I have only just taken up kiting and have just bought a rhombus firebee 4m. I've had a couple of successfull sessions and am itching to get back out there but previously i've been accompanied by a couple of other people and am wondering how to manage stuff like turning my kite back over and relaunching when it's taken a nosedive into the ground, as i dont want to put my handles down and end up chasing after my kite when it's been caught by a sudden gust of wind and i'm afraid that if I try to correct the kite ready for launching with the handles in my hand that i'll end up with an almighty birds nest of line. Help!

carry a kite stake in your belt and when you crash, stake your handles to the ground, go turn over your kite (making sure to lay it back underinflated so it does not take off on its own), return to the handles and take off.

of course 4 line kites can take off from an upside-down position by pulling in the brakelines together until the kite has lifted, then let out one of the brake lines to swing the kite around til it points skyward.

Cheers mate. Most helpfull. Didn't know that a 4 liner could take off backwards, will try that next time I'm out.

I must be doing something wrong, when my pkd buster nosedives and hits the ground if deflates before I can take off again backwards.

I found holding the brakes fully on with one handle, fully off with the other and then yanking both handles backwards *can* flip the kite around the right way. It's kinda 50/50 - when it works it's great, when it doesn't it's very annoying.

V.

...I tend to use tent pegs for mine...If you ain`t got a stake...Tent pegs do have there uses but make sure you do secure them properly into the ground as I have had them yanked out when a gust blows up!...and that can cause all sorts of tanglements!...also to note,IF using pegs,try to get a flourescant colour ribbon,ie bright orange or yellow and tie it to the peg so that you don`t lose sight of the pegs if you leave them in the ground by accident!!

Ground stakes work well to secure a kite on the ground when you need to take a break or make adjustments to the kite. It is important to make sure the kite is partially deflated and laying back so that it will not take off on its own (no slack in the lines).

Tent stakes work too, just make sure you don't loose any in the grass. Lawn mowers will sling them into the air with deadly force.

But the need for stakes as relaunching tools is geared more toward 2 liners than 4 liners. A quadline foil should be able to launch inverted from a nose down crash by pulling in the brake lines and stepping backward in a smooth motion. This is the nature of 4 line foils though some may not do this as well as others. It is all a matter of kite quality.

Another trick is to pull in only with one brake line so that one wing rises. As the kite passes 120 degrees rotation, pull in both brake lines together to complete the action. The result is that the kite rotates 180 degrees from nose-down to launch ready position without leaving the ground.

Clean, unobstructed ground wind makes rotating and launching easier. An object 10 ft tall will cause tubulence 90 ft downwind. So pick a large, smooth field far from trees and buildings while learning to fly.

>>>But the need for stakes as relaunching tools is geared more toward 2 liners than 4 liners

Is it possible to launch a 2 line kite using stakes? Got any more info on this?

As I said, stakes are most useful for 2 line kites. When you crash, simply put the stake in the ground, place your handles on the stake, walk to the kite and set it up taking out the line slack but leaning the kite far enough backward that it does not launch on its own. Then return to the kite and take off (don't leave the stake in the ground).

When I launch me two line kite alone I use water bottles. I just lay them on the trailing edge. walk back to handels lift up a little and go!

If the kite's nose down and the kite lays flat on the ground, you can pull a little on the power lines, quite often if the kite's down wind enough this will "Fluff" up the kite, the sail will fill and spread out, then apply the brakes and reverse launch as mentioned above. In light wind you may have to walk backwards slowly while fluffing and launching the kite.

Quote:

Originally posted by Pablo If the kite's nose down and the kite lays flat on the ground, you can pull a little on the power lines, quite often if the kite's down wind enough this will "Fluff" up the kite, the sail will fill and spread out, then apply the brakes and reverse launch as mentioned above. In light wind you may have to walk backwards slowly while fluffing and launching the kite.

Yup, sounds to me like you are working too much brake into the attempt. Fluff the kite up by tugging on the fly lines. Apply the brake slowly. It's a bit of a balance. Too much and you pull the air back out, not enough and it won't lift. Add the brake slowly and it will be easier to find the sweet spot.