RR right now?

kyle.vh · Since 11 Jul 2007 713 Posts city of angels Addicted

http://windonthewater.com/

RR looks good right now. Hope someone is out there, I might try to hit it late afternoon style.

kyle.vh · Since 11 Jul 2007 713 Posts city of angels Addicted

I got there at 4:45, there were two kites in the water at the normal launch which is still really flooded. I walked out there, but somehow missed the kiters. I drift-launched all by my lonesome, and managed to kite for about an hour in 15mph, maybe, on an 11m bow. Had to drop the kite in the water to land.
Feels like the water's warming up.
My first drift launch. Question: how can you wrap the lines, and not tangle them, but keep one front line shorter--to keep the kite flagged? I just winged it and it worked ok since the light wind wasnt bad. BUt all my lines were even basically, and I just held one front line short while I unwrapped, but there's probably an easier way.

lloyd · Since 16 Aug 2007 108 Posts Hood River Stoked

Hey Kyle- Glad to hear that you're getting out on the water even though noone was there to give you a launch. I have had poor/scary/death defying experiences with drift launching. Unless someone knows something I don't, I won't do a drift launch again. You mentioned the beach is flooded at Rooster, I haven't been there lately, but are you familiar with the technique of self launching where you rig your lines downwind, then walk upwind while keeping the lines tight? You might have to pull on the rear steering line to get the wing tip up, but the kite peels up, fills nicely with air then you launch like you would on the water. I also saw a video on youtube where you hook your chicken loop to an object, in this case it was some sand bags, but a tree or your bumper will work. You then walk to the kite, put it on it's edge, walk back to the chicken loop, and launch like you would in the water. Hope this helps. Lloyd

kyle.vh · Since 11 Jul 2007 713 Posts city of angels Addicted

Thanks for the ideas, lloyd.
I have self launched a bunch via the usual style when there's lots of room. But there's no room at all at the RR normal launch right now. I laid my lines out down the path (which is directly down wind, with trees/shrubs on both sides, so you can't launch there). I've seen how people launch off a fixed object, but that's not possible right now, because there's trees everywhere downwind of you. You've got to walk out, upwind, in the water. I wouldn't have tried it in higher wind, in fact, last time I was there, I just left, after launching the dude who described drift launching, and launched at the other spot to the west cause the wind was higher.
I'm trying to think of a method of wrapping, so that the kite stays flagged the whole time while you uncoil your lines. I guess you could wrap one front line a few times at first, but I was worried that they'd tangle if I did that. Anyone know what to do?

Ike · Since 12 Mar 2008 216 Posts Central Oregon Stoked

I could use a good procedure also. The only way I have seen it done is a video of the turbo launcher in use(http://www.kitelauncher.com/gallery_video.php), but it seems to me like there is a strong potential of tangled lines with the turbo launcher.
Anyone?

kyle.vh · Since 11 Jul 2007 713 Posts city of angels Addicted

Nice call on that vid. That makes sense. So, I think if you wrap one pair of lines first (like the left side), equivalent of half the wing tip distance--so that the kite will be flagged when sitting on the water, and then start wrapping them together, you'd be set up perfectly. I was thinking of wrapping only one, but i think wrapping the pair would be less troublesome, less likely to tangle.