The advantage of the reverse launch is that the wing’s ascent to overhead can both be observed and adjustments can be made to tempo and direction. There are several variations of the reverse launch, this article deals with the preset hands method. The term “preset” is used because the brakes are arranged so that when the pilot turns forward, the brakes are in the correct hands. The brakes can be preset for several launch techniques. Below, I am describing the basic A riser + brakes method. With A riser and brakes technique, the risers are crossed and as the pilot faces the wing, the left hand will be lifting the left side of the wing (as he faces it) and the right hand will lift the right side of the wing. Meanwhile, the brakes are wrapped so that when the pilot turns forward, they will unwrap and be correctly arranged for flying forward.
In the early days of the sport, this was not the case for most launches. Pilots would kite the wing one way after lifting, then would swap brakes during the turn transition to get them into the correct hands for forward control. ……
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