Flat relaunch by KiteLife

Transcript

1. ›

   Belly down, tips toward you

   0:00

   In this tutorial I'm going to show you how to relaunch the kite when it's flat. There are two ways the kite can end up flat. The first is on its belly, with its bottom tips toward you, as the kite is now. Some people jerk or pump the kite trying to get it up, but I find that's not as effective. The technique I use is more like a little shuffle: walking backward, I move my hands very, very gently. You can see what happens at the kite: a little waggle shovels wind under the sail, and I'm ready to fly. Notice that I don't pull my hands back excessively; I use my body to walk away, my hands staying in front while my feet move.

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   Face down, leading edge toward you

   1:08

   The other flat position is face down, leading edge toward you, with the lines and bridle under the kite. One recovery method works most of the time if you keep your lines clean. With the kite flat, I put both handles in one hand, separated by two fingers so I can easily split them to fly. I reach out and take one bottom line, keeping the other three very loose so the kite rotates above them, and give that bottom line a little tug, very low, to coax the kite around. I may need to reach further for more bottom line, and that's fine. Once the kite has rotated far enough, I wiggle the lines underneath so they come straight. The kite now has its bottom tips toward me, so I can shuffle it up and fly.

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   Notes

   2:40

   Notes for the flat launch with the leading edge away: the goal is to fill the sail so it pops up, with a gentle shuffle that moves wind under the kite; jerking often makes it slide toward you without popping up as easily. Notes for the flat launch with the leading edge toward you: keep the three loose lines on the ground as the kite spins, so they pass underneath. It works better on flat ground; uneven terrain increases the chance of a line wrapping on a wingtip.