Pulled the shiny new 6.5m Method out of the bag at Kingston for her maiden voyage. I took a bit of a punt and bought it as a light wind kite for
cruising in 6-15 knots. Kingston beach served up 7-14 knots cross onshore nearly every day so I managed a bit over 200km with it over the week. When
setting up, I tend to walk 20m from the bug, drop the kite on the sand and weigh it down, unwind the lines, place the brake strap of the turbo bar
behind my back wheel and then go and unfurl and inflate the kite. First thing you notice about the Method (apart from the minimalist bridling) is how
well it sits on it's brakes. No hopping around or wanting to flop up and over. It is the best behaved kite I have in that manner. It launches easily,
steadily and doesn't send you into a superman. Perhaps a bit of scudding as it nears the top of the window, but a gentle launcher. After Goshen
pointed it out to me, I now keep reasonable pressure on the brakes to avoid it overflying when it gets near the top of the window.
It turns at a good clip - it's only half as fast as the 4m but one trait these kites seem to have on the turbo bar is that if you really reef the bar
hard on one side, you can stall half (??) the kite and cause it to spin without losing control. Very handy to be able to spin the kite like that with
nearly no power for those moments when you realize you've flown it too far back behind you!
As you start to move the Method across the window it builds power with a very gentle surge - no ripping you're arms off. Into the bug and at 7 knots
it's a bit of an effort to get going (I must try the 30m lines) but once you start to move, the Method responds and gets you going. It took a bit of
work to get down to the Granites - a downwind run in 7.5 knots. Upwind was a lot easier and as the wind picks up to 9 knots this kite can park and
ride quite quickly - particularly upwind - I was cruising upwind at about 25-30km/hr with the kite parked off to the side in really light winds. 11-14
knots and you're really starting move - downwind, 60kph comes up quick. Landings and launchings were still very easy (even directly downwind
launches). 15 knots had more power than I was comfortable with so I swapped kites. Pity I didn't buy the 5m as well!!! (I'm reliably told the red one
goes faster). I did try the 4m Method but it needed just a bit more wind - 15 to 20 and I think it would shine.
In 200km's of buggying, the Method didn't bow tie. Even when I completely stuffed up a turn and ended up with the kite upwind of me, I still managed
to get some tension in the lines and reinflate the kite before it hit the ground. Not due to my skill but the kite's very forgiving nature. This is a
very friendly, easy to manage kite. It is a complete joy to fly. It is much faster than my 7.5m depower both upwind and downwind. It is not as fast as
a 6.8m Yak nor anywhere near as powerful but it is much easier to manage with a much broader windrange.
As a light wind buggy engine, this is beautiful, friendly yet fast kite. An absolute gem. 10/10 from me.
awindofchange - 27-1-2011 at 05:03 PM
I've had a couple of the Method's out on trial by our local riders. They won't give them back!!! The Method is an awesome kite, plenty of upwind,
awesome speed and as you stated, very forgiving to fly. It's not quite up to speed of the Yakuza's or Vapor's....but in the right hands of the right
pilot, it could be a contender.
I love them!!!indigo_wolf - 27-1-2011 at 07:03 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by awindofchange
It's not quite up to speed of the Yakuza's or Vapor's....but in the right hands of the right pilot, it could be a contender.
Isn't the current kite bike spreed record held flying a Method? Peter must have pretty quick hands
ATB,
SamJohn Holgate - 28-1-2011 at 09:08 PM
Here's some vid of the 6.5m. Starts off at 7 knots and gets up to 13 or so.
Cheddarhead - 29-1-2011 at 10:45 AM
Nice review and great video to boot. You always do an excellent job at making your vids. GoPro camera I assume?lunchbox - 29-1-2011 at 12:41 PM
Darn....Just when I tell myself I don't need any more kites, I see this video :tumble:
That looks like one sweet kite...anyone bringing any to NABX that I can try ;-)John Holgate - 29-1-2011 at 02:09 PM
Quote:
GoPro camera I assume?
You assume correctly. And thanks!cosmoyogi - 4-3-2011 at 10:16 PM
Hey John, did you use a special low shake axle mount for the GoPro?John Holgate - 4-3-2011 at 11:37 PM
The axle mount is a T fence fitting and some 40mm plastic stormwater pipe. Somewhat agricultural but seems to work ok for very little dollars. Here's
a pic... PS: there's a bit of dowel in each end of the pipe - one to mount the gopro base plate to and the other to stop the fence fitting from
crushing the plastic.
cosmoyogi - 5-3-2011 at 01:12 AM
Cool, thanks. I guess your beach must just be smooth as glass then. When I tried a setup like that it was pretty shaky. I was using a digital camera
in a padded wooden box though. I think I am going to have to get a GoPro.John Holgate - 5-3-2011 at 03:11 AM
The GoPro has a very wide angle lens - maybe equivalent to a 15mm lens on a 35mm camera - that's a guess. That really helps to smooth out the bumps.
There were a few corrugated bits on Kingston beach but on the whole it was pretty smooth. And hard as concrete! I drove my 2 wheel drive ute 16km
down the beach to the Granites - it was like a new stretch of highway!! There's a couple of vids on my youtube site (quedecree) of buggying around
the paddocks at home. Definitely NOT so smooth!!
Here's how NOT to do it!....
herc - 22-3-2011 at 03:03 AM
@John: could you please look at your method kites and confirm that it only has an A + B row ? Seems as if this is quite new to fixed bridle foils. as
far as i know, most foils have A,B,C rows, right? or are there other fixed bridles foils with only two linerows ?
p.s. whats the biggest method - size? curious - whats the weight of your 6.5 sqm method, kite only ?John Holgate - 22-3-2011 at 04:20 AM
It does indeed have only 3 x A bridles per side and 3 x B bridles each side. There does not seem to be any downside to this when in flight - it holds
it's shape just fine. How will so few bridles stand up to years of buggying?? Ask me in a couple of years!!
My Flow also only has A & B bridles - so far that has stood up to some pretty well powered sessions and done a few hundred km's in the buggy.
Most kites have A, B & C. For the complete opposite of the Method, have a look at the Gin Inuit - it's cross bridled....bridles everywhere!!
Then there's the original power kite - the Flexifoil stacker...no bridles. I've never tried it, but I reckon that would be a wicked fast kite in the
buggy. Crud to relaunch though!
Method sizes are 2,3,4,5,6.5m. Don't really have any scales that I would trust to make an accurate measurement - suffice to say it is quite light
though.herc - 22-3-2011 at 05:00 AM
john, thanks alot. always nice to see massive reductions in the amount of bridles.John Holgate - 22-3-2011 at 02:10 PM
I probably should have said it also has 4 bridles on each 'end' and four per side on the trailing edge.....about half of what my pkd century has!
awindofchange - 22-3-2011 at 06:54 PM
What Ozone has done is to concentrate more on the internal construction and support of the kite while decreasing the necessity of complicated bridles
on the outside. By reducing the number of bridles the Method has very low parasitic bridle drag as compared to nearly every other kite in it's class
- delivering maximum obtainable speed. The internal cross bracing and construction maintains consistent pressure and proper curvature for maximum
power and stability.
Basically, because of the internal design, extra bridles (C-risers) are not necessary and proper support can be obtained by the spacing and placement
of the A & B Risers.
This same technology is also used on the Ozone Flow and was first developed for the Yakuza GT series.herc - 23-3-2011 at 05:46 AM
but the yakuza (GT) has a C - row, or not?
btw, the ozone flow is very easily depower-moddable because of only A and B - rows. and the bridle is separable into A and B.
looking at the pictures of the method, it looks as if here the bridle is NOT easily separable into A and B.
sad thing is: the ozone flow is only available up to 5 sqm. what i am looking for is a cheap / moderately priced fixed bridle foil with only A and B
rows that are easily separable in sizes 10sqm and up. anyone knows such a kite ?awindofchange - 23-3-2011 at 11:31 AM
Yes, the Yakuza GT does have A, B, and C-risers on the main flying lines. What I was referring to was the internal cross bracing and support
techniques used on the GT's which was adapted by the Flow and Methods.
Sorry for the confusion.John Holgate - 23-3-2011 at 05:44 PM
That's certainly not anything I've ever tried to do. The bridles on the Method are very, very thin but they still are larks head knotted so I can't
see any reason you can't separate them. And if your handy on a sewing machine to make up new bridles... But honestly, I am way out of my depth here!! Buy a Manta instead!!
GoPro camera I assume?