When self landing I pull the QR and reel in my front lines. this usually results in a massive tangle, the birds nest does my head in and I feel like a retard often making things worse! I'm sure there are some real clever bastards out there that have worked out the best technique ( for untangling the lines)...please share your wisdom with the "special needs" type like myself.
Peace
^^^ +1 pull the loops, try and sort it while it's still connected to your kite.
Instead of popping the release have you tried landing by pulling the top front line?
untangling lines is not so bad, just takes a bit of time. start at the end where it attaches to kite and work backwards towards the handle. work on that one only until it is seperated then move to the next. you sort of just keep pulling it back through the tangle. hard to explain but thats how i do it.
I did this the other day instead of pulling the QR and letting the whole thing fly off in a mess i held it to slow it down letting it go once it had lost most of its spring tension not sure if this is the safest option, but for me avoided the 30 mins of untangling and it was only light wind
Always untangle on the beach, fingers crossed there is someone willing to give a hand. Take the mess home and the dog will keep you company but won't be much help.
Once the kite is safely landed and sanded, carefully pick up the chicken loop and reconnect it, taking care not to loop it through any of the loops of line.
Then just walk around the back of your kite and pull the lines slightly tight, straight downwind, there should be no tangles.
If you do get any they will just be loops in loops and all you need to do is loosen the loops up and then pull the bar and lines tight and they should disappear.
DO NOT disconnect the lines from the kite until you have done the above.
You can self land without having to pull the Quick Release. Do a search on the web or ask one of the more experienced guys at the beach to teach you.
Other option - Ozone make lines with a stopper ball half way up. This stops your bar going too far in a QR situation with minimal risk of tangles.
^^^^ yer i wish mine had the ball actually every kite should have the ozone set up with that . I dont qr any more (unless i really have too) because of this line tangle s**t . i wonder weather you can buy it seperate and fit it to normal lines like slide it on or do they have a special knot in the middel to fit them.
Thanks guys. It now seems so logical that the tangles can only ever be loops in loops as the ends have never left there original attachment points. my kite is a Naish yellow "Flag out" line has no stopper ball type thingy, so the front line rings let the flag out all the way through.......Can get messy.
How do you guys self land ?
Get somebody who knows what they are doing to teach you to self land. It's easy and safe but you have to practice it to get it right.
As for untangling tangles ...
If it's a minor tangle then just tease out the loops and walk stuff out straight and it should pull out.
If it's more than a minor tangle then you will have to work each line through individually. There is no other way. [}:)]
Take a loose end and pass it through each loop. When you get a longish straight section then run it out straight, away from the tangle.
Continue working that single line through any loops and knots and making it straight. Be very careful you don't re-tangle your line or lose the bit your are working through.
Once it is done proceed to the next line and repeat the process.
The first line will take 15-30 minutes. Each successive line will take half the time of the preceding line (because there's less lines to be tangled in).
If you are patient and careful and methodical then it is easy. If you rush it you will get stressed and mess it up.
Just be careful if you go the stopperball option to ensure the kite depowers.
From memory a 9m kite needs 9m of fifth/safety to depower 7m=7m etc.
someone correct me if I'm wrong
^^^ Steve's on the money, but make sure it is the length of the leading edge of the largest kite you want to fly on that bar + 1 meter
As for the trick to untangling - simple:
Dont see the point of the stopper ball,i have a ton of them in a box anyone can have for free,A-by clamping one on your line you seriously reduce the line strength,B-even when you release your kite flops onto its back with you left reeling in the lines till you get to the tip so whats the friggin point? learn how to park the kite by pulling on the top inside line or by hooking to a teathered line,makes life a whole lot easier.
^^^yep i dont think its a solution to reduce tangles ,wasen't targeting the ozone system just stopperballs in general,a lot of manufacturers have used them in the past and given them away as they can compound problems,if your gonna add one to your existing lines i would put the line under tension first then attach the ball,and make absolutely sure you set it up properly,have seen guys add them in the past and kites going into death loops cos they havent allowed enough leeway for the length of the kite,just something else to potentially snag,personally i would flag them totally.
^^^^^thought we were talking about self landing not releasing to sfty on water,stopperball when correctly fitted can help on water,but not really much help self landing ,however even on water dual line flagout is a way better option,with a single line flagout in the surf kite will get rolled real easy and thus more prone to tangles.
I've untangled many students lines.. Keep them really loose and lots of the "knots" fall apart.
Making the lines tight creates more knots.
Shaking all the lines out and keeping them loose- they almost untangle themselves.
I have a great system I bet my mate he can't untangle them 4 a couple of beers job done oh forgot to mention it helps if he has a drink problem
loose shake's, just shake shake shake, tried and tested method works every time no matter how bad it gets