Launching and landing on cement parking lot

[noahsw]

This could be the dumbest idea of all time but how risky is it to launch and land on a cement parking lot? I ride a Flysurfer Soul and obviously I'm concerned about ripping the canopy. Any brave souls out there?

[Herman]

In my book it's up to you! When I look at a launch site I ask myself what's the worst that can happen and is it just me? If you don't feel qualified to make the judgement don't do it!
The hidden danger is you will get grit on the rig rather than soft sand but that's true of some beaches too!

[Carlos_C]

The concrete would be quite abrasive if doing a self launch....maybe get a tarpaulin to place the kite on.

[Herman]

Just realized you said launching and LANDING! Would you like to borrow my car park closed sign so that you know you have somewhere to go when you return from your session? Just kidding!

[SWO_kite]

I love how the primary concern here is the integrity of the kite.

A less than desirable launch or landing could yield road rash among other things. Am I the only one who's thinking about this?

[noahsw]

Haha I should clarify that this spot is known for super light wind so risk of injury is low IMO. Not much car activity either. A tarp is an interesting idea...

[Tomlutz]

This could be the dumbest idea of all time but how risky is it to launch and land on a cement parking lot? I ride a Flysurfer Soul and obviously I'm concerned about ripping the canopy. Any brave souls out there?

I never launch too close to a street or train rail if there is a risk that if something goes wrong the kite lands on a train or car while driving.

If this risk can be excluded, I think there should be ways to self launch and self land the kite with little wear for the kite, if the wind is not too strong. Often you don't need to launch at the window edge, so little risk of sliding the kite across cement. And for landing you could use your own car to function as an obstacle to wrap the kite around it after having it backstalled (I like using soft bushes or trees for that), so it would barely touch the ground. In fact this can be the safest way I to self land.

If the wind is strong / gusty, I don't think I would take the risk to self land/ launch depending on the situation. Too many kites have been killed or seriously injured by being slammed into their own car.

[Herman]

Obviously nobody in their right mind could ever say that this is a good idea, without more info! If you post an Ariel photo with an accurate scale, and the met data for the last 5 years no 10 years. Somebody might give you a complete risk assessment, perhaps slightly shorter than the Bible. But you would have to factor in global warming, assuming it exists and personally I believe it does (confidence limit 97%), or if you are new to the area and do not feel confident that you can make the judgement talk to the best local riders. But remember there are old pilots and bold pilots but there are no old bold pilots, you can never have too much runway!

[collider]

I was doing this a lot last year land boarding on an old airport runway. Your kite will get a bit of road rash and small scrapes, so tarp is a great idea on such a nice kite. As others have said, land it into your car if the wind is light (and if you have no pointy parts, obviously). I land into big plastic barriers that are already there. Definitely safest in lighter wind, and watch out for thermals popping off, spots like that are classic generators.

[Adventure Logs]

I see no problem as long as the lot is clear. Reduce any kind of sliding against the cement, use a sand bag to hold it for launch and you should be good to go.