Jump Start Self Launching or relaunching Power Kites

Outrage Kite with Jump Start system

After extensive testing in Maui over the last three weeks, Windwing's new kite re-launching system, the JumpStart, has proven to work better than we even expected. Final revisions and improvements are being made this week, so the new kites for 04 -- the Rage and Outrage, will be dialed in and tuned up with the new system. Testers found that the JumpStart will re-launch or self-launch kites even when the wind was too light to plane with the given kite size -- as can be seen by the conditions in the photo-sequence posted here.

The JumpStart system works without extra lines or moving parts. When the kite is leading-edge down in the water or land, the rider simply pulls on the back (steering) lines, and the kite reverse-flies up to a height where it can be turned for normal forward flying.

"This is going to be the greatest thing ever for snow kiting," said Windwing tester/pro rider Aaron Sales. "Before, when we used inflatables on snow, if you crashed your kite you had to use some kind of object to get it to roll over and relaunch. Now with this system it's going to be a dream."

The JumpStart was conceived/designed in a cooperative effort between US National snow kiting champion Alex Peterson and Windwing lead designer Bill Hansen.

"What the JumpStart does is free us from worrying about how a kite is going to re-launch, and let us focus on how the kite flies," said Hansen. "Now we are free to make really efficient, high aspect kites with less of a worry about whether the will roll over in the water or not."

In related news, a kite designed by Hansen and flown by Flash Austin recently won the Red Bull King of the Air Hangtime contest on Maui.

The JumpStart system will come standard equipment on all 2004 Windwing inflatable kites.