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Recovering a facedown kite


Phil in Ottawa

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When my kite crashes, it often ends up face down with the nose facing me.

When it's like that, I can't seem to find a way to recover it to a position from where I can launch it again. No matter how I tug on the lines, it won't flip on it's back and I have to do the walk of shame to right it.

Is there a way to right a kite lying on its face like that?

Thanks for your help.

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There's the sleeping beauty, but I wouldn't recommend it. I broke a lower spreader learning that one, and decided it's better to walk over, the next time. I challenged myself to learn when that's going to happen and pop the kite before it does, so it can get more wind into the sail. I walk the walk of shame a lot less nowadays.

Thank you kindly, Iftah.

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Walk. The recovery puts a lot of wear on both the kite and the lines. However, if you can afford a new kite very often, go for it. I have tried it a few times, never with any success. It doesn't work on soft surfaces or grass longer than that on a golf green, until you become very proficient, so I don't recommend it.

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I was able to do it once, but only under hard pack ground and even then I was afraid that I had broken something .The best way to avoid that is to make yourself do the walk of shame and remember the shame so that you get better.

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gotta get the phase "walk of shame" out of your flying, walking to the kite to correct it is healthy and encouraging, and it's not that far of a walk. Most stunt kite fliers call it, "the walk of shame" but the walk goes away sooner than you expect, then there's a new walk.

I fly many SLK's and need to round up the kites in the evening, thousands of feet of lines.

So don't think of walking back to your kite to correct it as a very long walk, just enjoy the walk, and the pride in the attempt you made in the trick.

That trick will become standard, and you will go beyond it, shortly. Trust me! Tomorrow you'll fly even better. We all know it.

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Thanks hyzakite.

I'd seen the phrase used in the kiting context for the first time in another post a few days ago and decided to use it here. More as a joke than for any other reason really.

As a beginner flyer, I walk to my crashed kite a lot. I look at it as a time to reflect on what I may have done wrong to cause the crash and how I can stop doing whatever it was.

And you're right that I will get better and the walks will get fewer and fewer with time. They are already getting less frequent.

So no real shame involved. It's all good.

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I have successfully launched a few times from belly down nose toward me after quite a number of attempts. I have the broken parts to remember it by. Some kites seem bounce up the small amount needed more easily than others. I used to be self conscious about walking to the kite & if someone was watching I would make bridle adjustments to somehow justify the walk. Now I just don't care & use the time to contemplate the next effort along the path of my KiteLife®.

After the walk comes the comes the joy of the launch.

post-7709-0-04263100-1441812134_thumb.jp

SHBKF

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I don't call it the walk of shame. It's the Walk of Contemplation. Gives you time to contemplate what went wrong to put you in that position. That's the one position that I can't recover from, only successfully done it once. Doesn't happen often, but when it starts happening more frequently I know it a sign that I'm getting tired and need to sit and take a break.

Unless it's a cheaper kite that you don't mind abusing while you try to learn to recover, just take the walk. I know, I hate to do it too.

EDIT:

I tend to not stray too far from a beach somewhere but that picture reminded me of the beauty of those Great Smoky Mountains. Been too long since I've visited!

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