CONTENTS
- What the wind window in kitesurfing is
- The clock system of the wind window
- How to launch a kitesurfing kite
- Video explaining the wind window
If you have been kitesurfing for a while you will have heard about the “wind window”; if, on the other hand, you have just started in this sport and haven't heard of the well-known kitesurfing window, it's about time!
It is vitally important that you know everything about this kiteboarding window, which we explain below. Learning or perfecting your moves will depend to a large extent on mastering the famous “wind window”.
And in case you still have any doubts, we have left you a video at the end of this post that explains the theory of the wind window in kitesurfing perfectly.
What the wind window in kitesurfing is
Those of us who have been in the kite world for years have heard of this term, “the wind window”. But whether you have prior knowledge or not, by the time you finish reading this post you will know exactly what the wind window in kiting is.
Ready to go in depth?
The flight window is a somewhat abstract concept, a short explanation of why kites make certain movements and not others.
This drawing explains it:
The wind direction corresponds to the direction the blue arrow points. As you will know, we must fly the kite with our back to the wind.
We would be at point number 1. The kite would move to the right or to the left.
In this drawing we can distinguish two wind power zones.
- Neutral zone (green).
- Power zone (red).
However, if the kite enters the inner zone (power zone), the kite will be catching all the wind in its canopy, generating pull.
Why are we explaining this? Because when we go kitesurfing we have to launch the kite, and do so in the zone where the wind has the least power. Which zone is that? The neutral zone of the wind window.
We cannot move the kite from a neutral zone to a power zone without passing through it.
There are two ways to move the kite from one side to the other.
- Moving it from left to right or vice versa through the neutral part.
- Crossing the kite from one side to the other through the power zone, as mentioned above. But we will only do this last manoeuvre if we want a fast movement, as it is very aggressive.
We must not forget that wind strength is decisive for the flight window. The stronger or faster the wind, the bigger the power zone; therefore, the weaker the wind, the smaller the power zone.
The clock system of the wind window
Kiteboarding instructors nowadays use a system called the “clock system”. This kitesurfing flight system consists of cutting the flight window in half, so that only the upper half of the circle is visible. This half sphere gives us a set of hours as if it were a clock. The hours run around the circle from 9:00 to 15:00. The main hours are 9, 12 (a position also known as the zenith, i.e. neutral) and 15. Let's go into more detail...
If you want your kite to have no pull at all, you would have to hold it still at 12 o'clock. Twelve o'clock is the highest part of the neutral zone, also known as the zenith position. This way you let the wind flow in and out of your kite without generating pressure.
The kite won't generate pull either if we move it slowly from one hour to another.
If we move the kite quickly from one hour to another, the kite will generate pull, as its momentum will carry it through the power zone.
Finding this interesting? If so, you can learn more kitesurfing tricks with the Duotone Academy app, the official Duotone app.
How to launch a kitesurfing kite
If we want to land or launch the kite, we will always do it through the neutral zone closest to the ground. Which zone is that? The zone marking 9 o'clock or 3 o'clock.
A very typical mistake beginner kitesurfers make is launching the kite in front of them. That technique is only used in paragliding; in kitesurfing it is completely different.
We will never launch the kite in front of us. The kite must always take off from the two side zones, the ones with the least power: 3 or 9 o'clock.
On our Instagram account you will find videos showing the consequences of launching the kite head-on.
By launching or landing the kite through the neutral zone, the kite won't pull on us and landing or launching will be safer and more comfortable.
We will never cross the kite from one side of the window to the other without passing through the zenith (neutral zone)!
A very typical mistake beginner kitesurfers make is launching the kite in front of them. That technique is only used in paragliding; in kitesurfing it is completely different.
If we launched the kite in front of us or right in the power zone, we would be dragged all the way until the kite reached 12 o'clock and stopped pulling.
