A blog detailing our collection of Peter Powell kites, and chronicling our flying of these kites. Plus a bit of PP kite history thrown in. Our collection to date stands at 77 kites and can be seen here. I am keen to expand the collection, so if you have an old Peter Powell kite, whether made in the UK or the US, gathering dust and looking for a new home, why not get in touch? Depending on the kite (does it bring something new or different to my collection?), its condition (is it flyable? how much TLC does it need?), and the price you ask (+ shipping if from outside the UK), we may well be able to do a deal.

Friday, 23 December 2016

Ripstop Mk II

Mk II Stunters differ from their Mk I predecessors by having an extra bridle leg, which goes to the wing tip. At first, like Mk I Stunters, they had polythene sails. Later on this was replaced by ripstop. If, as I do, you keep a close eye on eBay, you may have noticed that polythene-sailed Mk I and Mk II Stunters pop up quite regularly, but ripstop Mk II Stunters hardly ever do. I'm not quite sure what's behind this. Could it be a reflection of the numbers of kites produced? Were there simply far fewer PP Stunters with ripstop sail sold than with polythene sail?

Whatever the underlying reason, of course I had to have a ripstop Mk II in my collection. Patience paid off in the end; here's our green (jade?) ripstop Mk II!


The kite came with a semi-translucent orange tail; not sure if that tail is original, but it matched the green sail quite well.


Flight characteristics are what you expect from a vintage Peter Powell: needs a decent breeze to fly and steer optimally.


I don't know if ripstop Mk II Stunters only came in single colours (and how many colours were produced) or whether they also existed as multi-coloured sails. One way to find out: keep keeping an eye on eBay!

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