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The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice!

Forum with lots of safety info - a must for newbees
matth
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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice

Postby matth » Wed Dec 10, 2014 8:29 pm

I would have punched out the second something looked wrong. The launcher would know something was wrong and even if he lets go you are flagged. This is why I like to use my kite anchor and stand the kite up myself. This way I can make sure all my lines are correct. If it is gusty unstable wind just have someone hold the kite for you after you have put it into position.

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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice

Postby jeromeL » Wed Dec 10, 2014 8:40 pm

If I did not walk directly to the edge of the window to put tension on line and launch but rather walked first a bit downwind, I would have noticed the lines where crossed. The kite holder would not have mis interpreted my sign. Actually, when I launched the second time i walked at least 30 degree downwind just to make sure.
If I remember correctly IKO instructor teach you to first walk downwind and slowly walk up to the edge of the window but no one really do that.

A good sign for abort could be to simply walk toward the kite which should be pretty obvious to another kiter that you don't want the kite to be released.

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edt
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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice

Postby edt » Wed Dec 10, 2014 8:51 pm

jeromeL wrote:pretty obvious to another kiter
I have seen the kiter walk towards the launcher many many times, and the launcher just moves back, the kiter moves towards the kiter, the launcher moves back and back over and over.

Not a reliable way to abort a launch. I seen a launcher go all the way into the ocean, before he finally quit backing up and set down the kite, lol.

I also have seen plenty of kites thrown into the air even though the kite was way too far upwind so it just tumble-weeded downwind until it hot launched. You don't want to make assumptions about what a launcher will do. You want to explicitly tell them.

That's why we need a uniform "abort the launch" symbol. Tapping the head, hand across the through those are a bit too close to the thumbs up signal for my taste, because the hand will go up towards the head maybe the thumb happens to be out and the hand is not in a fist, so the launcher might let go of the kite as soon as the hand begins an upward motion and he thinks he sees a thumb and only after the kite is launched does he see the motion completed as tapping the top of the head or slitting the throat.

I think the hand motion has to be downwards so there is no mistake the kite should be on the ground not up in the air.

But i'm not too picky I would be happy with any signal as long as it is uniform. Even tapping the top of the head would be ok as long as everyone aborts a launch the same way so we are all looking for the same signal.

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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice

Postby matth » Wed Dec 10, 2014 9:44 pm

Punch out. That's about as strong of a signal you can send.!!! reload and start over.

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edt
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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice

Postby edt » Wed Dec 10, 2014 10:29 pm

matth wrote:Punch out. That's about as strong of a signal you can send.!!! reload and start over.
not bad

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jeromeL
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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice

Postby jeromeL » Wed Dec 10, 2014 11:29 pm

I like the quick release signal, thanks. It does not hurt at all.
have seen the kiter walk towards the launcher many many times, and the launcher just moves back, the kiter moves towards the kiter, the launcher moves back and back over and over.
I have experienced that as well now that you mention it.

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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice

Postby bnthere » Thu Dec 25, 2014 1:28 am

jeromeL wrote:If I remember correctly IKO instructor teach you to first walk downwind and slowly walk up to the edge of the window but no one really do that.

that's definitely the way to approach an assisted launch, start well downwind of where you think the edge is to final line check and hook up, then move into the wind until you are flying the kite.

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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice

Postby xenosd » Thu Jan 01, 2015 8:42 pm

A week ago I was on the beach and it was like 18-25 knots. What I saw there:

*someone asked me to launch his kite twice but the lines weren't ok, so he gave me the known signal to land the kite. ok. :thumb:

*someone asked me to launch his kite, the kite wasn't in the correct position to launch but he wanted me to let it go. If I let it go, he would obviously crash. So I didn't. Beginners don't go out under these conditions! :nono:

*someone asked me to launch his kite and the kite wasn't inflated as it should. I simply denied to launch that kite. Again: Beginners don't go out under these conditions! :nono:

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jeromeL
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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice

Postby jeromeL » Tue Apr 07, 2015 7:08 pm

I have experienced a deflated kite incident where it is relatively hard to get back to launch area. I am learning something new almost every session.

Not sure what happened but my air input valve wasnt closed: either I forgot to close it or the gusts popped it out.

The conditions were gusts 40+ knots with depowered 9m. I was in Great South Bay of Longisland a couple of islands inland so the only way back to shore is to tack upwind around the island to make it back.

Once i decided to head back the kite probably lost half of its pressure and was collapsing in the air or making sharp turn by itself.
I remained calm and assessed that I was still be able to stay upwind and was able to go around the island after a few tacks, but it was pretty rough doing so in 30 to 40 knots on my deflated 9m.
I also considered doing self rescue but I wasn't 100% sure the kite would float and would end up with a bag full of water. Also i would have had to walk over a rough island and swim across a channel to get back to launching site so I wanted to avoid this if possible.


I caught it on my gopro, at the end of the video you can see the kite collapsing in the air.


Conclusion is that you should assume worse and not go too far that you can't come back to shore easily.
A deflated kite fly surprising well, it feels like kiting in very gusty conditions and you should make only minor adjustment. At the edge of the window at 10 or 2 it has tendency to change direction toward the water suddenly so it was easier to keep it at 11 or 1. Going down wind with kite at 1 worked pretty well when heading back to shore.

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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice

Postby knot_moving » Wed Apr 08, 2015 12:23 am

Agree with your main conclusion - dont ride further out than you are comfortable swimming or self rescuing back in. Are you sure it was 40 kts? I think a 9m kite in 40kts would be more than a handful!


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