This tutorial looks at different ways to self launch.
Self launching is not as safe, or equipment friendly, as launching with an assistant.
Self launching is for experienced kiters and should first be practiced in very light wind.
We will start by looking at an anchored self-launch.
Find yourself an anchor that you can connect your chicken loop to.
You can make an anchor by tying a leash to a heavy object.
Make sure there are no people within a line's length on the downwind side of your anchor.
Set up the kite a couple of meters upwind of the anchor.
Attach the lines on the downwind side of the kite and check them.
Attach your chicken loop to the anchor.
Pick up the kite and walk away from the anchor until your centre lines are taught.
The kite is slightly upwind, so it should not generate any power yet.
Walk the kite downwind, keeping the centre lines taught.
Soon you should see the kite fill with air, then you will feel the kite pushing back into you.
Once the kite is pushing back, place it on the ground.
Check the kite sits still and that the lines are not tangled
THEN let go and return to the chicken loop quickly, along the upwind side of the lines.
Take the chicken loop from the anchor. You can now launch the kite.
An advantage of this technique is that the kite doesn't drag on the ground, ALSO the
method works well in strong wind AND it allows you to visually check your lines before
releasing the kite.
However, this method does not work in gusty wind, as your kite will not sit still long
enough for you to return the chicken loop.
Next we will look at the drag method.
The basic idea is to drag the kite into position, using your lines, before launching.
Set up the lines downwind of the kite and check them.
Turn the kite a little to face the side you will be launching from.
Hook the chicken loop to your harness standing a couple of meters downwind of the kite.
Orientate the bar the correct way for flying.
Back away from the kite and your lines should turn it to face you.
Keep tension in the centre lines and head upwind. When the kite catches the wind, it
will drift downwind over the ground.
The kite should stop drifting once it has more power. At this point, the kite will often
stand on its corner automatically. You may need to put the kite on its corner, by pulling
the upper steering line, like a water re-launch.
Once the kite is on its corner, check the lines and launch with light tension in the
top steering line. Your spare hand should be ready to use your chicken-loop eject if
anything is wrong.
Launch fairly quickly, to avoid scratching along the ground.
One advantage of this method is that you only need open space
ALSO the method works in gusty wind as you don't need the kite to sit still for long.
A major downside is that the kite can easily get scratched or rip as it drifts. Clear the
area downwind of your kite of shells or sharp objects.
Another issue, is that it can be unpredictable how far downwind the kite will drift, especially
on packed sand or snow.
If your kite drifts too far downwind, it will be near high power. – in which case you
need to move yourself downwind to cut the power. Otherwise the launch would be dangerous
and likely to scratch the kite.
Another danger, is that you don't have long to check your lines for tangles. If a line
is tangled, then the kite could be out of control as soon as it pops up onto its corner.
This is why self launching is for experienced kiters, who can spot and fix problems quickly.
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