This video revises and explains kite safety systems.
Safety systems must be practiced with your instructor.
There are 3 safety steps that most power kites use.
The first safety is simply releasing the bar.
This reduces the power of the kite.
The second safety is the eject on your chicken loop.
This should drop the kite and fully depower it.
You are left with only your leash holding the kite.
The third and final safety is the eject on your leash.
This should completely disconnect you from the kite.
It is important to understand what is happening when using each of these safety steps.
Safety 1: When you release the bar, the steering lines loose tension and the trailing edge
of the kite will open.
The kite now has less angle of attack to the wind, so pulls less.
Also, the kite now has less drag – so if it’s in the power zone, it will leave faster.
Safety 2: Under normal operation, your kite is supported in the air with 4 lines (possibly
more depending on the kite).
These lines are essential to holding the kite’s shape - allowing it to deflect the wind.
When you use the eject on your chicken loop - the chicken loop and 3 lines should travel
several meters away from you.
These 3 lines should become very slack, and just the safety line is left with tension.
Now, the kite cannot hold its shape or fly.
The kite will drop and flag out downwind of the safety line.
In this position the kite is not able to deflect much wind.
You can see that for this to work properly, the chicken loop and bar must travel several
meters along the safety line.
In most cases, the bar should travel as far as the length of the kite, to make sure the
lines stay slack.
If the bar gets jammed close to you, then safety 2 has not worked properly.
In this diagram, the bar is jammed just meter along the safety line.
As a result there is tension in all lines.
The kite could easily power up and fly – or even worse, the kite could start looping.
If this happens you should eject your leash.
Safety 3 is pretty easy to understand.
You have used safety 2, so you are only attached to the kite by the safety line, which attaches
to your harness via your leash.
If you use the eject located on your leash, you are no longer attached to the kite.
To use safety 3, you must make sure the leash is connected correctly.
The side of the leash with the eject, MUST be attached on the front of your harness;
the side of your leash without the eject, should be connected to your safety line only.
I hope this video helps you understand kite safety systems.