This tutorial explains the principles of launching a kite, to support your lessons.
First you need to understand where to position your kite in the wind window.
A kite can generate a LOT of power if it is downwind of you, at ground level.
The further from downwind, the less power it can generate.
And when your kite is upwind of you, it cannot generate any power.
If you begin with your kite upwind, it will have no power.
As you walk upwind, the kite moves downwind compared to you.
As soon as the kite is on your downwind side, it should start to catch the wind and stop
flapping.
When the kite is far enough downwind, you feel just a little power and are ready to
launch.
Many people make mistakes with how they position their kite.
In this example the kite is not quite far enough downwind.
Therefore, it doesn't have enough power to fly, and drops from the launcher's hands.
Luckily, this time, the kite drifts downwind, catches low power and begins to fly.
However, it could easily have hit somebody.
If you see the kite drift like this, you should be ready to use the eject on your chicken
loop.
You could tell the kite wasn't ready by looking at it.
If the kite is flapping loosely like this, it has not caught the wind.
In this next example, the kite is angled too far downwind – near to high power.
It launches with a lot of speed and could have caused an accident.
You can tell this was going to happen, as the leading edge was pushing strongly into
the launcher.
Now we'll look at the steps of launching a kite.
You've already checked your kite is set up correctly and you've hooked up your leash
and then chicken loop – and you are downwind of your kite.
First make sure to walk far enough away from the kite, to keep your centre lines are straight.
While the kite is still upwind, you can check your bar and lines look in order.
You should see that your lines are not tangled, and your bar is orientated correctly.
Because the kite is upwind of you, it cannot fly AND you should see that the canopy flaps
loosely.
Next you gradually start to head upwind.
The first sign that your kite is downwind of you, is that it flaps less and fills with
air.
The kite is now downwind, but doesn't quite have enough power to fly.
Walk a little further upwind UNTIL you feel a small amount of power from the kite AND
you see the kite lift or push upwind into the launcher's hands - this means that the
kite is now lifted by the wind, not the launcher AND has enough power to fly.
A thumbs up indicates you are ready.
(A thumbs down means there's a problem and the launcher should store the kite back on
the ground).
You just need a little tension in the top steering line, to raise the kite slowly.
Your other hand should be ready to use the chicken loop eject if the kite does not climb
slowly and under control.
As mentioned it is important to avoid slack lines as you walk the kite into position.
If the lines are slack you are not really connected to the kite.
You could have walked the kite into high power and wouldn't feel it until the centre lines
are taught – at which point you would get pulled aggressively.
Good luck with you kite lessons.
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Warning: Launching is one of the highest risk parts of your lessons.
There are usually more hazards in a typical launching area than in the water AND in many
places there is more turbulence in the launching area also.
You should first practice launching with an underpowered kite, with your instructor by
your side to keep you safe, ideally after becoming 100% reliable with controlled water
launching.