Try launching a race-foilkite in 30-40kn, any bad practices will be hammered out of your routine and launching a tube with a skilled helper feels like child's play after that.
With a foilkite you must plan every step in advance:
- make sure nothing is tangled and lines are correctly connected.
- walk to the exact spot in regards to the wind for the launch.
- have hundreds of meters of room Downwind to slide in case the kite doesn't fill. Also make sure you know the path and that there are no people you can hit.
- be 100% sure your quick release and flagout work and are properly connected.
- be prepared to use the quick release as soon as you notice something is off or ran out of sliding space.
If everyone took the same care into a launch as I must to launch a foil for a big air session, launch accidents should be a thing of the past.
All launch accidents I have seen or read are from bad practice, hurry, worn/faulty gear or the lack of using the quick release.
Too many times I see people launching in front of objects out of laziness to walk an extra 50m. And the Dutch guy that got himself killed last fall due to unexpected unhooking during the launch in high winds while using a wrongly connected short leash probably wouldn't have happened if he simply let go of the bar as a first response.