand and when he slid it around to get it in a better position, he did not clear his lines. The tether is ridiculously inadequate if it was 20 knots his kite would be gone!
Basically his intentions were good, but what he shot and made public is pretty much dangerous misinformation.

I've used the method shown in the vids I made for several years, refining it from other vids I've seen, other kiters methods, and my own experience. The method has been practiced in 30-35 knots with a 6M and all the way to the other end at 12-15 knots with a 17m and in all of that time I experienced maybe 3-5 times that the kite did not sit down properly due to my poor timing and it rolled over once and then sat down LE into the wind. While it was doing this I was in no danger as I was only connected to the kite by the flagging line and could ditch the kite if I needed to, but the kite has always sat down LE into the wind, just not where I intended it to be.

I definitely recommend and prefer the kite to launch slightly "hot" but basically just in from the edge of the window, this way it pivots up nicely and one small step back is all it takes to make the kite launch and immediately fly to the edge of the window with very little pull.

The key to success is taking the time and effort to practice in light winds until you are nailing it 9.9 out of 10!

Regards

Steve



I posted Jakes video as it was the only video I have seen where someone has mentioned walking downwind again to reduce the pull. Its at about 50 seconds in. I agree the landing looks a little sketchy though. Wasn't trying to suggest it was the gold standard. Its clear from his videos that he only gets light wind (he's like 70kg wet and rides a 14m most of the time)

I seem to remember Christian from Kitebud doing something similar to your videos for self landing. From memory, the only difference was that he walked upwind as he pulled in the safety line.


No worries. The only issue with walking downwind is you can accidentally walk too far and the kite won't launch properly and can roll back into the window, and it delays the launch and in that delay there is time for other crap to happen. Once the kite is in the launch position, my experience is that it is best to launch asap and let the kite fly to the edge as you grab the bar.



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"Self launching, self landing and foolproof rigging method videos" started by KPSS Used