best way to launch?

[cyenobite]

Hello all,

I'm a new kite flying fan. I've been bitten by the bug

I got my first stunt kite (an HQ HYPE) Which I really like.

I also picked up a training DVD from Dodd...

During the video, I noticed he had a sort of large nail with a padded top, that he used to anchor the straps into the ground, while he launched his kite.

this past weekend i took my kite out for the first time down to the jersey shore, and had a blast. The worst part was trying to set up the kite on it's back, then slowly walk back loosely holding the strings (and untangling them at the same time). Then carefully turning around and putting the wrtist straps on, then launching.

Several times, while walking back, a strong gust would come along, and flip the kite over. anyway, I was wondering if staking the straps into the ground would help prevent this? I have a fear that the kite would LAUNCH on it's own before I had the chance to get back to the straps.

Thoughts or advice? To Stake or not...

Thanks

Cyen

PS> Any other tips for launching one your own would be appreciated. For both sand/beach and grass/park. I was wondering if burrying the leading edge in the sand would keep the kite from flipping before i got back to the straps?

[Dorsal]

Cyen - Welcome to the Forum, and a great hobby.

Definitely get a stake! If you have a stout, long screwdriver - that will work, too. Trying to keep a kite setup with any wind over 5 mph can be work for an experienced flyer - why make it hard on yourself?

For flying in the sand, many people lay the kite on its back and kick a small pile of sand onto the trailing edge of the sail. It will spill out when you pull on the lines to launch the kite. I would definitely NOT suggest driving the tips into the sand while you walk to the straps - that's a sure way to learn how to replace the lower rods you just snapped off.

For flying from grass, many people have used a small sandbag or camera or wallet to hold the trailing edge down. It kinda depends on which thing you could afford to forget at the field, when you leave.

Just about every kitestore on the planet sells them, you can also buy them online from the better online stores. If you need a suggestion of the websites to look, email me. Just click on my name above my handsome photo for the address.

[Dorsal]

Oh - If you'll put your location in your profile, you may learn there are other flyers near you. Some of them may have some "extra" equipment you could borrow.

Where are you from? Not an address, but "Eastern Texas" or something like that would help others to assist you.

[godric]

Howdy, Cyenobite --

Sure, you can stake out your handles, then walk over to the kite and tip it slightly away from the wind with the lines just taut. The wind will then tend to drive it into the ground, rather than launching it; once you grab the handles and take a step back it'll go right up.

Or you can do what I do (I've never felt the need for stakes) -- just lay the kite on its back with the nose away from you, then loosely hold the lines, again tipping the kite up slightly from the ground, on your way back to the handles. As long as the kite is tipped away from the wind it won't launch itself.

Oh, and you don't need to untwist the lines on your way back to the kite -- you can typically fly with at least a dozen twists. Once the kite is airborne, just fly a half-dozen tight circles in one direction -- if that makes it better, keep it up; if it makes it worse, fly a dozen circles in the other direction, then continue as needed until the lines are untwisted.

Good winds --

-- Paul

[cyenobite]

Thanks guys for the advice. I had not thought it through that as long as the kite is tilted back it would not launch - it only makes sense. I will have to try and pick up a large screwdrive or something and give it a try. Paul, I understand about not untangling the lines and just performing a few circles, but this is just at my beginner level, still getting the hang of doing one circle at a time

Not to mention untangling the string from my feet as the wind would tangle it!

I love the sandbag/wallet idea too for keeping the edge of the kite down. I'll have to look into that as well.

Thanks again for the advice. (also for the advice on updating my profile - which I did).

Any other useful tips for launching please feel free to post!

Thanks

Cyen

PS> I have Dodd Gross' flight school DVD (which I like inspite of the poor editing Can anyone recommend any other DVD's?

[godric]

Prism's "Freestyle Pilot" DVD is better edited and easier to navigate than Dodd's, and includes a sequence in which the kite is augered into the water, then slowly pulled up, launched, axeled and flown away. Makes me laugh out loud every time I see it (okay, so I'm easily amused ...).

Both Mark Reed and Dodd Gross make this point repeatedly: learn to stall, learn to move while stalled (side slides, landings, etc.), then work on other stuff. So, although I've been playing a bit with axels, turtles, lazy Susans, fade-flacs and the like, I now spend some time every time I fly on snap stalls, side slides, landings and launches, on the theory that the Mysteries of the Axel Initiated With the Left Hand will be revealed to me once these maneuvers achieve second-nature status.

John will probably also wander by in a while and point out from his ballet background that you need to be able to put the kite where you want it in the sky, going at the speed you want, in the direction you want, any time you want, before any of the slack-line stuff will begin to make sense.

Good winds --

-- Paul

[Jorge Arellano]

The DVD I can recommend, how about "Gone with the wind",

I think you should try the socks with sand, I´ve done that, and still do it, put one on each side, then walk untangling the lines until you reach the handles, pull the kite up smoothly, the bags fall and then pull hard, the kite will take air instantly.

I´ve been flying sport kites for about a year and a half, and let me tell you, no DVD does the work, just practice and practice, you will feel more confident the more you fly.

Have fun

Jorge

[kitepilot]

You can make those hold-down weights with sandwich-sized Ziploc baggies filled with sand or dirt, too. That way, your feet don’t get so sandy when you put your socks back on at the end of the flying session! If you’d like to learn a lot about kite flying, spend time in the http://www.kitelife.com/archives/index.htm. I can get lost in there for hours on end (that’s why a lot of my posts are at one and two o’clock in the morning!). The archives of KiteLines and SKQ show the growth and development of stuntkiting since the seventies. If I’m not flying a kite, I’m reading about kites! Those previous posts with advice are right on. These guys were all beginners long ago, and haven’t lost touch with us newbies. Have a ball, keep it high! kitepilot

[EBGB]

Another option, that I've been doing a lot myself lately, is to roll the kite up half way in it's own lines.

Attach the lines to the kite then flip it over backwards, so it's laying face down, nose into the wind, with the lines passing over the trailing edge of the kite.

Unwind the rest of your lines as usual.

When you get to the straps, just give a slow pull on one line, and the kite will unroll into flying position.

[John Barresi]

I've been using the same method Don, with a good deal of success.

Nice to not have a railroad spike in my back pocket all the time.