hi there, i'm a beginner, and i know that it's always safer to get a hand landing and launching, but i also should know more than i do about self-landing my crossbow 3 (with the 2:1 control bar). i can do this fine at the bottom of the wind range, but when it's windier i'm far from confident. could someone with experience on this kite let me know if and when they clip their leash to the flagging ring (and what to do when landing to the left so the flagging line is on the bottom), whether you let the bar go completely as you do this, and anything else that's relevant.
cheers, djdojo
oh, and i should mention i've searched older threads on this, but still want more detail relevant to my particular kite and bar, ciao
hey djdojo.. there is a pretty good instructional on YouTube on the switchblade but i know it works very well on the xbow as well.. the cabs are great kites to selfland/launch.. place your kite at 45 then grab your middle lines(that little bit of neoprene around the depower buckle is nice to grab) give it a pull and your kite will drop out of the sky. just as it hits the ground pull the top middle line and your kite will turn into the wind.. be careful not to pull the line around the handle. you will know what i mean when it happens.. practice this in light winds and once you have it wired you can land in any winds. within reason
heres that video.. it wasnt you tube... www.fksa.org/showthread.php?t=5678&highlight=Modica
that video helps, cheers, but i'm still not sure if/when/how to move my leash from the centre line to the flagging ring?
i just leave the safety hooked to the chicken loop below the bar..it would be safer to hook it to a flagging line though.. my switchblade is a 14 so i only really use it on light days.. all my other kites are slingys
On that video Jon has the leash on suicide, but as Milko said its safer to have it on the flagging line( thats front line).
Personally when I come to landing always moove the leash from suicide to one of the front lines that way you not only have it in the safest possible place but also can use it for selflanding- thats basically Jon Modica selflanding but you grab the leash instead of the front lines, for this to work the leash has to be attached to the TOP front line so when you come to landing and changing from suicide you have to know how you want to land and attach accordingly.
The Waroo bar that Im using has the special grab handles on the front lines you use for selflanding but IMO its even better to use the leash
Hope it does answer your ? when and how to move the leash to a flagging ring.
For me i don't like this technique one bit. It freaks me out pulling on the middle depower strap cause when it's windy your lines possibly could wrap over the bar which could send your kite into a death spin. Although, i have done it and after it flapped around in an up and down motion it eventually landed nicely.
The way i always land is i dig my twin tip into the low tide hard sand at a 45 degree angle, have my kite in overide mode for max depower, bring the kite to the edge of the window so one wing tip is on the sand ( same as when you have a buddy catching your kite), I then unhook so all i have in one hand is the leash ( remember there is no power in the kite while in overide mode) then tie the leash to the handle of the twin tip. The kite will sit there at the edge of the window waiting to be collected an put down nose into the wind. too easy.
If you don't have a hard sandy area to dig your twin tip into you could use the towbar of your car, a tree, or a sandbag with a carabine clip on it. As long as you are in override mode you can tie your leash to anything that won't give way
Hi Doj
I've had the xbow3, now convert.
When riding I attach the safety line above the chicken loop as stated by other posters. I too find landing a bow at the windows edge is a tad unreliable, tends to takeoff again especially in stronger winds.
Make sure all clear downwind of you and with relatively soft ground in situ. When I need to land solo, I put the kite at zenith and attach the safety to the flag ring, make sure kite is fully depowered and release emergency "at chicken loop" . The kite will float down and usually land leading edge down, then you walk down the single flagging line you are now attached (holding kite in place) and secure kite correctly with sand or board. Another tip with this method, when kite is about to connect to land move towards the kite slightly to cushion impact, this will take additional power out of the kite (timing important).
When moving your emergency leash to flag ring have the kite depowered at zenith and pull centre line above bar and hold, with other hand attach to ring
This is always reliable and good practice for real emergencies
mf
djdojo, I too started with a Crossbow but after wrapping line around bar while self landing and entering death spin, I promptly sold it and bought a 5 line Rebel. I now have no problems self landing in any wind conditions, with no one else around to help. By the way, the latest Cab kites are really good kites, but are just not for me.
thanks all, it makes more sense now. i think i can work out how to do this without getting the bar caught in the flagging line, ciao, see y'all on the water.
