Training game hawks to attain pitch and fitness by flying to the kite needs to be started at an early stage in the falcon's training. When introducing your falcon to the lure, it is important to use the same lure that you will be attaching to the kite later on. Whilst still being flown on the creance, when she is coming to you immediately on being unhooded and shown the lure, (and more importantly catching it in the air,) you can now move on to introduce the kite.
We always use a kite where pitch can be varied in line with different wind speeds to obtain lift in even the lightest of winds.When looking at the underside of the kite you will see that there is a ring to attach the kite line to. This ring is attached to the kite by a nylon "bridle"and makes the kite fully adjustable and able to lift a lure and release mechanism ( dependent on what line is used ) from a wind speed of 3 to 20 knots.
The rule is, the calmer the wind the greater the rake, ie; in a light wind the ring has to be set further toward the trailing edge (back) of the kite.
With Dynema line(120lbs / 55 kg breaking strain) this should only be used in breezy conditions up to approximately 12 Knots Ground Wind Speed ( GWS ). The heavier line such as (150 lb / 70 kg breaking strain) deep sea fishing line, should be used from 12 - 20 knots GWS.
When ready to fly the kite go to an area where you you have obtained permission both from the landowner/s and any relevant authorities, eg CAA.
The CAA section that you need to speak with regard to obtain a permit is the Air Space Utilisation Section which is based in Uxbridge, Middlesex. I have always found them to be most helpful and apart from the legal requirements of obtaining a license there is the added bonus that the CAA notify all relevant authorities eg: Police, Flight control, any military installations etc and in previous seasons when flying a falcon on a couple of occasions without the kite I have had aircraft flying under her while she was still making pitch - rather unnerving, when once this was a Tornado on low level flight!
To set the kite up follow these guidelines:Unwind and walk out the line in the direction of the wind to approximately 100 feet beyond the ring which attaches the the release mechanism (we always use a cannon quick release as per illustration) or radio control , taking kite, lure and aforesaid release mechanism or radio control drop mechanism. when you have done this you will have unreeled about 200 feet of line.Set the brake so that no more line can come off the reel or winch. Put the kite together, adjust the pitch to the local ground wind speed (GWS) and attach it to the line.

Preferably it is best to get a helper to hold the kite upright and walk back to the attaching ring and fit release mechanism and lure.
Now give the line a gentle tug and the kite will become airborne.Gently let the kite take up the weight of the line and lure and then walk the line with your glove or piece of leather back to the winch.when you get back to the winch let out line to required height and reapply the brake.
After the ring which attaches the the release mechanism or radio control , mark the line off in one hundred foot marks , ie 100' = 1 black mark,
200' = 2 black marks,300' = 3 black marks etc the colour then changes to red then blue hence 900' = 3 blue marks.
On the next training session put the kite up and attach the lure via the release mechanism to the line below the kite. Once the equipment is set up fly her to the lure out of the hood and still attached to the creance. Great care has to be taken at this stage so that nothing upsets the falcon as if it does at this stage no amount of effort will persuade her to fly to the kite in future. This should be done at a height where the lure is dangling about 20 feet above the ground.
On the presumption that she flies straight at the lure and binds to it (even if it does not come free from the release mechanism which means that you have set it to tight and need to slack off the adjustment,) call it a day and let her have most of her ration on the lure.When Training a falcon to the kite make sure she flies to it only once per day .This is for two reasons. First she will increase in motivation and second you will not be over stretching her. Depending on what month you are at this stage of training there is no reason why you should not be going out with her and attempting a flight at grouse or partridge ( if you are at this stage in September) but it is important that you make her ONE AND ONLY flight to the kite the last of the day as this is when she will eat most of her days' ration.
It is a good idea if you are going to be using a dog to have it introduced at this stage at the latest. The dog being fully trained already.
On day 3 do the same to 20' On day 14 do the same to 400'
On day 4 do the same to 20' On day 15 do the same to 500'
On day 5 do the same to 40' On day 16 do the same to 600'
On day 6 do the same to 60' On day 17 do the same to 700'
On day 7 do the same to 80' On day 18 do the same to 800'
On day 8 do the same to 100' On day 19 do the same to 900'
On day 9 do the same to 150 On day 20 do the same to 1,000'
On day 10 do the same to 200' On day 21 do the same to 1,000'
On day 11 do the same to 300' On day 22 do the same to 1,000'
On day 12 do the same to 300' On day 23 do the same to 1,200'
On day 13 do the same to 300' On day 24 do the same to 1,400'
Once a pitch of at least 1,000 feet is being achieved on a daily basis we then introduce the radio controlled drop mechanism which helps to improve the falcons footing skills. after four weeks start flying the kite above cover crop that you know hold preferably English(grey) Partridges for tiercels and pheasant for falcons. Put the kite up in the normal way and fly the falcon to the kite in the normal way. On the third or fourth consecutive day of placing the kite directly above cover were you know you can flush game from ( you will need to base the winch in different places each day as wind direction and speed change)Put the kite up as usual but this time without a lure and you will find that your falcon flies up to the kite even goes above it looking for the lure by this time your dog should be on point ready to flush on command.After the falcon has gone above the kite for about thirty seconds it will automatically look earthward. Now is the time to send the dog in . My reason for using cover crop at this stage is, if for some reason she misses the first bird or covey you have a second chance. During training it is always a good idea to shout ( I use the old adage "Ho") or whistle when producing the lure and then when game is presented for her so that at a vital time as this, you can catch her attention to the game that has been flushed. From this point on we would fly her without the kite over cover crop for the next couple of weeks. She will be really fit and well motivated to gain pitch. However do not be down hearted if she does no attain the great heights that she has done to the kite, once the game birds get fitter she will alter her pitch accordingly. I wish you well and hopefully with these guidelines you will not go too wrong. As a footnote to this another advantage of using the kite for training is that last autumn I lost my prize falcon about an hour before dusk. within five minutes of losing her we had lost any signal on the Telemetry ( we subsequently found that the plectrum we attach the telemetry to had been bent and broken , presumably when she had stooped into cover after game at check) at Dawn the next day we put the kite up and by the time we had let out only 3-400 ' of line we heard her bells as she was homing in on the lure even though she was six ounces over her high flying weight still with a full crop. Therefore this is also another very useful toll for the safe return of a lost bird!