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The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice!

Forum with lots of safety info - a must for newbees
podiatanapraia
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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice!

Postby podiatanapraia » Sun Dec 23, 2018 12:51 pm

And this is what happens when an instructor DOESN'T teach his students the importance of proper launch procedure.

https://youtu.be/sm3mHjYslDo

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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice!

Postby mgs » Wed Dec 26, 2018 2:58 pm

Certainly not a textbook launch and so easily avoidable when you know what you should be doing.
The kite is too far down wind when initially released, the kite then flown "left" into the power zone instead of being flown "right" to the edge of the window.

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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice!

Postby PullStrings » Wed Dec 26, 2018 6:49 pm

Looks to me that is back lines could have been attached to wrong side of kite or his bar was held upside down....wrong way.. right on left...left on right
At launch he pulled with right hand to steer kite but it went left.... the other way...real quick
Never a good surprise !!

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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice!

Postby Toby » Wed Dec 26, 2018 6:51 pm

No hand on the quick release!

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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice!

Postby grigorib » Wed Dec 26, 2018 7:27 pm

Also there’s special place in hell for people who shoot vertical videos

I hope OS developers set low-red as a default for vertical videos so people avoid that mode

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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice!

Postby podiatanapraia » Wed Dec 26, 2018 8:38 pm

grigorib wrote:
Wed Dec 26, 2018 7:27 pm
Also there’s special place in hell for people who shoot vertical videos

I hope OS developers set low-red as a default for vertical videos so people avoid that mode
Well, finally, somebody who hasn't lost focus of what's truly important! Good on ya, buddy!

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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice!

Postby grigorib » Wed Dec 26, 2018 8:49 pm

podiatanapraia wrote:
Wed Dec 26, 2018 8:38 pm
grigorib wrote:
Wed Dec 26, 2018 7:27 pm
Also there’s special place in hell for people who shoot vertical videos

I hope OS developers set low-red as a default for vertical videos so people avoid that mode
Well, finally, somebody who hasn't lost focus of what's truly important! Good on ya, buddy!
Kitemares happen and anyone experienced has a decent record of how many times things went wrong :)
My harness unbuckled in 40 knots wind, my checkenloop slid off while lines weren't under tension, I had couple of hard ballistic landings from 20+ ft, I tomahawk-looped kite, I grabbed wrong side of the bar when untwisting after a trick, I deathlooped a kite, many times I swam/walked back and many times I towed guys back onshore, I got foil stuck in fishing net...

Not every silly mishap deserves a video but every video deserves to be shot horizontally :)

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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice!

Postby PullStrings » Wed Dec 26, 2018 9:14 pm

Toby wrote:
Wed Dec 26, 2018 6:51 pm
No hand on the quick release!
Exactly !!
Now in this situation where kiter can't keep his ground...keeps getting pulled on ground before launch...was the trimmer pulled enough to depower kite...are back lines too tight ?
What i see here is the classic bar the wrong way launch..helper did OK...but when i launch someone i leave the kite on wingtip and walk 5 feet upwind...i don't send it/toss it up
The rider becomes now totally in charge of his launch...and he can figure out himself that all is perfect

The only way to save such bad launch on starboard tack is to hold the bar " with only the left hand " and have the right hand on quick release
By launching using the left hand only (and having the bar the wrong way ) you will not be able to get the kite airborne
It will stay put.. because pulling left will make the kite go right....and that's on the ground....safe !!
In this case the kite had to much power from the get go...kite was sent up by helper..it caught too much wind too soon ..kiter pulled right to correct but kite went left...boom !

After troubleshooting the situation either signal the assistant to put kite down to start all over
Or just flip your bar 180 to the correct way by untwisting back lines and re- launch with success
Paying attention 100 % can avoid a lot of drama

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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice!

Postby JakeFarley » Wed Dec 26, 2018 9:51 pm

I did not see a signal by the kiter (thumbs up) to launch. Perhaps the helper let go too early? Anyway, at least the kiter eventually let go of the bar so the kite was not fully powered and lofted him.

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Re: The Safety Topic: please post your experience and advice!

Postby matt-0 kite » Thu Dec 27, 2018 12:43 pm

Thanks for the vid Podiatrana:
It often happens-- a few mistakes lined up to contribute to this incident. As mentioned before by other posters-- kite too far downwind, arms outspread instead of on the quick release (perhaps he expected that letting go of the bar would depower the kite sufficiently), maybe some other things I did not notice.
I teach this launch procedure to my students & use it myself, it's based on input from many instructors that have worked for me over the years. I think it pretty much checks off the boxes for stuff to look out for. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aApZDlC0ss
Please notice also the "back line tension check." The majority of cases that I've seen lately where the kiter loses control over the kite when launching would have been prevented by doing this before giving the thumbs up.

Launch Procedure (SPLAT): do ALL of your checks EVERY time, and communicate with your helper

S - Situation- Re-check beach, water, and wind/weather conditions.
Locate your across the wind line (3–9 o’clock on the wind window) before picking up bar
Check that you have a downwind area (drop zone) as clear as possible of people and obstacles

P - Position- Yours and the kite’s position vs. the wind direction and water’s edge
Attach safety leash, make sure you are downwind of the kite & close enough that the lines are slack
Move toward edge of window; bottom hand on chicken loop to pull front lines tight, & top hand holding bar
Walk upwind keeping front lines taut, & loosely feeling for power in the bar with the back lines to find edge of window
Attach chicken loop, hook in & sheet out
Move carefully upwind again with front lines taut, checking for power to find final launching position

L - Lines and Safety Systems:-
Double check Lines, safety leash, & bridles free of tangles and twists ; connected properly
Sheet fully out (to check depowerability) and fully in (to check for equal and sufficient back line tension)

A - Around- Thorough 360 degree check of beach and ocean, just before you give the signal:

T - Thumb up- with bottom hand (but not if the panels are flapping or the front lines are slack!)

Some years back one of my instructor friends called me out after watching my launch; he said why are you so strict with your students with this but didn't do the 360 degree check yourself before you launch? I thanked him, I still remember that and it helps me to do my all my checks every time.
Last edited by matt-0 kite on Sun Dec 30, 2018 2:00 am, edited 1 time in total.


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