How to self-launch and land a foil kite safely | Light & medium winds

December 2, 2024 / Kite

The efficiency and stability of a foil kite can not only add more efficient power and performance to your light wind sessions, giving you more opportunity to ride, but with a little understanding of the techniques involved to launch and land safely, they also allow you to become more self-sufficient.

VIDEO CONTENT:

Unpack a foil kite, untangle the bridles, and the correct procedure for laying out the lines and connecting them to the bridle

Safe procedure for self launching and then landing the kite with an assistant

Discussion of conditions and other considerations

Packing the kite away again, neatly ready for the next session

Leave the pump at home. Rig up and get onto the water faster!

STEPS TO SET-UP, LAUNCH AND LAND YOUR FOIL KITES

Set up

01 When you get to the beach choose an open area that’s free of obstacles and, if necessary, remove any sharp sticks or objects that could damage your kite. You need to have enough space to lay out your kite, the lines and to launch without any risk.

02 It’s essential to understand the wind direction. Once you’ve taken your kite out of the bag you need to lay out and unroll the kite downwind, following the wind direction, which will allow the kite to flag out, making it easier for you to prepare. Once the kite is on the ground, fold over the tip of the kite and secure it from flying away by adding some sand or pebbles on top.

03 There’s an external zip in the middle of the kite close to the trailing edge that must be closed before launching. Our water foil kites are closed cell kites, which means they have valves that keep the air inside. Closing this zip before launching is necessary to keep the kite structure solid and full of air once you launch the kite.

04 Untangling bridles can look stressful, but it is quite simple if you leave them organized and connected after every session.

There are three levels of connection points on this kite, plus the brake lines. A, B and C lines run from the leading edge to the trailing edge and are all connected in the speed system, so the best way to check to tangles is to hold the speed system up and check them from there. The idea is to give all bridles a slight tension so we can see if there are any line tangles between each section.

05 Once you have individually worked the groups of As, Bs and Cs and checked they’re all clear, you can detach the front line/steering line connection from our speed system, leave them ready on the ground and unroll the lines from the bar / control system for connection.

06 If you need to attach your bar to the kite, unroll your lines as usual and connect the front and rear lines to the correct pigtails on the bridle – see the video on this page, or refer to the kite’s manual.

07 Once the kite is connected you are ready for take off.

Launching

01 To launch the kite, connect the click-in loop in your harness hook or slider and secure it with your leash.

02 Put a slight tension into your lines so you can have a last visual check that you set everything up correctly. To do so, just walk a few steps backwards, but be careful but to put so much tension into the lines, which would make the kite launch.

03 To launch the kite, gently walk upwind and towards the wind while maintaining the same line tension. Once you’ve walked far enough rough to power the kite up at the side of the window, it will launch by itself. All you need to do is control the depower and steering to make sure it launches steadily and steers up in the right direction.

04 Sometimes the kite will launch with a crease in the tips because the tips haven’t yet filled with air. There is a brake handle in your control system that you can use to slightly collapse your kite. Doing so will allow the cells to fill with air when you release the brake and the kite shoots forward again.

Now it’s time to enjoy your session.

Packing the kite

There are different methods to pack a foil kite.

CLOSED CELL COMPRESSOR BAG

*We recommend using an Ozone Closed Cell Compressor Bag to preserve the life and performance of your kite – these are sold separately.

01 Once the kite is on the ground, open the central zip to let all the remaining air out from inside the kite. Once done, store all the bridle lines on top of the kite and secure the speed system with the velcro tab. This will avoid tangles slowing down the set-up for your next session.

02 Place the bag under your foil kite, extend it fully and always centre it in the middle of the kite.

03 Sitting in front of your kite, work on each individual leading edge cell so the profile battens are all neatly organized without getting bent. This will keep the profile protected and will make your kites last longer.

04 Once you have joined them all together, secure them with the bag strap and organize the rest of the kite canopy inside the concertina bag.

WATER KITE BAG (STANDARD)

*This comes with the kite from the factory and can be used to store any foil kite from Ozone.

01 Once the kite is laying in the ground, open the central zip that is found on the top surface of the canopy to remove all the air that remains inside the kite. After that, you can store all the bridle lines on top of the kite and secure the speed system with the velcro tab. This will avoid the need to spend time untangling bridles when setting up for your next session.

02 You can either leave your bar connected for the next session, or you can disconnect it to use it with another kite.

If you would like to disconnect the lines, make sure you leave the bridles as well organized as possible, allowing for a quick set-up next session.

Firstly, disconnect the lines from the speed system connection points.

Then connect the two ends of your speed system together with a larks knot and repeat the same process on the other half of the kite.

Once both sides are connected, place all the bridles on top of the kite and attach the ends of the speed system in the Velcro tab positioned on the kite’s trailing edge. You can make a figure 8 knot to prevent them sliding through the Velcro tab and to keep them all together. Then proceed with the rest of the pack up.

03 The easiest way to remove the air is by joining the two tips of the kite and then roll the kite from the tips to the centre, where the central zip is located.

04 Once rolled up, you can gently fold the kite and place it in the bag.

A FEW MORE REASONS YOU MAY LOVE TO FLY A FOIL KITE

Kite more hours! For example, the Hyperlink 9m works beautifully with a hydrofoil in 7 knots of wind and is also super fun to fly in 20 knots on a twin-tip.
Once you’re used to it, the set-up is super fast.
Drift while foiling; the kite never collapses when going downwind.
Enjoy more hang-time for longer jumps.
Foil kites provide their own special riding feeling
Power. Lots of power!

Discover Ozone’s full range of foil and inflatable kites: see more