Foil kite handling in high wind

[papasmerf]

I'm a LEI veteran getting to know his first foil kite...

I've seen videos of two main launch techniques: hot launch (which I've had more success with) after weighing the trailing edge down with snow, OR folding a tip, weighing it down while the rest of the kite trails downwind. With the second method, I've found that if the wind moves around a bit, it can flip/twist the kite. But, it seems safer than hot launching if the wind is strong. Thoughts?

And--How in hell do you wrap up the kite when the wind is howling, to prevent tangles? All the vids I've found are filmed in zero wind. I've had some success, but I'm beginning to think those times were just luck... other times it's like a pile of coat hangers throwing a tangle party as soon as I close the bag! I've started making sure to wrap the mixers onto the bar... helped some, but would appreciate your tips.

what foil kite are you trying? bit of difference between the single skins and twin skins, and different brands. i've been using foil kites forever and still learn something new about them occassionally. i have found the newer ozones pretty easy to deflate with the zipper

i have one spot i go to that it is almost impossible to self launch a lei kite,,, but super easy with the foils. most generally use the cobra technique but i do it either nice and slow and let it slowly inflate while still anchored by moving bar in and out, or i will launch it very fast by running backward to keep wind in it. once they start flapping, ugh, stupid things happen sometimes. it's a learning curve. personally, my local conditions, i rarely hot launch over 15 mph, but lots of downwind hazards i don't like. if you have big open beach, much better for hot launch

alot of folks giving advice have always been to a nice sandy wide open beach,, it's when you are more confined spaces and rocky areas that make you think about launching and landing different ways.

[rnelias]

what foil kite are you trying? bit of difference between the single skins and twin skins, and different brands. i've been using foil kites forever and still learn something new about them occassionally. i have found the newer ozones pretty easy to deflate with the zipper

i have one spot i go to that it is almost impossible to self launch a lei kite,,, but super easy with the foils. most generally use the cobra technique but i do it either nice and slow and let it slowly inflate while still anchored by moving bar in and out, or i will launch it very fast by running backward to keep wind in it. once they start flapping, ugh, stupid things happen sometimes. it's a learning curve. personally, my local conditions, i rarely hot launch over 15 mph, but lots of downwind hazards i don't like. if you have big open beach, much better for hot launch

alot of folks giving advice have always been to a nice sandy wide open beach,, it's when you are more confined spaces and rocky areas that make you think about launching and landing different ways.

tiny, polluted and urban beach here as you can see



but wind is rarely stronger than 14k at the beach, thus, it's not hard to always use hot launch...

My main concern about foil kites is the self landing... I don't use my foil kites if I'm not sure that will be a folk at the beach to help me landing...

[Herman]

Re the sliding. Did a fairly high wind launch with a Montana and deliberately walked upwind the minimum amount to create the cobra. This caused a major slide downwind back into the window once the top half developed power.

Next time I will try walking further than normal upwind to see what happens.

[slide]

high wind is very different to violent gusts and at the moment it looks like this -you will never see smooth winds when the jet streams are very angery and completely unstable its called climate change, its as sjmple as that

[slide]

its heart breaking after many happy years kiting in smooth winds , land boarding at my local- but we are here now and it is so sad

[Peter_Frank]

tiny, polluted and urban beach here as you can see



but wind is rarely stronger than 14k at the beach, thus, it's not hard to always use hot launch...

My main concern about foil kites is the self landing... I don't use my foil kites if I'm not sure that will be a folk at the beach to help me landing...

Assume you are hydrofoiling?
You don't write...

But if max 14 knots on the beach, backing the kite down and putting your board on the bar should work?
I often do this between parked cars and rocks, so possible in tight space.
This is with Peak kites though, but Souls back down even more controlled.

The thread title says "in high wind" so maybe more wind once out?

Peter

[rnelias]

Assume you are hydrofoiling?
You don't write...

But if max 14 knots on the beach, backing the kite down and putting your board on the bar should work?
I often do this between parked cars and rocks, so possible in tight space.
This is with Peak kites though, but Souls back down even more controlled.

The thread title says "in high wind" so maybe more wind once out?

Peter

tt in this case but I've mentioned the wind is usually bellow 14k. In fact, depending on the tidal, the space we have is even smaller than you see on this video, thus, we don't have much choice in where to place the kite.

Honestly, when the wind gets stronger than 14k I usually prefer a tt with LEI kites, thus, launch my foil kites on high winds was never an issue for me

[Peter_Frank]

Okay I see and get why it is trouble.

Indeed, when you ride a TT there is so much power that self landing in a tight place is risky...

If you were hydrofoiling you could self land a lot easier, backing it down quite precise

Peter