Hi. I have a Vegas and an old set of North Rhinos, and even after using them for over a year, I sometimes still get the lines confused and crossed over, only to know this once the kite's in the air!
It's annoying as hell, cause I have to land it and redo the entire thing again.
The worst is the LH (left hand) side of the kite or the wing-tip of the kite that's closest to me as I walk up separating the lines. I usually lay the lines at right-angles to the kite (due to narrow beach area) and walk the lines and connect them. Easy peasy, but with C kites that don't have bridles, I sometimes get the front lines crossed over the back lines. What I have to remember, is front-right-hand-line goes OVER the rear-right-hand-line. Is that right?

center is center

inner centers run either side of center

outside lines (bar ends) go outside those.

connect center
then connect outsides
then connect inner centers.... (hopefully having the outside lines a little bit off the ground will naturally make your mind put them under them)

Piece of pipe insulation
Slice 5 cuts
After your session slip your line ends into slice then fig 8 your bar as normal

Lay out your lines downwind. That way you can see all lines are properly connected and straight before you launch. Don't forget that the bar is lying face down so left and right are back to front on the ground.

When rigging up from the side I try to imagine the kite sitting up ready to be launched and look at all the lines from the bottom up. They will be bottom tip, bottom main line, top main line, top tip. Dropping the kite from that position directly face down means rigging up from the furthest point to the closest point (furthest tip, furthest main line, centre (if any),closest main line, closest tip). Lay out the lines behind the kite with the bar the right way up and the corresponding lines should now be in order going away from kite. Keep imagining the kite being lifted up into launch position and making sure you are rigging from bottom up. Connecting each line in turn from bottom (furthest) to top (closest) means that EVERY line sits over top of the lines already connected. This makes it super easy to pick up the line, walk over anything connected, and attach to the relevant kite position.

The good thing about thinking bottom up instead of left-to-right is that it makes rigging up with lines running out to the left or to the right the same process.

HTH

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Gorgo said..
Lay out your lines downwind. That way you can see all lines are properly connected and straight before you launch. Don't forget that the bar is lying face down so left and right are back to front on the ground.

This is the trick man. Will take a bit longer coz you don't have the wind to help untangle your lines, but will help you lay them out straight. I've been riding C kites for 2 years now and I still on the odd occasion bugger it up.

Colour coding is essential. Add some short leader lines to your rear lines, red for port, green for starboard. If the kite does not have coloured pigtails then change them. Of course, make sure the front lines also have equal length leaders. With colour coding red is always connected to red and green always to green.

On another note, if you don't know how old the lines are it would not hurt to replace them with different coloured lines. Most modern lines come in colours (eg front lines - grey, left line - red, right line - blue) . If they look a bit fluffy and the ends a bit frayed get rid of them. A broken line can be serious.

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VRBones said..
When rigging up from the side I try to imagine the kite sitting up ready to be launched and look at all the lines from the bottom up. They will be bottom tip, bottom main line, top main line, top tip. Dropping the kite from that position directly face down means rigging up from the furthest point to the closest point (furthest tip, furthest main line, centre (if any),closest main line, closest tip). Lay out the lines behind the kite with the bar the right way up and the corresponding lines should now be in order going away from kite. Keep imagining the kite being lifted up into launch position and making sure you are rigging from bottom up. Connecting each line in turn from bottom (furthest) to top (closest) means that EVERY line sits over top of the lines already connected. This makes it super easy to pick up the line, walk over anything connected, and attach to the relevant kite position.

The good thing about thinking bottom up instead of left-to-right is that it makes rigging up with lines running out to the left or to the right the same process.

HTH

I do this but put the bar on the sand upside down. Then you don't need to cross the lines. Makes it easier to visualize as you connect up.

Plus. You'll have connected them backwards if you follow the picture (steering lines to front lines).

Its all about starting on one end and connecting them in sequence. If you try and do both rear then both front you inevitably end up cross one or other.

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weebitbreezy said..
I do this but put the bar on the sand upside down. Then you don't need to cross the lines. Makes it easier to visualize as you connect up.

... except it doesn't correspond to what the BAR will be like in launch position, so it makes it harder to visualise or test that the lines are connected correctly by standing the kite up into launch position. I also try to avoid any setup that intentionally inverts the bar as I never ever want to self launch with the bar accidentally inverted. Once is enough.

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Plus. You'll have connected them backwards if you follow the picture (steering lines to front lines).

Maybe the picture didn't come out too clear, but line closest to kite is the steering line for your right hand when rigging out to the right. It connects to the furthest steering position or the bottom steering position when the kite is in launch position. Next line laid out is the main line for the furthest side and connects to the front of the kite (dashed lines indicate that the extension is running under the canopy to the front of the kite)

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Its all about starting on one end and connecting them in sequence. If you try and do both rear then both front you inevitably end up cross one or other.

Agreed. I'm pretty forgetful and this method means I can keep working it out rather than rely on memory.

When I was using 5 line kites I'd have to run out the 2 outer lines 1st
then the 3 center lines on there own .

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VRBones said..

weebitbreezy said..
I do this but put the bar on the sand upside down. Then you don't need to cross the lines. Makes it easier to visualize as you connect up.

... except it doesn't correspond to what the BAR will be like in launch position, so it makes it harder to visualise or test that the lines are connected correctly by standing the kite up into launch position. I also try to avoid any setup that intentionally inverts the bar as I never ever want to self launch with the bar accidentally inverted. Once is enough.

For me, with the bar inverted on the sand - you can pull the steering lines tight (one at a time) and see that it isn't crossed. The front lines don't matter as the swivel should remove any tangles.

When launching my bar is always perpendicular to the ground anyway (pick it up flat and then twist by 90 degrees - red or blue nearest the ground).




But I get that it might be easier to visualise which way to rotate the bar. It intuitively feels like the difference between - always turn the bar clockwise when picking up vs anti clockwise.

I'll give it a go next time though. I suspect your method will make it easier to judge where to flip the kite when pumping up. Mine does involve the odd drag of the bar to get enough line for the far pig tails.

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dafunk said...
When I was using 5 line kites I'd have to run out the 2 outer lines 1st
then the 3 center lines on there own .

Or stand inside your steering lines , walk up the middle 3 between your legs and feed through fingers and lay on the beach in order
Flip kite just short of line ends and attach
You can do a visual check walking back up to bar prior to launch

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weebitbreezy said..
Mine does involve the odd drag of the bar to get enough line for the far pig tails.

Yeah that's another pet peeve, but even starting at the far pigtails I sometimes need to drag the bar because I've underestimated the length past the kite. Too far past the kite and it makes it hard to test the lines, not enough and you're dragging the bar with the potential for steering line tangles at the bar. Gentle tugs on the main lines together seems the most convenient way to keep the bar and lines in order. Other suggestions?

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VRBones said...

weebitbreezy said..
Mine does involve the odd drag of the bar to get enough line for the far pig tails.

Yeah that's another pet peeve, but even starting at the far pigtails I sometimes need to drag the bar because I've underestimated the length past the kite. Too far past the kite and it makes it hard to test the lines, not enough and you're dragging the bar with the potential for steering line tangles at the bar. Gentle tugs on the main lines together seems the most convenient way to keep the bar and lines in order. Other suggestions?

Arghhhhh FFS maybe run your lines then flip kite over lines at connection points,
Common sense your not connecting the national telephone exchange, its a kite, most brands even colour code for the mentally challenged

Colour code the lines and connections.
Change catpaw direcrion on either front or back so you cant mix them up

My apologies for not coming back sooner to say big thanks for all your replies!

Especially @VRBones. I now don't get them messed up at all. Just connect bottom up, outters first then front lines and it's bomb proof! Da bomb!

Cheers