Laying out lines: Upwind or Downwind?

[Westozzy]

Cross have always put my red on the right and done the bar turn...then there is no line over line cross over...

But I will try this method next time.

[bnthere]

that cab video is retarded. how do smart people go along with such dumb shit. oh ya, cut pete cabrinha a little slack no one really knew what was up back in the day ... whatever that vid is not that old. lets try not to share bad advise when it comes to technique.


"put the kite down, secure it, pick it up move it, secure it, pick it up move it, secure it, what the hell?"

its 4 lines, just get it right. and position yourself at the edge of the wind for your assisted launch, and because you don't know where the exact edge of the wind is, start way too far downwind of it and move up into it until you are flying your kite out of your launchers hands.


as for that vid: rig into the back (so you can easily see your bridles are untangled and your lines are rigged right, (and so you don't have to move your kite, again, to get it off your lines) take bar out to side of wind, flying lines should be almost cutting under the wingtip but not, leave bar out and alone and walk back to turn kite and launch, either while unhooked and simply holding onto harness loop or while hooked in and ready to release in event of line snag on kite or ground or whatever. (leashed to a single line while launching, of course)

and no one cares what color is on what side of your bar, and neither does it or your kite.


when y'all talk about "cross wind riggin", you are rigging into the back of the kite. it doesn't matter what direction you "walk your lines" that is still rigging from downwind.

to the OP we always teach students to rig from downwind, into the back of the kite for the reasons you mentioned as well as a few others. however we acknowledge and inform our clients that it can be accomplished in different ways and occasionally run them threw them. most people want to know the tricks to small space rigging, which is simply racking your lines in your hand and running them through your fingers, leaving sorted lines in a pile.

[Flight Time]

Well, sort of. I don't rig my kite on top of the lines, I just do it all in one shot. I rig from upwind but "into the back of the kite" as you put it.

I don't leave my bar alone when I walk back to turn the kite. If it got loose after you turned it and before you got back to your bar, it would crush some gawking tourist, and generally be a bad scene. I stay hooked while I turn the kite, so I can dump release but still control the kite if a freakish gust grabs it.

[bnthere]

your talking about a tethered launch or a drag launch?

don't launch with someone in your wind window, and hooked in or not the "advise" part of that post is:

be ready to disable the kite onto the leash system while self launching, in the event of an "issue."

because every once in a while a line does snag on the kite or the ground or whatever and the kite comes up hot and arching through the downwind area, and you need to be ready to ditch it onto the leash and disable it so you don't go flying. and that's the part that is so often left out in everybodies "this is how you do it" comments. be prepared to disable your kite when solo launching.

[plummet]

Sometimes you can't rig crosswind. In the case of a thin beach and crossshore wind. upwind or downwind is the only option. Then walk cross wind into the water and launch.

[Flight Time]

your talking about a tethered launch or a drag launch?

don't launch with someone in your wind window, and hooked in or not the "advise" part of that post is:

be ready to disable the kite onto the leash system while self launching, in the event of an "issue."

because every once in a while a line does snag on the kite or the ground or whatever and the kite comes up hot and arching through the downwind area, and you need to be ready to ditch it onto the leash and disable it so you don't go flying. and that's the part that is so often left out in everybodies "this is how you do it" comments. be prepared to disable your kite when solo launching.

I rig the same way whether I am getting an assist or solo launching. To date, I have never done a tethered launch. If I solo launch, its a drag launch, like in that Cab video. All my kites have a release that leaves the kite attached to the loop, not the leash, so I stay hooked in. And I never leave anyone in the window when I drag launch, as much as it seems they want to wander into my window. My favorite is when some geezer wants to set up base ten feet downwind from my kite when I am walking back from turning the kite. I swear, people have zero situational awareness or logic. Lets see, kite is strong enough to lift a grown man 20 feet into the air... What is the danger level from being too close? Is it teddy bear level? Small dog? Ninja? Freight train? Chuck Norris?

[Westozzy]

Well today we only have one option that is an upwind set up. Downwind is nasty rocks and bad bad stuff. Narrow estuary beach if you call it that.

Funny though even though we will set lines upwind my mate does that J hook with the end of his lines hence his bar stays red on the left. Bends them around to the correct side if you know what I mean.

We always tether launch in cramped spots if we can.

[Lanc]

I was an up upwind guy for the first 9 years. Saw a similar post about 2 years ago and decided to give the downwind approach a try. I prefer the downwind method now because I use a line manager and its easier to double check that nothing is twisted while standing downwind. I've also had a few scary self launching experiences with the upwind method when one of the lines would get caught on a leading edge bridle attachment point, never had that problem with the downwind method.

[air2raley]

just dont be the dick who lays out lines to full extension then takes ten minutes to get launched. wrap up your lines.
i like downwind.......can see all attachments are correct.

[Geronimo79]

I personally lay em out downwind. One of the benefits i think is you have to walk upwind to launch the kite having less chance you went upwind to far and the kite boosts assoon as you have tention.