SOTM November looks at a method of parking your kite in potentially high winds, and using the the K2000 (or "superstart") to relaunch.

The first sequence shows an MXS flying in for a two-point landing in fairly light winds. The nose drops forward slightly before the kite is pushed back sharply so that it ends in a nose-to-flier belly-down position with the lines draped forward over the trailing edge. In this position, the wind will push the kite to the ground and it won't move unless the wind changes direction substantially. The lines are running from the trailing edge, up over the rear of the kite and out to the flier, so relaunch is simply a matter of tensioning the lines to flip the kite on its nose and into flying position. No ground stakes needed!

To setup the K2000, the lines are tensioned gently to stand the kite up on the right-hand leading edge. If you were to look from the side, the kite should be perpendicular to the ground, or tilted slightly towards the flier with the wind creating tension by pushing the kite away from the flier. In this position, the kite is in the same setup for a lazy susan, which is essentially what a K2000 is -- a lazy susan initiated from the ground. Pop the wing lower to the ground to initiate the K2000 spin; in this case I give several more pops for a multilazy K2000 ending in a two-point landing. When first learning the K2000, be wary of popping for the spin with the kite tilted away from you (past perpendicular to the ground) on it's leading edge -- it can tend to dig into the ground and you might snap a lower spreader.

The second and third sequences demonstrate a handy way of parking a kite into the belly-down relaunchable position in higher winds. Fly straight or diagonally down and pop the lower wing hard, as per a snap lazy, but harder. Instead of simultaneously slacking the other line, maintain some tension and the kite will flip around into a backflip that continues around to the belly-down position. The key to this trick is teaching the off-hand to maintain some tension, and timing the hard pop so that the kite ends belly down in time to meet the ground; not too early, and not too late. From here you can drop the lines and take a break, or as in this video, follow-up with K2000 and back into flight.

Some competition formats require that both wingtips are on the ground at the start of a routine; the methods of setup shown in this SOTM are a useful way to incorporate a K2000 into your routine without first starting in the setup position.

'Till next time,

A.