kitezilla wrote:
There are a number of self-lauching techniques, where you do not get a good view down your lines to check for twists. In a perfect world, we would all be launching our kites on a big, flat, sandy beach with steady wind and a team of friends. The "C" kites self-launched nicely, using the sanded wing tip method, but the high pressure flat kites don't self launch as well with this method, and with most of the other self-launching methods for flat kites, the kiter does not get such a good view of the lines, before the kite takes off.
Kitezilla,
I agree with you 100%. When self launching, in non-perfect conditions,
the lines only become fully visible near the end, when the lines are
fully tensioned. Depending on how much sand you've put on your
wing tip, the kite may be ready to power up and launch by this
time, without you getting a good clear view of the lines. That is
why self launching (my experience is with C-kites only) is so
tricky and can be dangerous.
I always enjoyed reading your posts about your tinkerings, and I
appreciate you sharing your ideas about safety. It is easy to get
distracted during a launch. Even during an assisted launch, I've given the
signal for a release, only to realize once the kite was in the air
that I never checked my front lines. Luckily, my lines were fine, but it
scared me to think what it could have been if something was reversed.
So, Kitezilla, keep tinkering and the keep these good ideas coming!
Thanks!