How to relunch 08 Eclipse Thruster?

[miked]

I have couple of 08 Thrusters. I love the way the fly but I have really hard time relunching them, even in strong wind.
What is the best way to relunch it?
The only things that works for me is swimming quickly toward the kite (like with the old C kites).
Thanks

[islandstylen]

thats the only way i seen them launched

[toyletbowl]

mike,

they will relaunch similar to other bows, etc, but it takes a little more finesse. there's a fine line between pulling too much on the outside line and too little.

method of relaunch...first, let the bar go...then pull on an outside line. once the tip starts to lift...hold the line there until the kite gets vertical or a little past vertical.

rides have a tendency to pull a lot more at the point when the tip starts to lift and this is a mistake. if you pull too much at this point the kite will just drop back down. pull too little and you'll loose the lift. so if the wing tip is lifting, just hold it there and feather how much you pull. due to the higher aspect, you need to hold on to the line longer once it gets vertical. as the kite starts to move forward, and the wing tip is still dragging...continue to hold on to the outside line. then, give the outside line a little more pull to lift the tip off the water. once it clears the water...let go of the line...grab the bar fast and steer the kite up and in control.

due to the higher aspect nature of the kite it will be harder to relaunch, but is one fun ass kite to ride.

hope this helps,

bob
www.kiteridersllc.com

[HJ11]

I ride the 10m2 and 14m2 2008 Thrusters but have no problem..
What kind of setting do you juse?

[BullsShit.com]

I got the 8m and 12m.
In higher winds, the 8m is super easy to re-launch.
Just pull on one of the outer lines, as far as you can reach.

In light winds, the 12m is a bitch, but what you do, swimming towards it, making it flip over and pulling one of the rear lines to make it launch is the way to go.
If you are in shallow water and are able to stand, just pull one rear line, ca. 2 arm length, wait until it drifts into the wind and flips over. Unless there is too much wind, this will work.
But if you get bored standing there with your kite down, you can also just swim towards it and hope it flips on its back. Light winds suck.
Another thing I noticed is, if you go out in real light wind, don't pump your kite up super hard. For some reason it seems to help to have a softer kite for relaunch (in light wind only).
Why? no idea.
Another odd way is , if you are in shallow water and able to stand up, is: kite is face down (LE down), pull your center lines in a few feet, sometimes works to flip the kite. But before letting go, make sure you also have some tension on one of the rear lines (the one of the direction of the launch you want), then just let go of the center lines, and the kite will be ready to go up. works, but not all the time.

[eastcoastkite]

All the thrusters are very easy to relaunch I have never had a kite even in super light wind take me more then 15 sec to relaunch.

If you use them in the correct wind range, the first thing you need to do is pull the back line. But if you are using the kite in light winds like sub13 knots then you will need to pull one line let the kite build up some speed over the water and then grab the other line usually the kite will just flip over at this point and you can relaunch.

If the kite lands TE in the water you just pull the front lines and it will relaunch but it will be a hot launch so hold on for the ride and make sure your not close to anything hard.

[discojuggernaut]

Another odd way is , if you are in shallow water and able to stand up, is: kite is face down (LE down), pull your center lines in a few feet, sometimes works to flip the kite. But before letting go, make sure you also have some tension on one of the rear lines (the one of the direction of the launch you want), then just let go of the center lines, and the kite will be ready to go up. works, but not all the time.

I have an 8, 12 and 16. The 8 is easy of course. The 12 and 16 can be worked like a C kite mentioned above. Grab a couple feet of the center line and pull in and swim towards the kite if necessary to get the kite to flip over on its back (the canopy). At that point it's a game of finesse on the steering lines to get the kite to pop out the water. I like to maintain slight tension then wait for a gust and pull harder.

And like the post above, if you get the kite in hot launch/trailing edge down position, it is essentially like hot launching a foil. A couple pumps of the center line will get the kite in the sky, with a lot of power.

[alexeyga]

Got the 14 and 10m 2008's... They are a real pain in the butt to relaunch in light wind conditions... but when it blows in respective wind range of the given size, Thrusters are one of the easiest kites to pop back up. So unless the author is a 75lbs folk and "strong wind" for him is around 12 knots I don't really see what's the problem? No need to yank anything... just pull one of the rear lines and let the kite do the rest...

[JJerrry1]

All the thrusters are very easy to relaunch.......

Chris,

You must mean the '07 Thrusters, or else you lose a lot of credibility with me when you make this statement. I am a light weight experienced C-kite rider and ride the 2008 12 Thruster in the 12 mph + recommended range, and have great difficulty relaunching the kite in lighter winds. When I asked you for relaunching advice, you laughed and said "who rides in sub 13 knots anyway...." Also, make the mistake of putting the kite on its back, with the leading edge towards you, and the kite will rise and tumble backwards completing a 360, causing your lines to be inside out. Finally, if the Thrusters were "very easy to relaunch", why take the "rider's advice" and make the '09s 25% easier to relaunch? Pumping to 11 psi makes it more rigid and difficult, perhaps BS has the best idea, which is to ride with a softer leading edge; thanks.

I like to maintain slight tension then wait for a gust and pull harder.

...and if the gust doesn't come, you'll spend a long time waiting, and drifting.

J.

edit; if you are a heavier rider and/or ride in stronger winds, the difficulty of relaunching may be irrelevant.

[gibsonandpickett]

What sort of wind speed would i need to get going reasonable easy on my 08 thruster. 80 kg 138 by 39 board .Cheers Steve