Looking for a Skyraker (or two)

In a previous post, I mentioned that a Peter Powell Kites company was set up in the US to produce and sell kites under the Peter Powell name and brand. At first, this company produced diamond Stunters essentially similar to UK-made Stunters. But gradually, they expanded more into dual-line deltas and even into quads (as mentioned in my previous blog post).

Judging from ads in the kiting magazine Kite Lines, the first Peter Powell delta to come on the US market (in 1989) was a Skyraker. This was a 1.93m wing span delta, which first came in two versions: with a 3-panel sail, and a slightly more expensive 11-panel sail.

Later, the Skyraker also came with 'Illusion' graphics, and in an ultralight version.

There aren't many pictures of actual Skyrakers to be found on the web, but this is a very nice example.

Now .... I don't have a Skyraker in my collection, so definitely interested in adding one to the Peter Powell bags. And I really wouldn't object if I end up having more than one: say, one with an 11-panel sail (the one in the picture above would do very nicely) and one with the 'Illusion' graphics.

Any gathering dust?

Double Diamond

In a previous blog post, I mentioned the US arm of Peter Powell kites, and talked about their moving into dual-line delta territory. They did not just produce dual-line deltas, they also made quad kites ...

The Peter Powell Double Diamond first came on the market in 1989, and here is an ad from the sadly now defunct magazine Kite Lines:

The Double Diamond essentially consisted of two Stunters side-by-side, with a single long spar taking the place of the cross spars of both Stunters, and with a few pieces of sail added. It didn't survive for very long on the market, though. The reason for this is that Revolution kites claimed the Double Diamond violated the patent for their quad kite. Peter Powell Kites were forced to take the Double Diamond off the market, so it was only available for a year and a bit. They did come back with another quad kite, the Omni; more on that kite in a future blog post.

Back to the "Double D", I did manage to get my hands on this rare Peter Powell kite. And here it is!

"Double D" responds well to input and is easy to fly. It does most of what you expect a quad kite to do, though it's not as controllable as a modern Revolution, obviously.

The kite develops quite some pull when the wind goes above ~12mph, but it remains flyable.

Guess most of you reading this weren't aware that Peter Powell also did quad kites, huh?

Mk III Stunters for the L-katz team, and a challenge to all UK dual-line pairs and teams

I've posted in this blog about the pair of Mk III Stunters, custom made for Flying Fish.

And, if you saw my 'tease, tease' post, you may have guessed we were in the process of getting a set of custom Mk III Stunters for L-katz, the team we're part of. Well, if you guessed that, you were right, and here they are!

Flying Fish and L-katz are not the only UK pairs or teams flying Peter Powell Stunters. Sky Symphony also has a set of Peter Powell Stunters, in their red/white/blue team colours. So that's three of the UK-based dual-line pairs or teams .... shouldn't every UK dual-line pair or team displaying in public ought to have a set of Peter Powell Stunters in their quiver? Why? Well, quite simple: as a tribute to the man who brought dual-line kite-flying to the masses; because these kites are simply fun to fly; and because they create a great spectacle for the public at festivals.

To help the other UK-based dual-line pairs and team, I designed Stunters for each and every one of them. So here goes ...

Flame
Colours used in the kites are obviously red and black, and the kites include the 'flame' symbol.

Suggested colours for the tails: red or black, or a mixture of both.

Airheads

'Airy' Airheads logo on a grey background, with the central stripes representing the distinguishing colours featured in the kites they usually fly with.

Suggestion for tail colour: silver.


Close Encounters
Yellow and black are the team colours, with the name spread over both kites.

Tail colour suggestion: yellow or black, or both.


Pallas Family Flyers
The colours used in the kites are taken from their banners, 'rotating' across the three kites.

Suggestion for the tail colours: red, green, and blue.


Team Spectrum
Design for their kites includes the colours taken from their banners, with the kites forming mirror images of each other. The team name is given vertical in the black centre panel.

Tail colour suggestion: black.


The Flying Squad
Even though they are primarily a quad-team, they also fly dual-line kites, so I don't want to leave them out! Kites are in the team colours (blue, white, black), with 1 to 6 lines taken from their logo.

As tail colours, blue, white and black would all work, as would a mixture.

So here's me issuing the challenge: which of these pairs/team will follow Flying Fish, Sky Symphony, and L-katz in having PP Stunters in their quiver? Everyone? Imagine the mega-fly!!!

Obviously, if any of the pairs/teams above prefers a different design, please go ahead and ignore me! I simply had a lot of fun designing these sets, and I feel that especially the set for the Flying Squad looks very nice. Maybe they'll become reality?

Super-dooper-hyper-mega-vented PP Stunter

Here it is: the latest Peter Powell model: a super-dooper-hyper-mega-vented Stunter!

OK, I'm kidding ... shortly after I started this blog, I got an email from someone who still had an old Peter Powell of which the sail had basically deteriorated to nothing, but the frame was still ok. Whether I wanted it? Having some spares is always useful when you have a collection of vintage kites, so definitely!

And there really is no need for a vented PP Stunter: Paul told me he'd flown the Mk III in winds over 40mph, and it handled fine. So no market for a vented Stunter!