Matrix

"What would you like for your birthday this year", Helen asked...

"A Matrix", I replied. I had been inspired since filming the freestyle competition at EuroCup in 2001.

The decision wasn't easy and it was a choice between the Matrix and a Gemini.

In the end I could only have one, and the Matrix came across as being a kite that could fly precision and also trick.

The Gemini on the other hand seemed to be more of a dedicated trick machine.
Even so I could have happily settled for the Gemini if that was to be my only option.

It's been a long time since I've had a new two-line kite to fly. The last one was a 'Top of The Line' Sizzle in May 1996, which I bought from The Kite Store in Covent Garden as a birthday present to myself.
I decided on the Sizzle as something to complement my Stranger. I was looking for a kite with more precision handling capability than the Stranger and the Sizzle seemed to fit the bill.
Up until that point I had been flying my manic 'Mini-Interceptor' (my first kite), the Stranger, my friend's graceful Sandpiper and also his noisy 'Hawaiian Spin-Off'.

Sizzle

Since the Sizzle I have mainly bought quad line traction kites for buggying with. The Rev 1 being the exception.

I was looking forward to flying a new two line kite and was keen to learn some of the newer tricks that had come on the scene since the days of my Stranger.

The Matrix is designed by Andy Preston and built by Carl Robertshaw at Kitestudio in association with Flexifoil. I decided on the standard version with custom colour scheme.

During a damp Saturday afternoon in the marquee at the Middle Wallop kite festival in May, I ploughed through the colour options and scribbled them onto the template provided by Carl.
I went for a variation on a 'tobacco-sunburst' and contrasted it by adding distinctive blue wing tips.

Matrix

At the Kennet Valley Kite Festival in July my custom Matrix was ready.

Not being one to miss an opportunity we fitted Carl with a radio microphone and took him to a quiet corner of the field so he could talk us through the setting up of the kite, and give us some flying tips. See the highlights of this interview in the 77 second web trailer below.

The recommended line for the Matrix is 25-45 m (80-150 ft), 25-135 kg (55-300 lb). I settled for 100 ft x 150 lb Protec.
This relatively long length of line took me a short while to get used to as previously I had been flying my Stranger on 50 foot lines and my Rev 1 on 75 foot lines.

The kite comes professionally packaged with a bright red storage bag, instructions manual, spare elasticated bands, bow line and Andy Preston's turbo bridle. It is fitted with the bridle that Carl designed by default. The build quality of the kite is to a high standard and it balances perfectly on one finger. Assembly is straight forward and easy, particularly if you get Carl to do it for you...

It is elegant in flight and good at precision. This is probably why it is so popular with many teams. It effortlessly perform tricks that I have never yet even managed to produce on my Stranger.

I'm enjoying flying the Matrix and still at the stage of getting to know how it responds. I've taken it out a few times, mainly in light wind conditions so far, and am thoroughly enjoying the learning experience. Slowly but surely I'm beginning to get a feel for the kite and there is a lot of potential that I haven't yet tapped into.

The only problem I've had is with the lower cross spreaders coming out of the leading edge fittings in flight. The left leading edge is more susceptible to this than the right. I've solved the problem by wrapping self amalgamating tape around the the spar at the point where it goes ino the fitting. I'm sure I'll come up with a more permanent solution at some point.

It's also a good idea to add a small amount of super glue to the stand-offs before inserting them in to the sail. They sometimes pop out when punishing the kite with hard ground work.

Overall a thoroughly enjoyable kite to fly and an ideal birthday present.

Trailer - Running time: 77 seconds.
Save to your computer and view anytime (right click - 'save as' )

MPEG-1 (6MB)

matrix.mpg