Hey Mate, walk further upwind than what u would do if u were getting an assisted launch.

What this does is when the kite stands on it's wingtip, instead of it sitting at 90o to the ground, the leading edge will be tilting slightly forward and pointing into the ground (slightly).
Then take a couple of steps back downwind, tug on the top steering line without pulling the bar in and once the kite has lifted off the ground gently steer it up to 12 without pulling the bar in........

Did I mention not to pull the bar in

Practice, practice and more practice in 15 knt winds is very beneficial.

Remember, when u are attempting a self launch always double or triple check that ur lines are run out and connected correctly

finn12 said..

Hi I've been self launching for a month or so now, no real dramas.

I've been following that great AKS video that gets posted around here,

Sometimes however when the kite starts to fill with air i'll be able to get it to launch almost straight away, other times the kite will start to skid across the sand from the edge of the window towards the middle.

Is there a way to prevent or lessen this kite drifting across the sand? which also freaks me out a bit that i'm going to end up hot launching the kite directly downwind.

Thanks

yeh tether launch,
it allows you to check your lines prior to launch
it allows you to access the winds strength prior to commiting
it allows you time to check the launch area to stop kite damage ie sticks cuttle fish debris all which can slash your le on launch ending your session
it allows you to safely land your kite
I could go on ,if you don't have means to self launch and land then fine but if you do then imho its a must, we all used to do the self launch land or assisted but a few had some very close calls, so I put in a launch post and after 3or so years we now all tether launch, launching and landing imo is 95% when things go wrong, also an increase of winds during a session can inflict serious problems, for example I neede a huge amount of sand on my 7 this season just to keep it still whilst rigging, would I self land in this no f8888g way unless I had my hand on, or id pulled the safety

harlie said...
That's all well and good if you can install a post at your beach - some beaches just don't allow this.

The beach I used over xmas for example. 4m of tide that resulted in zero beach at high tide (waste deep into mangroves) and over 200m of clean bare sand at low tide. Sure can't install a permanent post, and if you use a screw in unit it will either be 3m underwater or miles away when you want to land. For the three weeks I was there I didn't see another kiter so assisted was not really going to happen?

On the other hand, the beach closest to home, someone installed a permanent tether - happy days works a treat. But not all locations allow the use of a tether, so to bang on about how tethering is the only way to launch is just crap. It's a good way, but sure is not the only safe way.

Maybe read my post again ,

arloj said..

Should ask Chris about checking lines before self launching...

I agree with cauncy. Assisted launch/land first option (subject to having verified you get someone who knows what they are doing or you give them a good brief), option 2 tether launch IF and WHERE possible as it's safer and works in all conditions and is more gentle to your gear, option 3 self-launch (while I still throw the kite on the water and re-launch if there is no space on the beach or it's full of crap)