By Warren E. Fuller

As a precursor, let me state that you should not try these self launching or self landing techniques unless you have a safety margin of at least 200’ downwind of you and no obstacles to contend with, i.e. signs, poles, chairs, etc. It would also be a good idea to have someone ready to catch your kite in the event that something goes wrong.*** Since self launching is easier than self landing, I’ll start with that first.

Launching

Inflate the bladders as you normally would and position the kite so that it’s facing into the wind. Secure the kite with something to hold it down, like sand or a sand bag. Separate the bridle so that there are no tangles and double check your pulleys.
Run you lines out so that they extend from the back of the kite….downwind.Be sure to flip your bar so that the left hand side is on the right and the right hand side is on the left. After you’ve separated your flying lines, attach them to the pig tails on the bridle. They should be color coded, so, red to red and white to white if those are your colors.

At this point in time, you should have your harness on and be ready to fly the kite. As a double check, go back to your bar and pick it up. Put a little tension on the lines. There should be NO lines crossing one another.
Now, you need to turn the bar over so that the left hand side is in your left hand and the right hand side is in your right hand. Let’s assume that your kite is facing North and that you’ll be standing facing West during the launch, you would then rotate the bar from right to left. Now, you want to walk towards your kite with the bar, ensuring that your lines don’t snag on anything, like sticks, rocks, etc. Put the bar down and position/slide the kite for self launching. This is done by removing whatever you used to secure the kite to the ground and rotating the kite off of the wind and away from the
bar, so that the downwind wing starts to flutter in the wind.

The windier it is, the less you need to rotate the kite.

Assuming that you’ll be trying this for the first time in light to moderate wind, the rotation will be around 30°. Pick up your bar, hook in to the chicken loop and fasten your safety leash. You also want to double check that the left hand side of the bar is in your left hand. Start walking away from the kite to the position where you’ll be standing for the launch. While you’re walking away from the kite, keep an eye on your lines to ensure that they do NOT get tangled with anything. As the lines start to tension up, continue walking away from the kite and a bit upwind.

The lines will become tight, and the kite will start to slide a bit downwind. Keep everything tight and continue at a slow pace.

As the kite starts to rotate, more air will fill the kite and the upwind side will start to lift off of the ground. Pull on the downwind steering line (if you’re walking right, pull the steering line on the left hand side of the bar) to help in the rotation, keep tension on this line while continuing to walk upwind, do NOT let go of this line until the kite starts to lift completely off of the ground, and then release it gingerly. Now bring the kite to the 12 o’clock position.

Landing

Again, you want to have a minimum of 200’ downwind clearance as your safety margin, and no obstacles to contend with. Having someone to grab your kite if things go awry is also a excellent idea. Pick your landing spot so that you have a margin for error and you should also be able to walk upwind once the kite initially touches down on the ground (walking upwind is the key ingredient). Before initiating the landing, ensure that your safety leash is connected properly and that you’ve used your de-power strap to de-power the kite a bit.

Bring the kite down as if you were landing it to a person. Once the one edge of the kite is on the ground, keep it there, you do not want that edge lifting up. Once the kite is stable, reach out and grab the center line that is connected to the top wing (further most from the ground) and briskly walk upwind while pulling on that center line and keeping downward pressure on the line, so that the edge of the kite that is touching the ground does not lift up.

At this point, you are not holding on to the bar and you should be using the hand over hand technique to gather in the line. The upper wing of the kite will fall over into the wind and the kite will rotate a bit into the wind as well. Once the kite is down and facing into the wind, advance to the kite to secure it with sand, your board or something suitable. If the kite starts to get away from you during the landing, it is best to release everything and allow the kite to go back up in the air.

It’s a tough call as to when to abort the landing and allow the kite to go back up, which is why you want to practice this in light to moderate wind. If you don’t feel comfortable trying any of this on your own and you see me at the beach, don’t hesitate to ask for a demo.

*** Disclaimer of Liability: With respect to this document, kiteboarding is a dangerous sport and I shall not be held liable for any improper or incorrect use of the information described and/or contained herein and assume no responsibility for anyone’s use of the information. In no event shall I be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, or consequential damages however caused and on any theory of liability, whether in contract, strict liability, or tort (including negligence or otherwise) arising in any way out of the use of this information. This disclaimer of liability applies to any damages or injury, including but not limited to those caused by any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus, communication line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, alteration of, or use of record.