KiteJan

Putting away

1. Land the kite down wind (i.e. with the wind behind you).
2. Use a peg (you do have one don't you?) to stake out the lines - for the Revolution handles I put the peg in-between the bottom of the handle and the bottom lines, so that the bottom lines are tight & the kite won't take off again. The Deca handles I have are different, but I stick something through the holes, again on the brake lines, to stop everything from moving.
3. Go to the kite and remove the flying lines a side at a time - I then attach (using a larks head knot) the left hand lines together, then the right hand lines together. This is important as it minimizes the risk of the pairs passing through each other.
4. Then put away the kite in the recommended manner.
5. Get the cable winder and place both pairs of line (the ones from the kite) into the slot, unto the knots, then wrap both lines around the winder in a figure of eight motion - this is important as it makes it much easier for the lines to come off next time. The reason I always do it this way is that when I setup next time I simply peg the handles out and wind out to where the kite is, then attach the kite. It's easier this way.
6. Don't pull the handles across the ground - not only does this increase the chances to get a lovely knot in the lines, you do stand a chance of pulling the handles through something nasty lying on the ground. Instead walk towards the handles, doing the figure of eight winding as you go.
7. Once you are at the handles you can then attach them onto the winder using whatever method you've got - elastic bands, string, whatever. A variation I sometimes to (if I remember) is to use a Velcro cable tie to attach the handles together - again to stop the pairs of lines passing through each other. Be warned that some people don't like Velcro near their flying lines due to all those sharp hooks, but I have to say I never have had a problem with this.

That's it you have finished - hopefully there won't be any knots or tangles next time - and any that there are can be easily sorted.

Setting Up

1. Place your peg in the ground at your flying position.
2. Unwind the handles a little bit of the lines.
3. Place the handles over the peg, with the bottom of the handles and lines being held by the peg.
4. Gently unwind the lines walking away from the peg, going downwind. Don't worry if they snag, just sort it out and keep going.
5. When you get to the loops at the end go slower and separate the left and right pairs off.
6. Assemble the kite and take it to where the line ends are.
7. Unattach each pair in turn - now the question is how do you know which is the top line, and which is the bottom? If you have secured the handles at the bottom (as you should have) the longest line is the top line (alternatively you can be sensible and mark your line set up.....).
8. Do the same for the other pair.
9. Now you have two choices - do you manually try and sort out the slight crossing over and twisting you can see, or do you just fly the kite and try and untwist the lines? I normally simply fly the kite and try and get the twists out by spinning the kite, and if I then find out that one pair of lines has passed through the other pair I land the kite and sort that out. Most of the time this works, and it certainly works better than always trying to get straight lines before I start. You get used to seeing when lines are so twisted you are going have to sort them out, and which will (mostly) come out by flying.

Other things.....

• A word about line etiquette when flying - always keep the lines you have out to a minimum on the flying field - even if you are by yourself. The more lines you have trailing across a field/beach the more chance you have of someone getting tangled up in them which a) messes your lines up, and b) could lead to injury to the person/animal. I would suggest never having more than 2 kites set up (and even then if the flying site is busy that could be excessive) I sometimes will have a traction kite set up and, to provide a bit of light relief, a Revolution or Delta, but that's the limit.
• A bit of a get out I used to use when I first got the Revolution was to use two line winders - one for the left line pair, and one the right line pair. It took longer putting away on account of having to wind each set of lines separately (unless you get your wife/partner/child/friend to help you), but to setup it was simply hold a winder in each hand. If you find you are having loads of trouble then this is a good way - after all anything that maximize your flying time is a good thing.
• If you do get a hideous mess - usually because someone (or something - like a dog) has got themselves caught in the lines - don't panic! With patience and time you can sort out all knots and tangles - but it will be easier to do this at home. And don't pull the lines when the have a tangle - a tighter knot is much harder to remove than a loose knot. So far I have managed to sort out all the tangles I have had (and I seem to get a fair few - it's usually when I'm trying to cut corners and not put lines away properly to save time on the flying field).