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nothing2seehere wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 12, 2020 10:05 am

^^^ This I like the sound of. I'd be interested to hear more specifics about it. Length of leash etc.

I used a Flysurfer leash, about 1m long. Next time I may try a rope that’s a bit longer.

Herman wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 12, 2020 10:15 am

For a high AR kite to get the other lines slack enough, quickly enough, you might need to be able to flag from an OS handle on the captured rear line, rather than going up the captured rear and across the window to create the slack. Is that a fair observation? Or will it lay down as you walk accross?

PS very interesting idea, and looks worth developing, nice one!! I will give it a try at some point.

For my testing so far I only used a pretty small, low AR kite (CA Wave 6.5). For bigger kites with higher AR, a longer rope may be needed, and to your point an Oh Shit handle may work best. I may add those to my bars, if it turns out that pulling hard on the backline plus walking downwind do not create slack fast enough to get the kite to lay down flat right away.

irwe wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 12, 2020 11:51 am

br44 interesting concept but for most of my self-landing spots I have trees nearby and limited beach space so I cannot walk on shore with the kite. The kite is landed while I am still in the water. I tried my land Kite Catcher this week and it worked flawlessly ( 8 m FireFly V2 14 kts)

When you walk to your anchor (which could be setup right by the water) the kite can be at 12. As you walk back however, you need to bring the kite low; then at landing you can be in the water. But if the trees are very close, then yes it sounds like you want to keep using the hook method.

Really like this idea- think it will also work on ice- with ice screw as anchor. Looking forward to trying it

I have carried and used an ice screw on snow at times, but I’m usually able to fly the kite to the ground and pull enough line in on one side to get it to flag out.

On water I’ve also worn around my waist like a belt, a thin webbing strap with a buckle. On the beach I can take it off and connect it around stumps or posts, hook the CL through it for tethered landings.

I've thought of a tethered landing where you fly the kite fully depowered at 11 and hook the chicken loop into a carabiner attached to an anchor(screw anchor or sandbag). Check to see how long it takes for the kite to fall to 9 and determine if you can run fast enough to be there to catch the kite. Seems very sketchy though. Has anyone ever tried this method?

Tried ... only in my mind for now...

JakeFarley wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 15, 2020 12:28 am

I've thought of a tethered landing where you fly the kite fully depowered at 11 and hook the chicken loop into a carabiner attached to an anchor(screw anchor or sandbag). Check to see how long it takes for the kite to fall to 9 and determine if you can run fast enough to be there to catch the kite. Seems very sketchy though. Has anyone ever tried this method?

It doesn’t work as described. A foil kite left unattended can do anything. It can violently crash at 9 and then go crash at 3, in the process ripping your anchor and itself to pieces.

For tethered landing to work, you MUST hold the back line at all times. As you walk towards the kite, you must keeping flying the kite with your hand on the back line, until you reach the kite. I’ve done this a couple of times.

I thought about holding/walking up the lower back line (wearing sailing gloves which I used to always wear) to keep the kite coming down controlled. Not sure about holding both back lines, flying the kite, perhaps that might work.

I like BR44's landing technique, but it seems that you need more space than your line length (maybe 1-1/2 times) and with trees nearby to eat my kite I can't try it at my launch site.

JakeFarley wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 15, 2020 12:28 am

I've thought of a tethered landing where you fly the kite fully depowered at 11 and hook the chicken loop into a carabiner attached to an anchor(screw anchor or sandbag). Check to see how long it takes for the kite to fall to 9 and determine if you can run fast enough to be there to catch the kite. Seems very sketchy though. Has anyone ever tried this method?

That's a possible "very light wind only" option. Even small gusts make the kite surge back and forth a few metres in normal (twin tip strength) winds. Watch someone landing an LEI and 50% of the time the helper is out of position because of small differences in wind speed.

It sounds a bit like the LEI front stall landing where you pull hard on the front lines to make the kite hidenburg. Possible to do but most practical for instagram likes than as a real option.