today i was flying my ace 4m in 12 mph winds, so said the weather...but when i got out there i noticed it was gusty, but nothing i hadnt flown in countless times...well a friend walked up as i was kiting, i looked away from the kite to great them and literally a second later was lofted to a confirmed by two people 12 ft+. i landed hard but was ok. i had no idea my 4m even had the potential to loft that high in those winds. lesson learned to never look away from your kite even for a second. also, once i got back i checked the weather again and instead of 12mph winds it was 14mph gusting to 24mph...dumb.

Glad to hear you are ok from that "unattended launch"! Once you have one of those experiences you will probably be skittish for the next few flying sessions. I know when I got launched WAY higher than I wanted to go I was frankly scared shi*less the next time I flew.

But like any cowboy- I [and you] have to get back on that bull and gain confidence again.
I have great respect for wind and gusty winds will keep me down to my smallest kites. I feel we as flyers have little control in gusty winds and there is too much potential for injury to risk flying a kite that is large enough to cause that injury. I have a 4m Ace and it can bite you if you are not on your game.

I am going to get off of my soapbox now and stop my speech! Thank you all for coming and drive safely!