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Towups Gone Wrong
It seemed like this practice might have faded after the story that appears above was circulated almost five years ago, perhaps not. Towing up using flimsy kiting gear came up again recently at: http://www.kiteforum.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2336357
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What is "lockout?" It is when your kite is flying in a direction away from the tether or tow line. As the line tension increases so does the warping of the kite increasing the magnitude and force of the turn in that direction. The kite is literally pulled at high speed into the surface as a result likely independent of control inputs the kiter might make. This can happen at blinding speed, faster than most can react.
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FKA, Inc. transcribed by: Rick Iossi Last edited by ricki; 09-25-2015 at 12:23 PM. |
#2
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From another perspective ...
Towing up to 150 ft., extreme right? No, not when compared to 1500 ft. on proper gear. To view it as otherwise is to get totally jacked by boosting a FIVE FOOT jump as compared to a fifty footer with kite gear. Fly for real or make due with serious limiting handicaps. It's all relative and worth thinking over. and another parting thought reposted from the kiteforum thread: Quote:
Hang glider lockout on tow in pictures. This guy is literally being pulled/flown at high speed into the ground with things out of his control at that point. A kite can does the same thing when allowed to do so by using a tether or tow cable, possibly at very high speed and force of impact. From: http://westcoastbrit.blogspot.com/20...xperience.html Here is an aerotow hang gliding clip. Once things when south you can see the glider heading off in the opposite direction of tow and as a result being pulled at greater force in the wrong direction. The glider eventually inverts but is landed safely thanks to the pilots skill and cool head. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn4cTQH743E .
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FKA, Inc. transcribed by: Rick Iossi Last edited by ricki; 09-25-2015 at 12:33 PM. |
#3
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Just came across some towup video clips and prepared a sampler platter of towups gone wrong. There are a lot of things that can go wrong even with gear that is resistant to breakage, with safety systems and many years of development. I come from hang gliding and have yet to even try paragliding. Different bag of tricks in many ways.
Reserve parachutes are essential safety items that have been with hang gliders and paragliders for a very long time. Too bad no one carries them towing up with kites. Of course at such low altitudes they might not open in time anyway. Lockout in a variety of ways. Lockout is a reality for anyone towing up, with a kite, glider, plane. Best to know what can cause it and how to try to avoid it (you think?). Good thing this guy is so stupid, otherwise he might have lost IQ points through multiple concussions. No proper training or gear for towing up. Just a wing, a prayer and no clue what he is getting into or risking. His glider is incredibly old, belongs in a museum. I almost bought one of these billow wing Regallo's myself, 30 years ago. Didn't have a car to drive to the LZ so passed, good thing. Another tow lockout, upside down and with poor resolution. Still, it gets the point across. Has anyone heard of weaklinks? Wind gradient and stalling one wing is discussed at length in gliding school. Of course they have a school. Like lockout it is good to know what the effects of wind gradient can be and how to try to avoid them. How about a broken line during one of these stalls? This is one of tethered manlifting, really stupid. This is the practice that apparently resulted in the severed spine and permanent paralysis of Carolina: Most of theses failures were related to aerodynamic issues as opposed to gear failure. Gear failure can cause you to plummet to earth easily without any need to stall your wing. All these guys that plowed in are remarkably lucky. A fall from 12 ft. even less is enough to do serious injury on land. There have been cases of guys falling about 50 ft. into water, losing consciousness and drowning.
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FKA, Inc. transcribed by: Rick Iossi Last edited by ricki; 07-01-2007 at 11:20 AM. |
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Here's a towup gone "right," with the right gear, training, certification, weak links, reserve chute, instructor, wench, towline descent chute, safety knives and about 20 years of development worldwide.
You can do this most weekends in Miami through http://www.miamihanggliding.com/ . Checkout this video. It imparts some of the sensations interestingly enough. This is only $95. USD. The price hasn't changed in almost 15 years! Best way to blow a C note that I know of, by far.
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FKA, Inc. transcribed by: Rick Iossi |
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I just came across some more clips. Folks will do things they don't properly understand and will suffer nasty consequences at times as a result.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152032988794103 A potentially bad one over snow, another case of lockout on Facebook at the link above. They guy on the snowmobile knows where the gas is but that seems to be about it. An easy fatality but the guy hit some deep powder it seems, a good thing. GRAPHIC, disturbing imagery - A bad one with injuries during a stunt staged for a crowd. No helmet and no real idea how to approach a launch like this. Looks like a downwind launch in strong wind. The guys at the boat spent most of the time trying to figure out how to cleat a line, not good. I hope the guy lived and recovered as fully as can be hoped for.
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FKA, Inc. transcribed by: Rick Iossi Last edited by ricki; 07-15-2014 at 08:52 AM. |
#6
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Some kiters use flimsy, non-redundant and not particularly stable kitesurfing gear over land for gliding, ridge soaring, even thermalling. This is a bad idea for many reasons, a key one among them is the lack of proper training that comes with USPGA paragliding certification. These programs were developed decades back initially with the USHGA after too many flyers were getting killed and maimed.
Canopy flyers should train to be certified as paragliders before flying over land and then use that gear for it. It is purpose built, developed over decades and lots of injuries into the form it exists in today. Take something as simple as the universal release which has existed in paragliding and jumping for a very long time. Are we even close to a universal QR in kiting yet? You are right about the ability to break a few shroud lines before getting into serious trouble with a paragliding canopy. One should do you in very nicely with our flimsy, non-redundant kiting gear. If you need a hammer, use a hammer and don't bother trying to use a wine bottle. It might break and you could get badly cut. Folks that have had hang gliding or paragliding training know just how indepth things go in terms of the knowledge base, practical skill development and safety procedures, flight planning and the like. I just found this course content list for a Novice Paraglider Course from http://flymorningside.kittyhawk.com/...liding-course/ Ground School Setup Preflight Primary Training First Flights Simulation Takeoff & Landing Level Ground Training Slope Training Directional Control Airspeed Awareness Hang Checks Flight Safety Site Protocol Air Traffic Weather Conditions If you screw up any one of the important areas you could get hurt or even killed. How do kitesurfers learn this critical information using gear intended for water use over land? At best, they probably end up with a lot of holes in their understanding and skill base. This information has been lying around in flying schools for a long time built on other folks injuries, who would volunteer to repeat past mistakes like that which we have already learned from?
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FKA, Inc. transcribed by: Rick Iossi |
#7
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I've been talking about lockout as it relates to kiteboarding kites either being tethered or towed for over a dozen years. Coming from hang gliding in the early 1990's I had a sharp and personal feeling for lockout and the violent feeling of helplessness and sudden injury it can signal. Once I started reading about kiters doing it and getting killed and maimed in various parts of the world, it seemed important to talk about it. Guys are still doing tow-ups and tethered man lifting today. That is human nature but I would like to think, not from lack of knowledge or awareness. So, look over this post and think about the consequences of using our kitesurfing gear in ways it was never intended to be used.
What is "lockout?" It is when your kite is flying in a direction away from the tether or tow line. As the line tension increases so does the warping of the kite increasing the magnitude and force of the turn in that direction. The kite is literally pulled at high speed into the surface as a result likely independent of control inputs the kiter might make. This can happen at blinding speed, faster than most can react. When we kitesurf we manage the changes in line tension far more effectively than possible when tied to a tether or tow-line which can easily and overwhelmingly oppose that control slamming you into the surface.
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FKA, Inc. transcribed by: Rick Iossi |
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