stuntnaz said..

If your landing someone's kite catch it turn it up side down so it's floating in the air , once the person has unhooked walk the kite to them hand it over job done walk away .

brilliant and or wait for them to disconnect lines and then hand it to them , just what we do any way. kite does not touch sand and flotsam **** , that may result in a tear , only takes a minute.

stuntnaz said..

If your landing someone's kite catch it turn it up side down so it's floating in the air , once the person has unhooked walk the kite to them hand it over job done walk away .

LOL

I've NEVER seen anyone being so kind.

Wow, lots of opinions. Clear thumbs up, lets all demonstrate it.

Theres no one rule that fits all situations. If I'm launching, and theres guys nearby pumping up or having just come in, I'll nearly always ask for a launch. They will mostly get it right. If they dont, its my kite and launch, I'm responsible for my gear. I can self launch and do maybe 20% of the time. Landing I'll generally look for someone to land me, but using the QR just one more time, knowing its a safe landing, thats fine.

Bottom line for me is, I wear the responsibility for my gear and my safety.

I believe we should have a stickied thread, Kiting FAQ, at the top of this general section, with simple things like what this thread started on. But without the petty comments. Many online forums have such FAQs, they help people a lot.

Gorgo said..

- kiter continually stepping towards the assistant (especially when the assistant is up against a fence/path/bushes etc)

YESSS. So annoying..

That and the old not walking upwind far enough and just giving you a blank stare, expecting you to move into a suitable launch position. Unless we've organised it beforehand, once I lift your kite i'm not gonna move...

ezza said..

Gorgo said..

- kiter continually stepping towards the assistant (especially when the assistant is up against a fence/path/bushes etc)

YESSS. So annoying..

That and the old not walking upwind far enough and just giving you a blank stare, expecting you to move into a suitable launch position. Unless we've organised it beforehand, once I lift your kite i'm not gonna move...

worse is when the person tries to launch their kite too much upwind and doesnt understand why the kite is trying to eat the launcher as soon as they turn it towards them...

Beginners: don't get a non-kiter to launch you, there is too much to know.
One example I saw, the guy launched with a line wrapped around the wing tip, kite immediately began spiraling towards me. I had a kite in the air so couldn't help but saw the whole thing unfolding so was able to get out of the way. Launcher was wearing shoes and didn't know what to do until I yelled "grab the kite" and he went into the ankle-deep water and did.

When there is plenty of space, quick release is a great option for self landing, since it's also an opportunity to test, familiarise youself with, and clean your safety system.