Hey guys we picked up some PL V2s and we are use to setting up foils in the winter which is super quick. Does anyone have any tips to help speed
setting the kite up and taking it down. You take too long in the winter and you freeze before you can get moving...
I would be interested to hear if anyone has any tricks to get things moving faster.
Thanks guysaction jackson - 18-6-2009 at 06:44 PM
Clothes dryer hose to ac/heater duct in the car works good or electric leaf blower does the trick. Many make the mistake of not zipping and squeezing
the air down the kite. This trick alone will save alot of time during the filling process................ajgeokite - 18-6-2009 at 09:45 PM
I second what aj said, in light winds.
If you keep the lines attached to the kite, roll the bar/lines up with the kite. Makes setup really quick
If you don't keep the lines attached to the kite, make a line organizer. Line organizer is attached before the lines come off the kite, and taken off
after the lines are attached to the kite. Sure beats laying out the lines and walking out twists. Gad I hated that.
The organizer rolls up and stays rolled with some velcro.
macboy - 18-6-2009 at 11:43 PM
That's pretty sweet Geo. S-M-R-T.
If you can leave the lines attached and the spars inserted then it should set up quicker for you. You're flying Venoms so the inflation should be
quick enough using the upwind zip to inflate. For me the longest part is walking out the lines so the line organizer might be the money for me (I like
using the same bar / lineset for all kites.....I think because I'm most comfortable with the safety on the one I use most).
I know sometimes you just wanna fly but I've found that if it won't fill on it's own without a leaf blower or air pump then I probably won't have a
lot of fun flying it. There is a fine line, granted...sometimes it's the difference between a 30 second fill with a blower and a 2-3 minute fill but
you can decide for yourself. Just another bit of gear to tote around too, no? Foils omit the need for a pump so why add a blower into the mix?andrew.nicholson - 19-6-2009 at 10:30 AM
I had never ziped and pushed the air down so trying that will make things faster for inflation and I think my girlfriend's dad has an electric blower
that he wants to get rid of so I might pick that up. What do you guys do for launching? Do you use a friend or are you able to self launch/land?macboy - 19-6-2009 at 12:47 PM
Learn the self launch. It's really not that difficult if you are diligent and ensure that each step is done clean (and you are confident with the
kite). I had assisted launches the first one or two times and each one botched on me and ended up being hot launches. Not fun when you're new to a
kite. There's a great video or two showing the self launch - I'll see if I can find it but surely someone knows off the top of their heads where it
is.
Regardless, lay the kite out flagging downwind. Fold and weigh down the upwind wingtip (sand, snow, water bottles), open the upwind zipper and kinda
pop the pocket up to scoop the air. Make sure the others are closed. Attach your lines such that they will not be twisted once the kite is airborne (I
had troubles with this for the first while). Easy way to avoid it is to set your bar 45 degrees off the wind from the kite (you need it here anyway so
why not). Walk all your lines up and lay them out cleanly outside left (brake), inside left (power), inside right (power), outside right (brake). Hook
them up in the same order and you should be twist free. By now the kite should be inflated enough, if it isn't just top it off and zip it shut.
Now - the trickiest bit of all. I like to take the lines of the downwind wingtip and pull it through the launch assist velcro tab BUT as I do so I
lift the front of the spar and fold it back onto the top of the kite (careful not to catch any wind with it). You must be ready to launch at this
point because now you want to quickly and carefully get back to the bar while keeping slight tension on that front line so the folded up tip doesn't
drop back. As soon as you are at the bar, pick it up (do not hook in but pull the chickenloop line all the way towards you and hold it with the bar
hand) and then pull on that single front line. The LE of that downwind spar should peek up at you, catch the wind and ribbon the kite off the ground.
As soon as you get tension on all lines either steer more to the edge of the window or if you need more inflation, pull both front lines to crab the
kite skyward as it finished filling. I generally have to get it to the flyable point and then fly it back and forth a few times to fully fill it. You
can hook in as soon as you feel the kite is under your control whether that is as soon as your lines tension up or once it's creeping skyward.
If I do not pre-fold the downwind wingtip, pulling on the front line seems to only want to pull the spar through the kite, not up and over it.
This is the way I do it and I'm not saying it's right by any means. It just works for me. The key is the 45 degree thing so that when the kite ribbons
off the ground it is magically already at the edge of the window.macboy - 19-6-2009 at 12:52 PM
andrew.nicholson - 21-6-2009 at 01:01 PM
macboy thanks for the self launch tip. So you bring both tips together but you keep the downwind tip in the air just a little so it is ready to catch
the wind?tridude - 21-6-2009 at 04:20 PM
keep tension on the downwind lines, step back, and up she goes..................I hook in prior to launch...some do some dont..................its
always fun to self launch/land in inflatoville...................:duh::duh:macboy - 21-6-2009 at 08:05 PM
The kite is completely flagged out for the whole process. I just flip the downwind tip up and over so it catches easier. If you can imagine the kite
laid out flat, the trailing edge of the spar doesn't move at all, the leading edge tip flips up and over the top surface of the kite. (Mighta just
confused the issue more than anything......)
I launch exactly like in the video, just have that one extra "prelaunch" trick.
And yeah, you can either keep tension on the downwind lines and step back or just pull in on the downwind front line - the aim is just to get that
downwind tip to cup the wind and peel the kite off the ground nicely.andrew.nicholson - 22-6-2009 at 12:47 PM
Thanks again now I just need to get out there and practice...
