Both Kites are not Bow kites.

In a nutshell,

Fly it to the edge of the window a couple of metres above the ground, turn the kite sharply to make it crash into the ground leading edge down and run like F#K downwind and pull the kite around as you do until you are completely downwind of it and it is pointing leading edge directly into wind.

Dunno if thats the approved method for Bow's but that's the way I land C's and 5th lines as well as my bow kites.

My 2c

First up, make sure no one is down wind of you, in case landing is not successful.

If the winds really strong or you've got reservations about self landing just flag out the kite and walk up the flagging line to secure the kite.

When you're new to self landing I recommend attaching your leash to the flagging line before attempting a self landing if it's not already there.

Take the kite to the edge of the window and hold it about 2m off the ground. Then, dive it hard at the ground. Let go of the bar and and grab the centre lines. Pull in until you can reach the uppermost centre line and then pull it hard to force the leading edge into the wind. It will crash leading edge down onto the sand into the wind. Pull it around a bit more if necessary into the wind with the same centre line. The kite should be stable enough for you to then run up and secure it with sand.

If this does not work because you have not been agressive enough with it, it may take off and flip over down wind. Don't worry, keep pulling in on the centre line which is now a flagging line. It will turn over and plop down with the leading edge into the wind. Run and secure it.

Scrotus said...

Edge of the window close to the ground then pull the most upper centre line - keep pulling and the kite sits down on the leading edge. This works even with strong winds.

This works for me as well. On my Bandits I bring it down to the edge of the window so it's just touching on the ground standing on its tip. Keep tension on the center/front lines and walk out to the swivel then pull on the top line. The kite should fall over straight on to its leading edge facing the wind.

I self land all the time.

I love the top centre line tip over but it ain't reliable in strong winds. It is definitely the nicest & gentlest on the kite but...

I think the safest and most reliable method (other than just flag to safety) is....

0. Check there isn't anyone who is going to get hurt down wind
1. Gently sit kite on the ground at the edge of the window - let it hop back if it wants to.
2. Reach up as far as you can and grab BOTH front lines - at the swivel or vee point is nice & secure.
3. Pull in & un hook your bar.
-- At this point your safety is still on the flagging ring & you want to be real comfortable that you will not let go of both front lines.---
4. Walk around to directly up wind of your kite. It will lie on its back and surrender.
--If you have the kite securely you can dump your bar & safety now but you really don't want to let go of those front lines if you do.---

5. Hand over hand down both lines to your kite. Until you can grab your kite securely. (I like to loop the lines around my harness hook (hammer head) and pull in with one hand & out with the other - I'd had my kite to fly down the beach & get someone).

I think this might not work with some bows depending on their pulley arrangement so you should probably test on a light wind day.

Try this. It is absolutely reliable for my kites & I reckon probably most SLE/Bows.
Good luck

The Generals method sounds interesting - haven't seen this done but it sounds OK.

My method is quite similar and does not involve slamming the kite .

BOW/ Hybrid method only.....

I use it with 100% success on my 07 -08 and 09 (IDS ) Switchblades and a very similar method with an 07 Fuel which is a bit more tricky to land and not always a success.

hold kite at the edge of the wind window at about 30 -45 degrees.
pull in as much depower as you can
clip safety onto a flagging line, fifth or IDS.
hold one hand above the depower strap ( as far up as you can reach really ) and unhook from the kite. At this stage you are holding just the front lines in your hand and can lower and raise the kite with very little power in it. ( C-kites which fly more off the front lines than bow kites mean that they are still quite powered when holding the front lines AND THERFORE THIS METHOD IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR A C-KITE )
now with the kite at about 30 -45degrees rapidly begin pulling in the front lines until you get to where they split into two about 1m from the bar now grab the upper line and continue pulling this IN .

Once you begin pulling in the front lines the kite will completely depower and begin falling leading edge down ( note it is falling not powered ) you need to be quick to pull the upper line to cause the kite to remain level as it falls...... too much and the kite will turn back up... too little and the kite will not fall leading edge flat. If the kite does flip and begin to power up you should be fine as long as you keep a good handful of the front lines if you panick your flagging line should avert any potential disaster.

Softly Lands leading edge down into the wind in 15 -35 knots everytime.

IMPORTANT : this method does require confidence and a bit of practice and should only be performed once your safety is attached to the flagging line. AS with any method I have seen it go wrong before, ( not when people are holding the front lines but more as they move onto the outer/upper front line ) for this reason it is essential that you have your kite set for flagging just in case it is required.

and practice practice practice until confident.

shodan said...

Best method in the world 2 launch and land:

1/ Attach the harness end of a spare leash to the bullbar of the ute
2/ Fly kite to ground
3/ Hook leash to suicide point or chicken loop
4/ Unhook and walk downwind while kite sits on wingtip and retrive kite

Simply revearse to launch, works every time.

Spot on.^^^^^
We do the same.Really safe way of launching,no kite sliding over sand/shells/sticks.
And you can check your lines etc before you unhook off the anchor point and attatch your self to it.

Same with landing,kite just sits on its wing tip and waits for you to grab it.

craggers said...

spot on shodan!!

i just cant work out why all those people are shouting at me as i drive across st kilda west beach in my Hummer!!!!

and why is there 26 kites caught in my axles...?


jokes. it worked mate. we are all jealous of whatever beach you are on

l kite on Gantheume Point in Broome. Were lucky enough to be able to drive on to the beach and unload straight on to the sand. l thought when u drove a hummer u didn't have to care if people screemed at you, you just ran them over?

I use a method similar to the "ute bullbar" one, but I just fill my kite bag up with sand at the start of the session. Have a rockclimbing carabiner attached to one of the straps. The bag ends up weighing 50 odd kg, clip the chicken loop onto it, depower as much as possible then walk down to the kite. Easy as, use it to launch too, saves scraping the LE and avoids the ever-present menace of evil sticks hidden 1mm below the sand...

Theres vids of it all over youtube, never let me down.


..yet.

I met this south African bloke (Clive) who was driving up and sown the west coast kiting. he used one of those screw in anchors for boats. think he called it a wombat or something. i watched him and it was so affective. just screw this thing in about 40cm and its solid as a rock. he put a 12m on it in Augusta when it was about 25kn and the thing didn't budge a cm. he said it works fine under water too. not sure the cost of the thing but def worth the cost if it saves your kite or hurting some one.

pynnee said...

I found this. i have 100% no connection to this company so please don't think im trying to sell them...

www.rapidanchor.com

Yup. I've used them. They hold 500kg's when screwed in so they're not going anywhere. They now have a kite attachment. I find the dragging leading edge method can sometimes leave little cuts on your kite from the shells so I prefer this most of the time, but 99% of the time when I am out there are other riders around so its not an issue.

You have to be weary about the kite you use. Some kites still fly when full depowered. I've seen it on some of the waroos where they fly about 3 or 4m in the air and you have to hold one of the front lines to keep them on the ground while you walk to the kite.

Kitehard said...

Some interesting replies ^^^

Many of which seem to involve diving the kite "hard" onto the ground. This is generally not a good idea although I know what you're all trying to do.

A better and safer method is to let the bar go from a few metres above the ground, the sudden release of the bar, reduces the angle of attack and lets the kite fall back into the wind window a few metres. When it hits the ground, pull the bottom steering line to keep it on the ground (friction), and walk upwind about 5-10 metres so the kite is well down wind of the neutral zone.

Pull your quick release or the upper wingtip center (front) line of the kite and it will drop onto it's leading edge neatly without all the running and slamming into the ground. Make sure your leash is connected to the flagging ring option and you just can't go wrong.

It pretty much works in all wind strengths

Cheers,

KH

Interesting method... I'll try that next session.

I might mention its a good idea to never have a handful of lines self landing and to take off any rings when kiting. The wind dropped out totally once when I was offshore about 100m. I wound up the flagging line up 5m or so and was halfway winding up the rest of the lines when a whitecap hit my kite. I thought I was outside the surf zone. Even flagged out the force was instant and very powerful. I wasn't even aware of the lines being around my fingers but I was very lucky not to lose a few. In a split second the flagging line caught my hand, then snapped the end off the bar and then the flagging line itself snapped leaving me with a very numb hand for a couple of days. Very lucky the line snapped. Be really aware of the lines you are pulling when self landing as the kite can power up, particularly if something gets caught and the flagging line does not work. A ring can easily catch a line too.

POP