Postby Kristan » Thu May 16, 2019 9:30 am
I do prefer to self launch/land, but it really depends on beach type and wind conditions. Sometimes beach ain't good for your kite to self launch, sometimes self launch ain't gonna be good for your health.
Some of the beaches where I ride are covered with small seashells or plants with prickles, so there is risk of puncturing bladder, if using LEI kite. Grass is not that much of a big deal. Also I had issues that at some lakes, that had narrow beaches, I had to walk into the water to self launch, but to find out that wind have blown lots of algae to the shore and my lines got all clumped, making my kite uncontrollable.
At one time I used to hot launch my 12m kites, putting them in the middle of the window, leading edge down, lift it with steering lines and flip it in the air. Once I have tried the same method on my newly bought 17m kite in 10-12 knots... Got yanked quite hard and injured my shoulder, good thing there was enough space and I pulled QR rather quickly. Never again.
As for foil kites, self launching them is really easy and safe at the most of times. But self landing might be complicated, as it requires lots of downwind space you might not have. Plus backstalled kite might still pull in winds above 10 knots, so you gotta hold the lines really hard when walking to the kite to secure it. Or just QR it and walk the safety line, but that is not good for the kite and requires even more downwind space. So landing it with an assistant is much better. Unless they know how to do it, and it's good if they wait and listen for instructions. But some go "yeah, I know how to land it!", grab the leading edge, pull it all down, invert it, just to grab the opposite wingtip and pull it to the ground. Be honest, you don't know, listen to instructions, or you might hurt yourself or damage the quite the expensive piece of equipment.