Question for solo kiters - how do you launch your kite?

[rtz]

For those of you who travel alone; how do you deal with launching and landing your kite? Are you drift launch masters? Do you tether launch? Or do you self launch it off the beach?

Or do you ask someone you don't know to help launch your kite?

I have asked someone a few times. Begrudgingly. I didn't want to but; the wind was really up that day.

So how do you deal with it?

[darippah]

Im actually more comfortable self launching in general. When you have a system its easy

[dyyylan]

Self launch off the beach. It's very safe and easy as long as you have the space to do it.

Self landing is the harder part. If its too windy to pull a front line to flip the kite down, I just flag it and self rescue on land.

[NYKiter]

Use the search button, this has been discussed ad nauseum..

[adamj2281]

I use a dog tie down for self launch, only because it's pretty much automatic every time compared to the other methods. Self-landing I generally do without the tie-down unless it's really gusty or there's some other issue.

[Speedkillz]

We almost all self launch here (Mokuleia, HI), but if there is someone standing right there who offers, since most of us know each other, it is not uncommon to see an assisted launch. I don't know of anyone who does the tether thing here -- not to say anything bad about it, just that none of us do it at this spot. Drift launching is not an option. I never let ego stand in the way. Nothing feels sillier than turning down an offer from another kiter to help with your launch, only to have something go wrong and find yourself in a face-palm situation with busted gear or body parts.

My method: Walk lines out downwind. I de-power the bar, hook in and then walk in a semi-circle upwind so that my lines stay off of the ground (the kite basically pivots in a circle). Once I am slightly upwind of 90 degrees to the wind, I let go of the bar and hold the one steering line I need to make the kite rotate up off of the ground. Take a few steps backward and the kite slides a little downwind, rotates and flies straight up. Grab the bar, power up the bar, and off I go.

Advantages: Rigging downwind and walking around allows you to see that your lines are not tangled the whole time. By de-powering the bar and only holding the steering line, I cannot kook out and pull in on the bar if the kite launches a little too hot. Nearly every time is see someone doing the hot-launch-5-meter-stride-sprint it is because they got spooked and didn't realize that they were pulling in on the bar. The kite launches hot and they are off to the races. Entertaining for sure, but I hate to see someone get scuffed up even before their session begins. My kite (Nitro III 14m) behaves well and shoots straight up to the edge of the window with almost no pull when fully de-powered.

Disadvantages: You'll need lots of space and a nice soft surface in the launch area (grass or sand). Lines can snag on the ground (we have a grassy area so no problems here). Kite slides across the ground sometimes and could potentially tear something or wear prematurely. I've done this hundreds of times now, however, and never had issues.

Things to keep in mind: Relax. You are going to have to read and adapt to the situation (just like everything else in kiting) and you might have to make a quick adjustment to your technique if the wind surprises you. Be ready to take a few steps downwind if the kite pulls hard. Never do this kind of launch if there isn't plenty of room downwind of the launch area. If you hold the steering line in such a way that you are pulling it in as much as possible, the kite will rotate up sooner, slide across the ground less and ultimately launch with less power -- just be ready to let out on that line once the kite is off of the ground or else it is going to turn hard and fast right into the power. I have showed many people this method and had more than a few come back and thank me for simplifying it for them. As always, it is best to have someone show you the first time and be ready with the safety systems in case something gets weird.

Aloha

[SupaEZ]

How do you deal with launching and landing your kite?

Today sideshore N wind 25-30 mph....8m Rebel..lines already on...filled up a sandbag to launch

There was no one in sight when i launched or landed

I have self landed my 8m in 35 mph in the past so today was fairly easy

I walk up the center line (hand over hand 12m) while kite is on it's wingtip on sand at edge of wind

Kite is of course 100% trimmed / depowered

When i get to the split at the Y i pull hard on the "top line and center safety line together"
....kite falls LE down

[Okinawa Kiter]

We always tether. I have rope and some hooks in my bag that I have tethered to trees and concrete blocks. Too much coral here and often beaches too narrow to hot launch. Works every time. Have a small rope and hook in your bag then you can do both options depending on area. One good thing about tethering is landing is easy as well, and far less risk of it ending in a tree, unless you have a big big area clear. Basically if there is nothing to tie too then probably nothing for your kite to crash into so hot launch it, then if there are things to tie too, your kite can crash into them so tether. That's how we do it anyways. Big sandy beach hot launch. Narrow beach with trees or concrete, tether.

[OzBungy]

Self launch. Self land. Almost always. If there's somebody around and they're offering or conditions are sketchy I will get assistance. It would be rude and kind of dumb to refuse assistance when it's offered.

Launching and landing, both assisted and self, are skills. You can only acquire skills through practice so you need to practice both.

If you can't safely self launch and self land then you really do not understand how your kite works and you are a danger to yourself and others. You really, really need to learn how to do it reliably. It is easy to do. It is a necessary skill if you are going to do any kind of serious kiting (ie. more than just mowing the lawn at the local beach).

Once you have the skills you need to do enough practice to keep the skills current. Having said that if you want to use another method then that's up to you.

As for tethered launch, I accept that there are locations and conditions where a tethered launch makes sense. If you want to be a complete kiter then you need to have practiced it and learned how it works. If you are doing it because you're not comfortable with self launch ... see above.

[wardr77]

Self launch. Self land. Almost always. If there's somebody around and they're offering or conditions are sketchy I will get assistance. It would be rude and kind of dumb to refuse assistance when it's offered.

Launching and landing, both assisted and self, are skills. You can only acquire skills through practice so you need to practice both.

If you can't safely self launch and self land then you really do not understand how your kite works and you are a danger to yourself and others. You really, really need to learn how to do it reliably. It is easy to do. It is a necessary skill if you are going to do any kind of serious kiting (ie. more than just mowing the lawn at the local beach).

Once you have the skills you need to do enough practice to keep the skills current. Having said that if you want to use another method then that's up to you.

As for tethered launch, I accept that there are locations and conditions where a tethered launch makes sense. If you want to be a complete kiter then you need to have practiced it and learned how it works. If you are doing it because you're not comfortable with self launch ... see above.

I have self launched many times, but the self launch I did on Christmas Eve nearly ended in disaster. Wind pretty gusty, about three people out on the water and not another soul about, so rigged up kite and set up for a self launch in the usual manner, noting as I did so that the kite was a bit skittish on the beach i.e the wind was moving it a bit. This should have been the warning sign for me to stop, but instead I moved the kite onto the wet sand and wet the canopy to make it a bit more 'sticky', this seemed to do the trick, so went to the bar, got hooked in and was about to position myself ready for the launch when the kite flicked up in a gust, and very quickly powered up throwing me into the superman position. Fortunately I hit the QR and all was good. So question is how do you deal with the kite when it sits unstable on the beach in gusty conditions and you need to self launch? I guess the answer is either tether, or don't do it, but just wondered whether there are any other tips?