This video looks at power kite safety systems in detail.
Most modern power kites have 3 safety steps. The first step is releasing the bar. This
reduces the pull of the kite. The second safety step is ejecting your chicken loop.
This drops the kite and depowers it. Leaving
only your leash holding the safety line. The third and final safety is ejecting that
leash, to completely disconnect yourself from the kite.
These steps are used in order. If there’s a problem push bar out, if that
doesn’t work eject the chicken loop, if that doesn’t work eject the leash.
After each step you should immediately prepare yourself to use the next.
It is also important to understand how these safety steps work.
Understanding how they work, will help you identify situations when they don’t work.
Let’s look at step 1 in detail. Releasing the bar, or pushing the bar away,
makes your steering lines loose tension. This reduces the kite’s angle across the
wind and the kite pulls less. Also, pushing the bar away prevents you from
making steering mistakes. With the bar out, you should see that the
steering lines are slack, and the kite is not turning much.
The most common issue with step 1 is human instinct. Most people instinctively cling
tighter to the bar when panicked or confused. Overcoming this instinct is one of the reasons
that practical lessons are so important. To overcome this instinct sooner, try to use
a light grip during lessons. If you fly with your finger tips, you are less likely to pull
in the bar in a moment of panic. Now we’ll look more closely at safety step 2:
the chicken loop eject, also known as the quick release.
Normally your kite is supported with 4 lines that hold the kite’s structure.
When you use the eject on your chicken loop, however; the chicken loop, the bar, and 3
lines travel towards the kite. These 3 lines become slack, leaving only the
safety line with tension. Holding a kite by a single line, causes the
kite to flap loosely on the end of that one line.
This is known as flagging out. A flagged out kite should NOT pull much.
This is the same principle used when holding your kite on the beach. You’re holding the
kite by a single point so it flags out on your downwind side.
For your kite to flag out, your bar must travel far enough along the safety line to create
slack in the other lines. The distance that the bar must travel away
from you, is roughly the span of the kite. If the bar ever gets stuck closer to you,
then there is likely to be tension in multiple lines.
Tension in multiple lines means the kite could easily fly. And if it does fly, it’s likely
to be unbalanced and steer to one side. If this happens, you need to be ready to free
yourself from the kite. The final safety step is pretty simple to
understand. If you’ve ejected your chicken loop, the
kite should be disabled. It should not be pulling you significantly.
If the kite is dragging you significantly, or pulling you towards danger, then it’s
better to disconnect the leash and be free of the kite.
The kite could be dragging you for a number of reasons.
Perhaps the bar got jammed and the kite failed to flag out. Or perhaps waves, other kites,
boats or extreme wind are dragging the kite. Remember, it’s better to loose the kite
than loose your life. This safety step could fail if you’re tangled
in lines. This is where the line knife hidden in your
harness can be very helpful. You may have noticed many kiters using long
leashes with the leash eject attached to the back of their harness. This is for advanced
kiters only. Placing the leash on the back of your harness
can be dangerous. You could get pulled backwards, making it difficult to use the leash eject.
Beginners should use a short leash attached in a visible position on the front of the
harness. This may seem obvious, but the ejectable side
of the leash must always be on the harness. Attaching a leash backwards is one of the
most dangerous mistakes you could make, as the final safety could be out of reach.
I recommend that you check your safety systems work and inspect them for wear and tear.
When ejected, the bar should travel along the safety line without resistance.
The leash should eject easily and not get caught on your harness.
Practice these steps until they’re effortless. Thanks for watching. To watch tutorials in
order, access the playlists on the Kitesurf College channel.