if you like me have tried a self landing by pulling the safety and walking up the 5th line and getting stuck 3 mtres from the kite; as if by magic the kite has suddenly got power from nowhere and you just cannot reach it except by winding line around your hands( uuuuups amputation!!). here is a simple solution; i can now self land without pulling my safety and getting the lines in a pigs ear.
curtesey of flexi new system.
want to land;just grab the loop from the left hand side of the bar attatched to a rear line and diconnect your chicken loop from your harness. the bar runs up the rear line with you holding onto the loop and the kite lands.you then simply walk up the line.pull back the bar and as yet i have had no tangles to sort out.
i made the loop from a strong cable tie inside clear plastic tube.
yes its difficult to explain in simple english!!!!!!!! but i'll gladly show you on the beach.

here is the pic of the bar

FLEXIFOIL ROCKS!!!

still can't seem to see any of the attachments

[Edited on 13-5-2005 by nick-r]

isn't that the same system that RRD have had on their bars for 2 years

[Edited on 13-5-2005 by rob]

dont know Rob maybe flexi copied it fron them, works well though.
Leo maybe you should be a bit more objective with your comments; course they rock if you get it for free!
was a time, i recollect, when gastras rocked.
could try asking them to get their pricing down to near reasonable for peeps who have to pay for their kit, then perhaps i might buy flexi; good kit yes ,but at what price!

[Edited on 13/5/05 by mNeil]

Have found with the 5th Line on the Norths that its easiest to pull the safety, then attach the safety leash to my board with the fins in the sand. There is hardly any pull on the 5th line as the kite is on its back, the kite is then effectively anchored leaving rider free to go and secure the kite. Lines don't seen to get messed up either. Still much better to have one of the helpful Borth Crowd to land the kite though!

Yeah, Robs right, I've been using that system on my RRD bar for at least 2 years. It works , but I am looking forward to using the new Naish shift system!

charlie, have you tried this technique in 25-30 knots. i think you would need a big heavy board to anchor it down.

i have a home made one that may be up to the job chris!!!

Yep Charlie in 20+knts with my 9 mtre floating on its back, i nearly surgically removed my hands gripping the 5th line on the last 3 mtrs towards the kite. funny really as at the end of the line near the bar there was very little pull coming from the kite; maybe its something to do with the altering of the angle of attack as you walk up towards the 5th line towards thekite.
any this system ,whoever installed it first on their bars works a treat!!!! so others with the BEST bars or others using the 5th line could benefit from this mod.

neil after saturday i'm sure your'e glad you didn't go for the flexi (not very) foil.

I have done it in big winds, i don't walk the 5th line though, just run to the kite and grab the leading edge. There really is little pull at the bar, thats the advantage of a 5th line when relaunching on the water. i know what you mean about holding the 5th line near the kite, it does go a bit crazy, I think that it does start to bring the sail into the wind. Thinking about it, I anchored the kite with my board that day it went from 18m weather to 9m weather (Neil you were on the 20). it held that. Mod looks good though, i guess its whatever works for each of us. See you at the beach soon, only 3 exams until permenant freedom!