So the Cobra Launch: you usually see this used by acro pilots on the top of some crazy
castle in Spain.
So I have a bunched glider It's useful to play around with this technique
You get the tip out
It's something to have in your arsenal of tricks
and you really want to play around on a grassy site
because when you're learning this you're going to drag your glider all over the place
this is one of the big disadvantages: when you're setting the wing up for a Cobra, it's
usually from a bunched position, which means a lot of tangles in the lines, so you've got
to clear those first. then come around this way, get the tip to
stand up right in the corner
now you can see there the big cravatted section
that is hanging through the lines is pulling the glider back
now I'm trying to go for my stabilo line to pull it out, but you can see, it's just not
going to happen.
There are various sections in the arc around
the downwind point that provide different power, and you want it to be in the COBRA
ZONE, just at the upwind edge of the window. This is a variation, you can just play with
this, this is just a semi cobra, walking around the wing and letting it launch from the side,
it's useful to develop control, I'm not convinced it's an improvement in strong wind conditions.
You can see the glider is really dragging around on the slope there when you do that,
so don't try that on a rocky launch, your glider will be shreds.
that's the idea, that's what you're trying to do, is get it across to there, because
in that positions it's not going to pull you nearly as much.
I can stand like this and wait for the right conditions, when I've got a gap that I like,
I can launch it from here, standing here, looking at the far end. I'm using the As and
the Cs, a little bit over, once it's vertical I'm pulling on the Cs, it brings it around
to the side of the window, I've got no cravattes in that so I'm happy to let it come up, and
there we go. You're always aiming to have the glider right
at the edge of the wind window when you start, and not downwind like that, as you can see
I've just shredded my glider to pieces if that was rocky.
So keeping it right in the corner, it takes a lot of finesse to get this right, and the
layout of the glider is pretty critical. If you get any gusts, you're likely to have some
glider fabric falling into the lines and getting a cravatte on that side.
So because of these limitations, I don't recommend it as a strong wind launch technique
but your glider might really like it, so it's worth playing around with it,
it is a variation that gives you less power and less pull but given the disadvantages
in all conditions on all sites, I'm sticking with the standard launch of getting
the glider open first and pulling it up straight. Have fun!