Jumping - C kite vs SLE/Bow

[LanBro]

Let me say, I don't plan on using smaller "C" kites for high winds. I speaking about 12-25knots. Also I plan on using my old Gasstra spinning bar...the quick release on that flags a kite instantly. I would rather have that option than alot of throw...To self land..pull it and it flags out completely...never had a problem.

[RickI]

Sorry Peter, have to disagree with you on this, at least in the spots I used it in. Some were fairly tight, haven't done many cobble beaches though. Solo landing traditional C kites, the way I did it anyway, was extremely simple, consistent and precise. I could drop it on a small target area pretty consistently with next to no power left, even while still in the waves. Solo landing flat kites can still be complicated today without an anchor and even with if you have bouncing issues, wind direction changes, lulls/gusts, people/dogs running into lines, etc..

It doesn't work at all with flat kites however, so it is an obsolete approach in some measure. It consisted of stopping at a line length from where I wanted to drop the kite, trimming down the kites power, unhooking, bringing the kite up to the zenith and dropping it to the leash. I would hold the leash above the attachment to back it up. It would flag straight downwind and land in the target area, usually. The kite might still be flying or bouncing depowered, you would walk up to it, after disconnecting from the bar & leash, hand over hand on one line. Did it for many years with all my old kites including as small as 5 m in strong winds, although vastly preferred competent assisted landings in strong conditions.

Careful, claims of doing the impossible will go to my head, leave that for divine entities. After all, I'm still playing around with solo landing flat kites, this many years later. It has the great added advantage of making you test your QR at least once each session.

[frankm1960]

Solo landing a 4 line C (or even a 5) is not possible when fully lit on a 7 or 9m2 kite
You can NOT put it down on its LE when so windy and no wind-shade.

Sorry to barge in but I'm interested in knowing the technique you use to solo land your smaller SLE kites in high winds.

Is it the case you CAN put your small SLE's down on their leading edge in high winds 100% of the time?

I've always had trouble landing ANY kite this way, it's always hit or miss, a lot of misses

[Peter_Frank]

Solo landing a 4 line C (or even a 5) is not possible when fully lit on a 7 or 9m2 kite
You can NOT put it down on its LE when so windy and no wind-shade.

Sorry to barge in but I'm interested in knowing the technique you use to solo land your smaller SLE kites in high winds.

Is it the case you CAN put your small SLE's down on their leading edge in high winds 100% of the time?

I've always had trouble landing ANY kite this way, it's always hit or miss, a lot of misses

Nope, that was exactly my point here - you can NOT put ANY kite down this way for sure

It is ALWAYS the anchor method (dog stake f.ex) that is used in high winds, and by far the most safe and reliable IMO.

If the wind is light (or you are using a smaller kite than for freestyle - f.ex if you ride a big TT or a waveboard or raceboard) - you can usually very easily just tug any kite down on the LE.

But this is for sure not possible in most powered conditions

So my point here is, that the anchor method is easy and by far the most used, and the fastest and most safe.

Of course it happens occasionally, that you can not use the anchor method - but you sometimes have other options then, finding wind-shelter behind "something".

But you have created the situation yourself then, in most cases, if you havent set up an anchor before you go out, if alone and windy.
Only situation where you might have problems, is if you end up at another spot than you started from

Here you have to find some beachgoer to help, or find wind-shelter if possible.
If not possible, you have to go further down or up the coast again

Peter

[LanBro]

I use a kite anchor to self-launch and self land my bows. My experience is in high winds when bows are anchored they are bouncing all over the place. In anything under 20 knots...love the anchor...anything above and it gets pretty interesting..

[LanBro]

almost impossible without alof of throw and a kite anchor...even then pretty scary as you run to the kite to finally secure these "auto-relaunch" machines.

Solo landing a 4 line C (or even a 5) is not possible when fully lit on a 7 or 9m2 kite
You can NOT put it down on its LE when so windy and no wind-shade.

Sorry to barge in but I'm interested in knowing the technique you use to solo land your smaller SLE kites in high winds.

Is it the case you CAN put your small SLE's down on their leading edge in high winds 100% of the time?

I've always had trouble landing ANY kite this way, it's always hit or miss, a lot of misses

[RickI]

That has been my experience too, sometimes even in lighter wind. Some kites behave better than others however and just sit there nicely, like the SBIII. Others may bounce excessively. At same time, I've noticed smaller flat kites may not launch all that well in high winds using the "pretend its on water" technique. Good way to get messed up or killed, so, looking at the anchor approach yet again. Hope the kite stays put.

Important Question, no one is suggesting to use an anchor to land traditional four line C kites I hope? At least not in the mid to high wind range for a given C kite? With the limited depower, they usually would figure 8 like crazy until the anchor was moved or something in the kite system broke in the past.

Flat kites behave a lot differently than traditional C kites in this matter due to all that extra depower that the old kites lack. Also, the comparative sizing of appropriate flat and C kites can differ for a given wind condition. Vintage gear is ok as long as you remember the vintage techniques that go with it. Start mixing new with old approaches for different technologies and it could make for a bad day.

I use a kite anchor to self-launch and self land my bows. My experience is in high winds when bows are anchored they are bouncing all over the place. In anything under 20 knots...love the anchor...anything above and it gets pretty interesting..

[angelinversace]

i thought this was a thread about jumping not launching and landing haha but as for the actual topic i ride bow and c and find it is easy to jump on both a little more timing with the c but the yank you get from a c when you get it right is amazing comparing to the bow, the bow is a softer yank and it lets you down softly also, but as for height i think the c is better then the bow some people say that bows are better due to size per square meter and they might be right but when its 30 knots and people are on there 7 bows i would be on a 9 c and be jumping way higher then anybody else, so mabye in the same winds on same size kite then the bow might go bigger but that just doesnt happen.

[LanBro]

you are right I just want to to know if there is a difference in technique between the BOW/SLE and C kite..

After you leave the water..does pulling in the bar have any effect on a "C" kite?

i thought this was a thread about jumping not launching and landing haha but as for the actual topic i ride bow and c and find it is easy to jump on both a little more timing with the c but the yank you get from a c when you get it right is amazing comparing to the bow, the bow is a softer yank and it lets you down softly also, but as for height i think the c is better then the bow some people say that bows are better due to size per square meter and they might be right but when its 30 knots and people are on there 7 bows i would be on a 9 c and be jumping way higher then anybody else, so mabye in the same winds on same size kite then the bow might go bigger but that just doesnt happen.

[frankm1960]

@Peter_Frank, Thanks, I missed that information in your earlier post
@LanBro, Pulling in the bar on my old bow after getting airborn I'm not sure it really made much difference, but my experience is minimal there. It certainly helped to get air born though. My c, on the other hand, pulling in on the bar didn't really help much before or after. In lighter winds the bow was noticeably better for jumping than my c. That's why I've picked up a smaller high wind board, so I can get out with my 12m c in stronger winds and hopefully get some more exciting jumps in. In 10 to 15kts I can get airborn with my bow but not so much with my c.
@angelinversace, yup, the thead is about jumping with a c, just got a little side tracked