This video revises trainer kite basics and the principle behind the wind window.
Read the description below. Set up in a flat, open area with no hazards
or wind blocks. Work out which way the wind is blowing. Then hold the kite on your downwind side.
Unroll your kite, tucking its upwind side into the ground. Once your kite is secured,
check the bridles are not tangled. Now grab your bar, and unroll your lines, heading upwind from the kite.
NOTE (this is only for trainer kites in light wind). Place the bar with red
on the left, and walk in-between the lines to separate. Connect the lines using a
lark’s head knot, like so …
The small trainer kite is launched downwind of the pilot. AGAIN this is only acceptable
for small kites and light winds. Tickle the bar to gradually fill the kite with air. When
the kite is ready, pull and it will launch. The wind window is the space in which you
kite can fly. It is always on the downwind side of the pilot. Firstly, we use clock numbers
to describe the angle of the kite. On the left of the pilot, we have 9 o’clock at
ground level, then 10, and 11. In the centre we have 12 o’clock. And then on the right
we have 1, 2 and finally 3 o’clock on the ground.
Next, you can see that the space immediately downwind of the pilot is coloured orange and
then red. These are the areas of higher power. The further downwind the kite flies, the stronger
the pull. If we look at this from the side, these power
zones are common sense. A kite sitting in green, is almost parallel to the wind and
will not deflect much air. A kite sitting in orange deflects a little more air and pulls
harder. A kite in red, deflects a large amount of air and pulls very hard.
At first you are just trying to keep the kite near 12 and in the green zone. To keep the
kite in green, steer gently and for very short periods. If you need to steer right, briefly
pull in your right arm. If you need to steer left, briefly pull in your left. Always straighten
both arms after steering, to keep the kite under control – and this is an important
habit. Once your control is better, move your kite
to 1030. If you use small steering movements, the kite should move slowly and stay in low
power. Try keeping the kite parked at 1030. Try the same on the right, parked at 130.
This mimics the kite control during bodydragging. Next, try keeping the kite at 12 one handed.
Hold the middle of the bar with 1 hand to steer. This skill will help later when you
need a spare hand for the board. Once you can keep your kite in green and under
control, you can experiment with the orange and red power zones. Move the kite back and
forth between 11 and 1 - using small steering movements. Gradually start steering harder.
Pull the left or right of the bar closer to your body to steer harder. As the kite turns
faster it will start reaching the higher power zones.
This drill helps you get a feel for where the kite is most powerful. Although, it is
not a manoeuvre you often use while kitesurfing. The power dive is a more useful drill, as
you can control the direction of pull.
You can do a power dive to the left or to the right. A power dive pulling left is where
you start around 12 and dive your kite left – before slowly returning to 12 to cut the
power. A power dive pullng right, starts around 12, and dives right – before turning the
kite slowly back to 12. As well as direction, you can control the
strength of a power dive. The more aggressively you steer, the further the kite will drop
towards the red. In this first example, the kite is steered with small arm movements,
and stays in green. In this next example the pilot pulls their left hand in further, the
kite turns faster briefly reaches orange. In this next example, the pilot pulls their
arm in aggressively, and the kite reaches red – generate much more pull.
You should start with weak power dives and build up. This is a very useful drill as it’s
a model of how you fly the kite when starting to ride your kiteboard. You should be able
to do, weak, medium and strong dives easily without crashing the kite. Your kite should
steadily return to twelve through green to cut the power. Once you are more confident
you can try joining several power dives together in quick succession to keep the kite pulling.
There are various safety systems on trainer kites, but they all work the same principle,
of just pulling on 1 line and letting the others go slack.
In this example, if you let go of the bar. The left line goes slack, leaving just the
right line pulling. Which makes the kite flag out – flapping loosely in line with the
wind. You can land your kite this way. Or by slowing
steering the kite down to 9 o’clock or 3 o’clock for someone to catch.