Hear hear
Today it was my very first launch with power kite - my beloved PL Charger 15m! :roll:
Thanks to my trainer kite 3,5 that i've been using for a year i had pretty much good idea at least what to pull on, when to pull on, reverse launching... Other than that it is all very different: zippers (closed cell water relaunchable), emergency depower, full depower etc.

The wind was very low 3 knots at best - way lower that it's designed for but that was the idea anyhow. Safety first!

Anyway what surprised me is that i could barely make it off the ground but once on top of me it would pulled quite strong.:o Just to be safe i pulled the emergency. Could be just a gust of wind right at that moment. Probably i will have to play a bit with straps and stuff...

Very excited:duh:

....i'm praying for 3knts more for you have fun!

Good job getting that thing into the air with only 3 knots to work with :o

Now, as abkayak said, you need to put that up in 6 knots, then 9 knots, etc. :frog:

Reverse launch doesn't work well with arcs. If you crash it you want to walk the edge of the window and " clam " the kite. When you are at the edge tug on the front lines only to turn the nose of the kite into the wind. If you get it right , the kite will open and re-launch at the edge. Getting the kite to clam is tricky but comes with practice. If you don't get the top side of the clammed kite in front of or on top of the bottom odds are good you will bow tie if you tug front lines.

I suspect that the wind was stronger up top. This is often the case with very low winds. That + you felt the kite finish off its fill and firm itself up. ( a feeling you will grow to love ) The sweet spot for the 15m Charger to start to fly well for you is about 5 kts . Less is a real struggle. Especially if you haven't filled it fully.

Just having worked out set up , launch and pack up is a lot !

Big prop's to you for taking it easy. Far better to learn to deal with too little wind than to find out what too much can do before you are master of the kite.

While it is counter intuitive I find a short ( depowered ) trim strap works best for me when flying below rated winds speed . About 80% trimmed in then I go to about 50/50 at about 7+kts. Opening it more at about 12kts if I am power hungry.

Quote: Originally posted by Bladerunner

pack up

To tell the truth that's still a bit of a mystery.
There's only one 10 inch zipper to deflate whole thing and i can't understand why is that so. Sometimes it looks like i am swimming on land, trying to push the air out.
Asked my grandpa ex paratrooper who suggested i should first roll it like a screw - longitudinal around itself and than roll it like usual. It works but there is still air inside.

Looks like that i should be more patient so the kite deflates itself and that deflating hole should be free till the last moment of rolling.
For sure i could catch a lot of grasshoppers while doing it.:frog:

I usually Roll the air out with the spars still in the kite . Then unroll , pull the spars and fold it.
It isn't something that you can take too many shortcuts on and part of what makes land handling of arcs a minor PITA. Something you will get used to and probably find arcs are worth the effort while they are in the air !

I usually leave lines and handles attached, unzip the deflate zipper, fold it over (deflate zipper to the outside) pull spars when the tips are together, then wind lines, put the bar about 6" in and right up against one edge, and roll. Since I'm rolling the air out towards the open zipper and nothing is preventing the exit of the air, it deflates pretty good, allowing for a tight roll. Then once it is rolled up, I fold it over (trifold for the guerilla) and bag it.

Glad to hear you had fun. Arcs are awesome, but the setup can make or break a day. Keep as much intact as you can when you pack up. Also, for low wind days, make up a little computer fan + 9volt + yogurt container inflater. It'll make your <7mph days a lot lot better.