How to Self Land Your Kite

[stakas]

It is a dangerous and unnecessary way of landing a kite. Always land it fixed otherwise your luck will run out sooner or later.

[Westozzy]

self land.jpg

Hello,

Here at my school in Sumatra I have made a tool that works for people who go kiting but not know how to self land.

Attach it around a tree or something, hook your loop into the carabiner, walk to the kite . done.

www.seabreezekiteclub.com

Thanks

What a tether with a donkey dick (that's a good idea)... But still.

[s1buell_wl]

I've seen kites crashed into the ground like that, but without the bar work.

I self-land all sizes of my kites by landing it on the tip, reaching up and grabbing the center lines, walking upwind around the kite and keeping tension on the centers, then hand over hand to the upper front line... worse failure mode is it floats into the air when I pull the upper front line and crashes down a few meters more downwind than I planned.

That's the ticket!!! I put the 19m down in 18-20kns this way. If I hit it just right It goes down where I want if not it floats back and sets down 100% safe. Either way the kite is flagged the second you grab the center lines (with a 4-line kite only). 5 line kite can be done the same way but you grab the 5th to bring the kite down. You will get the same effect.

I don't like the video method at all.

[zik46]

sorry guys but that's a dangerous video to watch , don't try that except if the wind is under 10 knots.

There is not a safe way to self land a tube kite except for a hook in the ground or with someone to help you out.
A way better way to self land your kite and it works for the bars with low V connection in the center line is to let your kite down in the side of the window and when the kite touch the ground then unhook and pull the one center line (bar with high V you can't reach the upper center line) that connects on the upper kite end , but still is not the safest way but works way better than the self landing on the video.

Also is not a good idea to crash your kite like that every time you want to self land even in less than 10 knots

sorry about my negative comment
George

[SpaceRacer]

That's the dumbest thing I've ever seen.

[dazarter]

Tried it the other week, with a bit of space (beach), without any problems. i just landed sideways and puled the line - no problems….

[Erlend M B]

Here is how I do it:

[gonewiththewind]

If you tether the chicken loop to a fixed object, that is not self-landing or self-launching. And it won't help you when you need to come to shore to fix something at an unexpected spot during your downwinder. And it won't help you when you travel to a big beach without any posts where you want to launch. It's a good supplementary method to use under certain circumstances. But very kiter should know how to self-launch and self-land his kite and practice it regularly. That means no tethering to stakes, posts, etc.

[dracop]

While I dislike the tether approach, I cannot entirely agree with your post. You can carry around large empty bags that fill with sand and have a rope tie around it with a carabiner at the end. Its portable and all you have to do is fill it with sand to create a mobile anchor point since you should be able to find sand, dirt, or loose rocks SOMEWHERE in your playground. If you really don't have anything dry in your playground, you could technically take large balloons, fill em with water for weight, and use a heavy duty net with a carabiner attached to the net's haul point. Water is something I assume you have access to if you are kitesurfing...

I still think its easier to just use your QR1 for most kites, climb the lines to recover the kite, and swim or walk home. If you are that worried about your hands, buy gloves. Not sure why people hate their QR so much, all of the systems that flag out to a single line make it really easy. Hell simply unhooking if you are leashed to the flag out line does much of the same thing as a QR.

[SupaEZ]

If you tether the chicken loop to a fixed object, that is not self-landing or self-launching. And it won't help you when you need to come to shore to fix something at an unexpected spot during your downwinder. And it won't help you when you travel to a big beach without any posts where you want to launch. It's a good supplementary method to use under certain circumstances. But very kiter should know how to self-launch and self-land his kite and practice it regularly. That means no tethering to stakes, posts, etc.

Everything he said is spot on
I practice a lot...238 days last year...100 days this year so far
Launch yourself...land yourself...rig the correct size kite that you know you can land by yourself
Come in to shore before a dangerous wind increase situation
Do not rely on anything but you own self to bring kite down without using the quick release if you can
Go up the centerline of your low or high "Y" with confidence...kite on wingtip is waiting for your move
I remain hooked in and get kite LE down securely
I have landed my Core Riot XR3 19m2 safely in @ 20kn of wind
I have landed my North Rebel 6m2 safely in @ 37kn of wind
Master landing your kites without help or stakes
Get to know how your kites behavior as you walk up towards it
Always landing safe requires discipline and practice