How to Hot Launch - Kitesurfing Tutorial
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- Опубліковано 24 лип 2024
- Yes, hot launching your kite can be dangerous - which is why it's important to avoid launching this way when possible. In this video, we talk about why you may need to hot launch, the risks involved and our tips to have a safe and successful hot launch. Please be careful!
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Here is an update of what we have learned after three more years and several thousand hot launches. All of our launches in the last year or two have been free of incidents.
We never hold someone from the back of the harness. Doing so will injure two people in strong winds. In strong wind the rider needs to be able to run forward to kill some of the apparent wind and power. In light wind the rider needs to be free to turn around and run back.
We no longer fully inflate foil kites. This one thing will prevent serious accidents. If the wind is light, we just run back faster. If we need some air, we'll get a couple of people to swing the kite to put some air in it. If the wind is really light, we'll get a couple of helpers to hold the kite. We no longer bring leaf blowers to the beach.
We launch with the kite full depowered for inflatables, and mostly depowered for foil kites. For foil kites it is easy enough to power it up after it is launched to complete the inflation.
To prevent line errors the helpers will also double check lines and kite trim.
The best technique was at 3:08 - the old sneakers, lean back and scud with perfect control. Once the kite has some power you can steer it to the edge of the window (if you have room) if you don't like being dragged. I hot launch all the time (started out a couple years ago on fixed bridles), leaning and scudding is second nature. I have it a little easier, as I launch mostly in sand. Obviously make sure nothing in the way downwind while you're walking lines that will trip or spear your feet. The little steps with bare feet or booties made me a bit nervous, as did the folks I saw leaning forward. Kind of asking for a superman. Great video though, you touched on all the important points.
OMG ! PLEASE MAKE A REVIEW ON THE CRAZYFLY SCULP OR AS I SEE IN THE VIDEO THE HYPER ! great vid as usuall tho !
You can also lean forward or even make some steps towards the kite while it gains power , so no drag would happen. And keep the bar out always.
I just went through my pictures and during a school trip I went in the CN tower and on a picture I took I can see you guys kitesurfing in the background!! ( what are the odds) 👍
I think the odds are higher than you'd think as we tend to kite about 3 times a week :)
Our Kite Life if you guys are able to kite 3 times a week it means that you have a lot of wind.?. What is the average wind speed you get at your local kite spot per week ?
We have a lot of *light* wind. Spring and fall are our windiest times of year - which helps bump up the weekly average. Summer is usually very light with some thermal wind, and winter can be good - but also cold. Average wind is probably in the range of 10-15 knots, and our 15m foil kite is our most used kite. If you foilboard (and have a flexible work schedule), you could probably kite even more than 3x per week.
Good video. I was curious how you guys launched at that spot.
Thanks!
Damn!
In Many of these examples shown - people PULLED the bar in?! Why?
For hot-launching you grab the two main lines WAY above the adjuster! Quickly yank it towards you and the kite will shoot up through the powerzone without developing much power at all!
Works on L.E.i Kites like a charm!
Make sure to pull above the adjuster - that way it has less power then "all the way de-powered"!
Tried this up to 11m in 25knt.
And could still stand on/in the same spot.
because they depower on the trim the kite first..shouldnt do that
Frequently yes, I need a hot lunch...
Same here :)
I thought it was called the Russian launch. Ok, now I know it's the Hot :)
It is a bad advice to have someone holding you from the back of your harness. Then you possibly double the power kite can produce and if something goes wrong it goes badly wrong. In light winds it is unnecessary, in higher winds very dangerous.
Never have a solid connection to a kite in which you are in the middle, never tow kite using a boat or car. Many bad accidents have happened and kites/lines/harnesses destroyed when these silly things have been tried.
from our experience having someone hold you from the back increases safety. We've literally done thousands of hot launches, and if there was something wrong with someone holding you from the back, we would of noticed by now.
I agree. I never trim my kite on a hot launch either. Makes it much more predictable. Also resisting the kite pull and sliding on the ground is something I never do. I just run after it to minimize the time it takes for the kite to fly up and have it less loaded. Just like when riding the kite will pull you as much as you load it.
If everything goes fine holder helps for sure. But if something goes wrong he will charge the power of catapult and you just couldn’t control anything with that speed of action. It is very obvious to experienced kiters but really important comment for beginners.
I hot launch often on the beach.
I find if you get pulled , drop to your knees and you still have control.
When the kiter runs with the kite they often trip and it goes really bad.
Good advice a
SUPER VIDEO !!!
Thanks :)
It may be better to have a home made bar with longer lead lines allowing another meter or two more of bar-out or de-power. So the kite can be fully de-powered on the ground instead of fully powered on the ground. Or you need to be be able to pull a meter or two out of the front lines at the hot launch. Trade off is enough power is needed to be able to control the kite.
How about tying the chicken loop to that nice tree instead of the harness?
I would say it's probably a good thing foil kites take a little while to fully inflate on the first launch if hot launching.
a foil kite should be fully powered (no depower applied) to hot launch. Having depower can prevent inflation and be dangerous because they never get to apex and just keep dragging you. Sonic 2's often won't even inflate in that configuration.
we fully/semi preinflate with a leaf blower most of the time, we had couple of accidents with people fully powered holding to their lines and getting sling shoted, hence the recommendation. It all comes with practice :)
Hot launched 7m today at 5 knots wind by pooling midlines while the kite stayed on it's trailing edge directly down the wind. No need to de-power at light winds.
Hi we are always used to hot start in light wind
Drift launch in the water would be a solution ;-)
At this spot there’s no wind on the water level due to the peninsula blocking it. On the other side are giant rocks and rebar so impossible to get out...
nice slick edit, great audio, this is taken right near Humber College? looks like it
thanks Warren, and yes right by Humber College
You can also over sheet and stall the kite on the way up 👍
If your trim is already fully depowered, pulling in the bar will not back stall the kite, but it will power it up fully. This is a good way to get yourself lofted and then slammed to the ground.
So how cold of temperatures do people do this!? I saw some snow patches in one of the clips! Water temp and air temps?
We kite in air temps of 0*C, typically not lower because safety and gear freeze over. Coldest we’ve done is -2*C air temp.
Attach kite to a weighted shopping cart or sled until the kite is in the air , and then transfer chickenloop to kiter. If anything goes wrong , at least you aren’t attached.
Remember to bring 300 pounds of groceries to weigh down the cart that you stole from the grocery store. Shopping carts aren't very good at steering kites, but don't worry if anything goes wrong, it doesn't matter if your kite is in a tree, at least you aren't attached.
hahahaha, no. The last thing you need is someones dead weight getting pulled downwind killing everyone in it's path. Silly comment.
we have actually tried anchoring a kite once to the bench, and it kind of worked, but wouldn't work on every wind direction. The shopping cart sounds not practical
Hi,did you try Fysurfer self launcher ,is it available only for their Boost kite?
Never tried it, and it does seem that it only comes with FS boost kite.
Great Tips. Thanks. Where exactly is kite flying location?
lakeshore yacht club in Toronto
@@OurKiteLife Many thanks. I'll have to check it out.
5:02 "The most important tip of all is to avoid hot launching as much as you possibly can". Sage advice. But, surely, the second most important tip is TO WEAR A HELMET !
Until pro riders wear helmets in their photo shoots, the majority of people won't
@@OurKiteLife Compromise then: Wear it for the launch then take it off before you enter the water. Or have a helmet-mounted GoPro and use that as an excuse. Seriously, it is a question of when, not if, someone in your group suffers a serious or fatal head injury. I hope it is not you or one of the other familiar faces on your channel.
@@kshred3043 good point!
While wearing a helmet can certainly protect you from certain injuries, it is more important for students that are prone to land accidents. Risk of head injury is very small compared to other kite-related injuries like dislocation of joints or entanglement. While wearing a helmet obviously isn't harmful per se, I have very bad experience with helmet-wearing kiters as they are usually beginners without instructors that picked up a lesson or two and decided to just gear up to protect themselves. These kiters are typically extremely dangerous to those around them as they do not realise a kite is more dangerous to others than to yourself; because you are by definition upwind of your own lines, safety and release are always possible at the expense of risk to those downwind of you.
I will promote helmet wearing when it is no longer seen as a substitute for riding safely and responsibly, and not a moment before.
What way have you found to be the best way to pre-inflate the Flysurfer Soul?
We use a hand held leaf blower to preinflate :)
@@OurKiteLife Thanks, I've seen you use it, just didn't want to drag more equipment to the beach, good idea though, wish they made a compact one. Perhaps cordless hair dryer...Lol
Important: Keeping the Foilkites a bit on the brake. They might collapse!
I used to hot launch my kites until a single accident. It was kind of reversed launch, when my kite was on leading edge, I turned it 180 from parking position, pulled on the steering lines so it lifted, then turned in the air for hot launch by releasing one of the lines. It worked with my 12m LEI. But then I bought 17m LEI and tried the same technique in about 10-12 knots... Got yanked so damn hard! Got swiped off my feet. Good thing I managed to eject in time. Bruised shoulder and couple of scratches, I was lucky. I could have asked other kiters to help me launch, but I'm kinda socially awkward.
PS We call hot launch as the "Russian launch". Probably because of how reckless it is.
Russian Launch! I like it!
@@OurKiteLife in winter time always use this on my elf joker 15 m
I thought that Canada have the world’s largest population of beavers!
Those in your area seem to be quite lazy as I can see the quantity of big trees stopping the wind and avoiding safe launch😜
I have a similar issue on the small lake near home, so if you can find a more active communauty I would be please to adopt a good part of their family, that I hope you will bring with you for your next trip to France😊😎
Haha, they've definitely been lazy! When we find more productive ones, we'll pack a couple in our suitcase :P
Wouldn't drift launching be safer at that point?
It's funny you’re like third person to ask that, but there is even less wind at water level - you can play frisbee
This is so crazy
Could you also tie a rope from a hard surface like a tree to the harness?
That wouldn’t be a good idea
@@OurKiteLife any reason to why not?
It is not "hot launch", it call "russian start". It is unsafe way, may use only in lightwind, and launch LEI-kite by this way is more unsafe as parafoil. Exist another variant of russian start, by baloon-down orientation: lay down kite on front edge, then pull by drive lines - kite fly up, turning 180dgr, and up done by front edge. With best wishes, from Russia :)
Yeah as we found out guys in Europe call it Russian start while here in Canada we call it hot launch! Thanks for the comment and greetings from Canada
@@OurKiteLife We also call it a hot launch here in the UK
We call it a russian start hahahahaha
So we’ve learned 😄
In Russia we call it either
What about launching your kite from the water without any stress...?!?🤔😉🤙
Wind is usually side off and even less wind than on the beach, as the bay where we kite is shielded by 10 meter Peninsula
Hot launch? In gemany we call it * russenstart * :)
We hadn't heard that until posting this video. Most of the kiters at this spot are Russian too :D
@@OurKiteLife LOL
In Poland, we also call it the Russian start. this is because Russian kiters practice snowkiting during the long winter in Russia, mostly in very light winds. When they come to Egypt they try to start in this way. However, the wind in Egypt is stronger and accidents have often occurred..
@@buenacloud interesting history :) I thought it was because it's like Russian roulette but I guess that's another reason the name has stuck
I learned on a three meter in 11 - 14 knots
Can't you drift launch inflatable kites on the water?
even less wind on water then on land due wind shadow (prevailing wind is side off)
yes you can, do it frequently but you have to know what you are doing
Its called Russian start
it's called Russian start
That's russian's launch not hot launch.
So we’ve learned! Never heard of it called that way, but funny because most of the kiters here are Russian :)
Don’t kite at a spot like that??
Most people don't ;)
drift launch in water...... no?
zero wind at water level, even less wind then on the beach :( We also have to use line extensions for that very reason.
Fully depowered on a matrass?! No way, fully powered, the faster it fills itself. I always do it right in the power zone, just steer it sideways when it goes upwards! You can also can use the power lines and steering lines to control it better, if you feel it goes upwards, get both steering lines and pull them slowly towards yourself. Flysurfer have there own tutorial about this
We pre-inflate it usually with a leaf blower either fully or two thirds in higher wind and depowering works great
Grab only the front lines and the kite started with out power!!!
no its is not the best idea without shoess :P i member
when are you coming back to Canada?
remind me never to buy a used kite from your area... I do feel sorry for you guys!
yeah, our kites have seen some trees, that's a given! And yeah, our launch spot is shitty, not to mention underwater rebar sticking out, but it is what it is :P
@@OurKiteLife Where i'm from we have like 80 miles of sandy beach where we can launch our kites. But even then i've seen some guys getting pulled away hotlaunching their kites with not enough experience. Ending up with sand blasted faces. Most of the times they were non locals though.
That's the sketchiest fucking launch site ever. Have you tried teathering the chicken loop to something (a tree) then launching, when the kite is up, unhook from stationary object and hook into harness?
yeah, it is sketchy, and the beach is full of rebar and underwater boulders. Haven't tried the trees, but used a bench once, but that depends on wind direction
oh and that is actually not the sketchiest, we’ll feature a sketchier one in a future video
@@OurKiteLife where is that spot? I want to look on google maps :)
@@OurKiteLife Oh and -- brilliant videos, really entertaining. I love all the random kiters in them all loving the stoke :) makes me smile every time.
i like it hot ;)
we like it hot as well ;)
Nice uggs
Thank you