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Opinions wanted, is it better to self land in strong winds by punching out from 12 or 3/9??

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Puetz
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Opinions wanted, is it better to self land in strong winds by punching out from 12 or 3/9??

Postby Puetz » Fri Feb 05, 2021 12:11 am

G'day guys and gals,

A discussion came up at my local and there were differing of opinions which was a safer position for rider and kite when punching out a kite to self land in stronger winds.

I would love to hear your opinions on the subject,,,so, Which is better, when punching out your kite for a self land in strong winds, is it better to punch out the kite from a 12 o'clock position or from the side 3 or 9 o'clock?

Of course, punching out your kite from any position is necessary if you're in trouble, no discussion there but I'm talking self landing here. I say it's best at 12 because there is less chance for the kite to tumble and get lines messed up or to snag or whatever, so if it's already at the direct downwind position, the kites not gunna go anywhere else, so therefore less chance of damage to it or indeed the rider. If initiated from one side, the kite can tumble, slide even shoot past the dead downwind position!!!

Whatcha reckon??

Cheers,

Robbie :D

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Re: Opinions wanted, is it better to self land in strong winds by punching out from 12 or 3/9??

Postby edt » Fri Feb 05, 2021 2:20 am

Good question. I use the qr to self land quite a bit buthonestly I'm not sure. Good topic for a video! Go out and test it both ways 10 times. Everyone will have an option but what to believe.

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Re: Opinions wanted, is it better to self land in strong winds by punching out from 12 or 3/9??

Postby jumptheshark » Fri Feb 05, 2021 2:33 am

I think I do it at the side because its just less flashy and noticeable. People see a kite fall from 12 and and they do weird stuff. I fly pretty small kites and tend to think its less likely the kite will spin on the way down when its only a few feet up. Jog to end up straight upwind of the kite and you can generally spare it sliding around.

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Re: Opinions wanted, is it better to self land in strong winds by punching out from 12 or 3/9??

Postby SMJ » Fri Feb 05, 2021 3:13 am

I always rest the kite on the water at 3:00 or 9:00. Dropping the kite from any height can damage a bladder, potentially rip the canopy, or blow out the leading edge.

If I'm riding alone and an anchor isn't an option, I try to pre-plan the exit strategy by rigging the center lines such that the safety line is on the top of the kite on the side I plan on dropping it.

For example, if I plan on landing the kite on the water to the right side 3:00, then I'll rig the safety line to the left center bridle (as viewed while flying the kite). This translates into the right bridle if rigging the bar downwind (which is pretty much taught in all the schools nowadays).

Easy way to remember (again when rigging the bar downwind of the kite) is land right, rig safety right. Land left, rig safety left.

With the safety attached to the top, when you eject ideally the kite will fall to the water in the storage position (most stable position).

However, there are going to be times when the kite flips and rolls into the power zone which makes it more difficult to self-rescue with all that line tension while the kite is upside down in the smiley-face position jumping around the water.

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Re: Opinions wanted, is it better to self land in strong winds by punching out from 12 or 3/9??

Postby matth » Fri Feb 05, 2021 4:26 am

I would say to the side. If it's nuking the most dangerous place for the kite is at 12 IMO. The wind is stronger at 12 and you are risking getting lofted. Definitely land in the water if you have the option, the kite sticks to the water better than land and does less damage..

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Re: Opinions wanted, is it better to self land in strong winds by punching out from 12 or 3/9??

Postby Herman » Fri Feb 05, 2021 12:20 pm

If it is really nuking you are not going to put you kite to Z to flag it. Nor do you need to, if it has any height as soon as it is flagged it will drift so fast that it make it all the way down wind.

Imho there is no point in having the kite stationary and very low or on the tip when flagging as it will most likely tumble back downwind. But you can fly it down and out of the window flagging at the last moment to reduce the impact of the crash and allow the kite to sit in the beach parked position. I would prefer to be doing this into water and I call this dumping the kite. As the wind gets stronger the violence required to fly it down and out of the window increases, also it is not something that can be easily practiced so hard to build up expertise. Particularly as I nearly always tether launch and land.

However, getting back to the point, having done safety checks. My current strategy for dumping kites is to trim in for unhooking. Unhook with the kite a 40°, if I fancy being able to fly it out of the window for the parked position I go for it, releasing the bar just before impact. If I don’t fancy it I do a final check of the down wind area and just release the bar and hold the leash qr.

My question is for people who dump there kites in water. Do you just run to the kite or do you retrieve the kite by packing the bar down as in a self rescue???

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Re: Opinions wanted, is it better to self land in strong winds by punching out from 12 or 3/9??

Postby Herman » Fri Feb 05, 2021 12:48 pm

I can remember having QR’d a 6m in a silly amount of wind. I launched and the wind picked up as I was walking down the beach. I decided to qr because I did not have the power to reach the water so it was definitely windy. I punched out with the flag line uppermost and the kite at ~30-40°. The kite stretched out and landed down wind, LE nice and flat to the sand, I don’t think I even tugged it around into wind before I retrieved the kite. Always reassures me thinking of that incident, but still can’t believe how well the kite stayed put, probably because it filled with sand.
Last edited by Herman on Thu Feb 11, 2021 9:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Opinions wanted, is it better to self land in strong winds by punching out from 12 or 3/9??

Postby matth » Fri Feb 05, 2021 1:13 pm

Herman wrote:
Fri Feb 05, 2021 12:20 pm
If it is really nuking you are not going to put you kite to Z to flag it. Nor do you need to, if it has any height as soon as it is flagged it will drift so fast that it make it all the way down wind.

Imho there is no point in having the kite stationary and very low or on the tip when flagging as it will most likely tumble back downwind. But you can fly it down and out of the window flagging at the last moment to reduce the impact of the crash and allow the kite to sit in the beach parked position. I would prefer to be doing this into water and I call this dumping the kite. As the wind gets stronger the violence required to fly it down and out of the window increases, also it is not something that can be easily practiced so hard to build up expertise. Particularly as I nearly always tether launch and land.

However, getting back to the point, having done safety checks. My current strategy for dumping kites is to trim in for unhooking. Unhook with the kite a 40°, if I fancy being able to fly it out of the window for the parked position I go for it, releasing the bar just before impact. If I don’t fancy it I do a final check of the down wind area and just release the bar and hold the leash qr.

My question is for people who dump there kites in water. Do you just run to the kite or do you retrieve the kite by packing the bar down as in a self rescue???

Self-rescue...running at the kite is tempting, but running in water is slow and you always run the risk of the kite taking off.

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Re: Opinions wanted, is it better to self land in strong winds by punching out from 12 or 3/9??

Postby piccio » Fri Feb 05, 2021 1:41 pm

I'd say same thing as matth .....strong wind ...kite at 12 ......dangerous....

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Re: Opinions wanted, is it better to self land in strong winds by punching out from 12 or 3/9??

Postby Herman » Fri Feb 05, 2021 1:59 pm

Matth

I feel your reply. I dump a kite in the shallows maybe once or twice a year. Every time I look at the kite and think, yeah I can get to that, each time I end up running past lines in the water thinking I shouldn't be doing this, I have always got to the kite ok but thinking next time I 'll pack down. Trouble is next time I dump a kite in the shallows I will be looking at it and thinking, yeah I can get to that.................one day, one day I will try a pack down!!!!


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