|
Preparing for take off
You are either going to encounter the kite with the lines wound on figure of eight winders or around the handles. If the lines are wound on winders the first thing you have to do is get them of without massive line tangles. Two lines will be wound on each winder, two as flying lines( the thick ones) and two as brake lines( the thin ones). We always pack the lines the same. Hold the winder in your left hand then wind up the two flying or brake lines together in a clockwise direction. To unwind the lines, hold the winder in your left hand and unwind the lines in an anti-clockwise direction, walking away from the end you have unwound.
Before you unwind the lines make sure you know which way is downwind. Unwind your lines downwind, it helps later. Once you have unwound the flying lines, travel along the length of the line and remove any twists. Then do the same for the brake lines. When you unwind your brake lines place them on the outside of the flying lines so the flying lines are sandwiched between them .You will now have four separate lines lying on the ground, two flying in between two brakes. Sometimes you may come across kites where the brake lines are a little longer than the flying lines. Make sure you don't get the flying and brake lines mixed up. Flying are thick lines, brakes are thinner. All our lines are colour coded. Green is flying and red is brake.
Ok, you have laid out your lines. Now attach you handles. Larks head the flying lines to the top of the handles and larks head the brake lines to the bottom of the handles. All our kites have a kite killer. This is attached to both brake lines where the brake line attaches to the brake leader line on the handle. Now using the ground stake that you will find in the kite bag, put the stake in the ground and loop the big loops you will find on the handles over the stake.
Attaching the kite is the easy bit. Unpack the kite directly downwind. Keep the kite low to the ground so it does not billow up and try to fly. First, attach the brake line to the brake points on the bridle. The brake lines go to the TE of the kite. Do this on both sides of the kite. By doing this first the kite will not take off when you attach the flying lines because the brake lines are being applied by staking the kite down. Then attach both flying lines. When you attach the lines to the kite take your time to get it correct. Walk back to the handles and trace the flying lines back to the kite. Make sure you put the line that is going to the left handle to the left hand side of the kite. And so on.
Wound on Handles.
All this means is that all four lines have been wound around the handles and packed with the kite. Unwinding is the same as the winders. Packing: The first thing to do is pack the kite. Your handles will be staked down so go to the kite and fold it up and put it in the kite bag. The kite is now safe and can not fly. Go to the handles and taking both handles in your left hand wind the lines tightly in a clockwise direction around the handles. Leave the safety on. When you get to the kite simply put the handles in the kite bag.
DO NOT EVER START WINDING YOUR LINES AROUND THE HANDLES WITH THE KITE STILL LAYED OUT ON THE GROUND. IF IT SUDDENLY TAKES OF YOU ARE IN TROUBLE.
Unpacking: Kite will still be in the bag. Take the handles out, hold in your left hand and start to unwind the lines in an anti-clockwise direction. Stake down the handles with the loop on the handles. Don't worry at this point about all the twists in your lines. Don't try and untangle the lines and do not undo any lines of the handles to untangle. Take the kite out of the bag and lay it out on the ground. Check the bridles for tangles and shake out. Walk back to your handles. When you start to fly the kite your lines may be twisted. It is much easier to get the kite up in the sky and untwist lines, under tension. If it is to difficult to untwist the lines, land the kite, stake down your handles and untwist your lines. Try to avoid undoing lines of handles or kite. The twists will come out without doing this. More experienced flyers tend to wind their lines directly onto the handles or bar. When you are starting out, put your lines on winders.
Launching
NEVER LAUNCH A KITE DIRECTLY DOWN WIND, WITH THE WIND TO YOUR BACK AND THE KITE DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF YOU.
All that will happen is that you will get dragged, maybe loose control or get hurt. You can always tell when out flying the flyer that has only being flying a short time, because they always launch downwind. If the wind is very, very light then launching downwind maybe the only way to get the kite in the sky. As your experience develops you can make these choices for yourself. To launch a kite safely you first need to assess the wind speed and direction. Know where the edge of the wind window is. You will need to release the brake pressure or apply pressure to the top lines to get the kite of the ground. As soon as the kite is of the ground apply a small amount of brake pressure. If you apply to much the kite will hit the ground and you will have to start again. If you do not apply enough the kite will race up to the zenith and pull you downwind. As the kite leaves the ground the little bit of brake pressure will slow the kite down. At this point apply more left or right brake pressure. The kite will only be a few feet of the ground but will turn. As it turns apply more top line pressure and the kite will fly horizontally across the sky low to the ground. You will learn how to do this so don't get frustrated if you keep crashing into the ground. As the kite gets to the edge of the wind window allow it to start to climb vertically with a little more top line pressure. All the time you will have to make brake and flying line adjustments through the handles. The kite will now fly slowly up to the zenith. Remember that applying more brake pressure at any time will slow the kite down, to much will reverse it.
Landing
DO NOT LAND A KITE BY APPLYING THE BRAKES WHEN THE KITE IS AT THE ZENITH.
Fly the kite to the edge of the wind window. The kite might be fairly high up in the sky at this point but as you get closer to the edge of the window the kite will start to fall. As it gets closer to the ground get ready to apply a strong amount of brake pressure. As the wing tip of the kite touches the ground apply the correct brake to get it to sit horizontally. Be gentle, if you apply to much brake to turn the kite it will spin. Just as the kite reaches the horizontal position apply both brakes hard and the kite will sit on the ground. At this point walk around so that the kite is down wind of you. This will stop the kite rolling downwind, tangling lines. At this point hold the handles by the bottom holding the brakes tight. Stake out the handles by the big loops. The kite is now safe and will not take of. Do not just throw the handles on the ground. Unless the handles are staked down the kite can power up at any point and fly.
Landing a kite on a bar or two line
Two line flying is great fun, however the are two challenges that you will encounter, landing and reverse take of. Reverse take of means a walk down the field to turn your kite over. Landing is the same as with four line. Fly to the edge of the wind window,
allow the kite to loose altitude. When the kite is low to the ground you can use the brakes to land, however, with a two line you have no brakes. When the kite is falling at the edge of the window bring it down on it LE. Remember to run around so that the kite is downwind or it will roll across the ground heading downwind from the edge of the wind window.
Landing bigger kites like the Frenzy or and LEI is the same. Never rely on a safety to land a kite, especially if it is high up in the sky. Bring the kite to the edge of the window allowing it to loose altitude. When the kite is low to the ground use the brakes or safety to put the kite on the ground. Walk around so the kite is downwind to minimize roll. With the LEI you will need a helper to bring the kite down the last few feet and make it safe.
What happens if it all goes wrong.
Use the safety. If you do not fly with a safety then you are very foolish and irresponsible and are not promoting kite flying in a good light. No JBS Kite club member are allowed to fly unless the safety is worn. Remember to test your safety on a regular basis in light winds. On the day you really need it you do not want it to fail. Every kite I have ever flown can be fitted with some form of safety. The safety is designed to save you from injury and others who may be nearby if a problem occurs. If you are unsure how to fit a suitable safety to your own kite then ask, and don't leave it until later to do.
Mastering the Wind.
All kites flown in the JBS Kite Club have some form of safety/ bail out system fitted. Sometimes it all goes wrong and all you can do is let go of the bar or handles. We are responsible flyers so all kites are tethered. Mastering the wind is the key to good kite flying. Knowing what kite to fly in which conditions is difficult and made even more so when you only have one kite. If that kite is the wrong size for the conditions it is very temping to fly it but that is when problems happen. Remember, there will always be another day. Never allow ego to get in the way of kite flying. Don't be tempted to fly the biggest kite because you think you will look cool, you will look stupid and probably get hurt. Ask loads of question to other flyers. Look at the kites they are flying and assess their ability. Are they having problems? Or is the size kite they are flying ok. Once you have decided on which kite to fly don't do it alone. Kite flying is a solo sport but it is also very social. Get help launching your kite even if you can do it yourself. Learning how to launch a kite is the first main hurdle to overcome. The kite has been set up and is ready to fly. The wind is blowing on your back. That means you are facing down wind. If you launch the kite straight up into the sky it will pass through the wind window. This is the point directly down wind and off the ground up to the zenith (above your head). If you send your kite from the ground through this wind window as it passes through it will pull at its strongest. If the wind is strong it means you will be dragged, so brace yourself.
It would be much better to not launch straight up.
Launch the kite up off the ground but then turn it before it gets any height and steer it to the edge of the wind window then slowly allow the kite to climb to the zenith.
The edge of the wind window is sort of to the side of you as you face directly down wind. Think about the shape of the kite, directly down wind it catches all the wind. If it is side on to the wind and flying directly into it then the wind will apply much less force onto the kite. If this is difficult to imagine then try this. Hold your hand up so that the back of your hand is facing the wind. There will be loads of wind pressure on the back of your hand pushing it forwards. The back of your hand is into the wind. Now turn your hand so that it is side on to the wind, either thumb or little finger directly into the wind. The back of your hand now feels less wind pressure because you have moved side on to the wind or changed your profile to the wind. The wind is passing over your hand and not putting as much pressure on it. The same happens with the kite. As it fly's into the wind or is at the edge of the wind window less pressure is put on it, so less pull. A much better and controlled way to launch. Flying the kite also does not mean massive moves around the sky. Every time the kite moves near the wind window it will pull hard. Flying the kite at the edge of the window to gain confidence is a very good idea. It also teaches you where to fly the kite to get out of trouble if you become overpowered.
Learn how to master the wind. Look for the gusts in the trees and feel the wind direction changes and have the kite in the correct place in the sky when they hit. Remember the zenith can be a place where you can rest the kite with little pull. Be warned, however, if a very strong gust hits you may be lofted. Better to always keep the kite low down at the edge of the wind window when you want to rest or even better on the ground with the handles staked down. Using a wind meter is also a good way to learn about wind speeds but remember that they can not tell you what the wind speed is 30 or 40m off the ground where the kite is flying. They are good in helping you guess wind speeds. Be aware of where you are flying. Tall trees or building will create turbulent air which will effect how the kite fly's. Be aware of what the wind is doing and respect its power at all times and enjoy your flying.
|
|
