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Flexifoil launching

In article <1993May6.043555.22116@infonode.ingr.com> ross@kaos.b11.ingr.com writes:
>>In article <13037.9304271130@tlaloc.cms.dmu.ac.uk> it1jk@de-montfort.ac.uk (Groove Patrol Station 3) writes:
>>[Andrew thinks: I must write an FAQ on this]
>do it!!!!
OK, ok.  I'll do it.  I'll re-write and expand my "Everything I know about
Power Kiting" and "My kite bag review" articles.  I'll also write articles
covering "Everything else I know about flying kites" and "My advice to
someone who wants to start flying", but I've just started a new job and
it's summer over here (kite *flying* time, not kite *writing* time),
so these may take some considerable time to arrive.

>>1) Launch off a cricket square.  It's much easier on short grass.
>Pardon this dumb ignorant 'Amerrricun', but what the heck is a cricket
>square???
In England, we have this game.  It is sort of like baseball, except that
we play with a red ball and run back and forth from one point to another
rather than round in a square.  The important feature of this game for
flexifoil flyers is that it is played on a large expanse of flat, mown
grass, with a square in the middle of *very* close cut grass.  This is
an *ideal* site for launching a flexi (unfortunately, they often put
a temporary fence round the square).  Any mown grass is good, but since
the closer the cut, the better, a cricket square is ideal.

>>3) Buy an Ultraflex Spar for the top foil (this helps a *lot*)
>??
The ultraflex spar is the Flexifoil name for their Ultralight spar.
(As well as the reduced weight, it also flexes more, in less wind).
The reduced weight makes the foil *much* easier to launch (to the extent
that it will often launch when I don't want it to).

>>4) Put 2 sticks in the ground and slide the foil up them (I've never had
>>   much joy with this
>Hmmm.  Sounds like a recipe for a torn sail...
Also, watch out for little kiddies running into the invisible-black carbon
rods that you have left sticking at kiddie-eye-level (to say nothing of *you*
sliding into them)

>>5) Make sure that the sail is nice and full of air.
>How, praytell??
Either take the foil and swing it round your head, to fill it, or puff up
the foil by pulling the fabric to the appropriate shape.

>>7) Buy some rope, peg it out taut in 2 parallel lines 6' apart.  Use pegs
>>   to raise it 6" off the ground.  Use this as a runway to launch from.  
>>   It's a pain to lay-out, but it makes launching real easy.
>A diagram might be in order here...

plan :
  o-------flying-line---|XXX|----|XXX|----|XXX|----|XXX|----|XXX|
handle                  |XXX|    |XXX|    |XXX|    |XXX|    |XXX|
              ===rope===|XfX|====|XXX|====|XXX|====|XXX|====|XXX|===
                        |XlX|    |XXX|    |XXX|    |XXX|    |XXX|
wind-->>>               |XeX|    |XXX|    |XXX|    |XXX|    |XXX|
                        |XxX|    |XXX|    |XXX|    |XXX|    |XXX|
              ==========|XiX|====|XXX|====|XXX|====|XXX|====|XXX|===
handle                  |XXX|    |XXX|    |XXX|    |XXX|    |XXX|
  o---------------------|XXX|----|XXX|----|XXX|----|XXX|----|XXX|
elevation:

  o-------flying-line---/XXX/----/XXX/----/XXX/----/XXX/----/XXX/
               /==rope============================================\
              / |                                                | \
                peg

Andrew
-- 
andrew@tug.com
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