Alrght i am now hooked on the idea of skiing with my arcs b ut yesterday was a little tricky inflating and self launching. I have seen in a couple of your videos where you use a clam shell method to launch. How are you doing that and not having the kite flop around is it attached to the ground/ice prior to launch and if so how? I have no problem launching the kite that way when i have crashed by just yanking on the center lines but when initially launching and inflating i have typically used my MTN board to hold edge down- was a problem yesterday in the snow kept sliding out from under board. Any tips or tricks appreciated.
scott

Hey Scott
if the snow is heavy and wet just pile it on like you would sand. For ice and harder snow once the air starts to inflate there is a lot of tendency for the kite to slide so many of us have sand bags. Long thin bags like an old stunt kite bag with sand works - this is what one friend travels with and fills with sand ties a knot and done. you have the bag that came with the charger but it is thin nylon and is fatter so when i put sand in it, it weighs a ton and then throwing the bag in the car it is easy to puncture up against a ski edge and you get a load of sand in the car. I made bags out of thicker material.
On ice if it still slides i have a small loop on the end of a strap on the sand bag that I attach to an ice screw - that limits how far things will slide and you just don't want more stuff to get tangled on launch so keep it simple and clean.
Some guys make weight bags out of socks, old kite bags etc. One guy has an old bag full of pennies but the bag had a hole so we were constantly finding handfulls of pennies around the lake when the snow was melting

then because sand bags are heavy to lug around ( i take 2 or 3 because friends will always borrow mine and move them after I launch) I use a kids sled to load gear onto to pull it out to the lake.

mark

Great to hear you getting out on the snow by the way - you sound like a kid at Christmas!

Mark,
Thanks for the reminder i have a couple of sandbags that Van made me........now to come up with what to fill them with. I hate sand so may need to see what old nuts or bolts i have laying around in the shop. I really like your idea of the loop on the end to hook onto stake or screw to keep from sliding.
Scott

I have a loop and then a piece of line that runs a few feet away that keeps the screw or stake away from the lines when launching. You'll need a fair amount of weigh on the larger kites in higher wind - they like to slide and you don't want it flipping the weight off too soon if it gets bouncing. Toughest thing is the downwind wingtip that can flap like crazy and sometimes the bridle will get a little tangled even when held in the tabs. You learn to zip the kite closed and get to launch position asap in those crazy gust days just to get some tension on the wingtip line.

I have found that if it is cold enough that the snow is nice and dry, you can fill your kite bag with snow and get it as heavy as you want. The only time I have trouble launching my charger is if there are lots of crusty chunks of snow snagging lines, or shells if you are on a beach. I just leave the bag on the trailing edge near the wingtip that I fill. When I get ready to launch, I just start backing up at 45 degrees and the bag gets tossed off once the kite picks up off the ground. 60% of the time, it works every time.

If you hate sand I like to put feed corn in bags for weight. It is much less likely to get out through little holes and mess up your car than sand or small grains.

The deer would be all over that here. :D

Clamshell launch, weight the tips with anything that won't hurt the kite. I like to just use snow most of the time. Sometimes if I'm not leaving the area I'll use the bag with the other kites in it. Or if I'm not leaving kite but am leaving the pack I'll use the pack with the blower in it.

Adapt and over come. I have an idea for how to do it without weights but it involves sewing and I can't sew. And I'm lazy about some things.

If you have a ice screw you could do the "Ghost Launch". I haven't done it yet but in the right winds it probably isn't a problem. http://youtu.be/5YlKbe21xdI

Quote: Originally posted by Futahaguro

If you have a ice screw you could do the "Ghost Launch". I haven't done it yet but in the right winds it probably isn't a problem. http://youtu.be/5YlKbe21xdI

I have done ghost launches off the back of my pickup truck before with good results. Hooked chicken loop off the rear trailer hitch and launch away. Works best if wind is somewhat smooth and your launching an arc that isn't overly agressive. My Venom worked the best at this, since autozenith is pretty stable with this arc.

Who is the handsome lad in that video?

Love the ghost launch.

Quote: Originally posted by markite

IYou learn to zip the kite closed and get to launch position asap in those crazy gust days just to get some tension on the wingtip line.

I usually zip and walk to the downwind tip to make sure the lines aren't under the kite. Then I take them both in my hand and barely keep enough tension on them to keep just the spar curled up a little. This virtually eliminates the flapping. I just keep a handful of the downwind tip lines while I hook in, and then just take a few steps back to get the lines tight on the bar and pull that tip all the way up into a side launch. I just use my other kite bag with about 13m worth of fixed bridles in it as the weight. I haven't had the kite slide on the snow yet while doing this. I just set the bag on the trailing edge of the upwind tip and it slides right off when I launch. You can see it in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5P2S6l2Z08