Date:	Wed, 28 Jul 1993 03:13:09 -1000
From:	andrew@tug.com (Andrew Beattie)
Message-Id: <CAvM1y.7J2@tug.com>
Organization: /usr/lib/news/organisation
Subject: New technique: Peel launching.

Launching a peel unaided can be difficult:

If you anchor the handles than it may self-launch, which is likely to
either rip the anchor out of the ground or snap the lines.

If you just leave it on the ground, then it will drift downwind, perhaps
wrapping it's self in a knot by the time you reach the handle.

If you make it to the handles and try to launch, there is a tendancy for
the wingtips to inflate and start to fly first, while the centre is still
stalled causing the kite to fold in half.

These problems are not too severe as patience, practice and good wind
will help, however on the big 15m sail (particularly if it is wet and
therefore sticky (hard to inflate) and heavy), they proved nearly
insurmountable (90 0.000000ailure rate!), so I developed a new technique:

Lay the kite flat on it's back, and roll up each wingtip (rolling towards
the middle).  On the big (wet!) sail, I was rolling up about 500f the span.
When you try to launch, the centre launches perfectly and the tips roll
out to follow.  Of about 10 tries, I don't think that it failed once.

This idea is very new.  Peter Lynn hadn't heard of it.  I havn't had a
chance to try it in strong wind, but I expect that you can probably
roll up the whole thing, so that it doesn't blow away and then just
pull on the lines to launch it.  If this works, then it should be possible
to launch out of the bag in much the same way as can be done with a
Quad.

Andrew
-- 

Work: gaffer@plx.com Phone: +44 793 614 110 Fax: +44 793 614 297
Play: andrew@tug.com Phone: +44 256 464 912


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