Junior Stunter

Look at PP Stunters, whether they're Mk I, II or III, whether they're produced in the UK or the US, and you'll see the same basic design: central spine, leading edges coming together with the spine at the nose of the kite, and cross spars in front of the sail. Of course, there are minor variations in the materials used for the frame (wood, aluminium, fibreglass, or carbon) and for the sail (polythene or ripstop), and in the number of bridle line attachment points (3 vs 5). There are variations in size, with both smaller and larger versions being produced. And the US Mk II and Monster have an extra cross spar at the back of the kite. But despite these variations, all PP Stunters have the same basic design.

Bar one ...

This odd one out is called the Junior, a smaller Stunter produced in the UK. There is very little information on this particular version on the internet. Sleuthing by a member of the Peter Powell Kites Owners Group on Facebook unearthed announcements for prize draws in two comics magazines from 1976 where 500 Peter Powell Junior Stunters could be won.

One in Cheeky Weekly:

and one in Crazy Comics:

The drawings of the Junior Stunter in these two announcements suggest a fundamentally different design for this PP Stunter: no leading edges, upper bridle lines connected to the cross spars, and cross spars behind the sail. 

With thanks to Paul Powell, who alerted me to a Junior offered for sale on Gumtree, I managed to get my hands on this 'odd' Stunter! Wing span is around 3' (92cm), compared to the 4' wing span of a standard PP Stunter. And indeed, the kite does not have leading edges as well as cross spars. A single pair of spars performs both functions, is situated behind the sail, and the upper bridle lines connect to it through a circular hole in the sail.

Time to fly it to see how it behaves in the air. At some point in the past, Mark or Paul mentioned to me that Peter didn't particularly like the Junior; curious as to why ...

Of course, we did fly it with original lines and handles.

The Junior handled well in very blustery wind (mostly 14-27mph). It's faster than a standard-sized PP Stunter, turns quicker, and generally feels nimbler on the lines. 

I honestly can't think of why Peter didn't like the Junior based on its flying characteristics. And I'm very pleased to have been able to add a Junior Stunter to my collection. Thanks again, Paul!

Skychaser

The US arm of Peter Powell Kites produced a range of dual-line deltas, ranging in size from the 2.47m wing span Skylite to the 0.86m wing span Skytoy. So far, I've not been able to get my hands on this smallest of Peter Powell deltas, but I did manage to snap up the second-smallest PP delta, a 1.26m wing span Skychaser!

In flight, the Skychaser proved itself to be a fast and zippy kite, and a much better-tracking kite than you would expect from its size. And even axels and half-axels can be coaxed out of it.

In the ads of the day, the Skychaser was promoted as very suitable for flying in stacks.

So I'll keep my eyes open for further Skychasers, with the aim of gradually building up a bit of a Skychaser stack.

Watch this space!

Peter Powell Kites Adoption Agency

I seem to have acquired a bit of a reputation for being interested in Peter Powell kites. Three times this past festival season I was given a vintage PP Stunter by someone who clearly knew about my collection, and said he had this old PP, it was damaged or missing bits and pieces, they were going to throw it away, but if I wanted it ... here it is!

Throwing away a PP? No way!!! If there's any way to get it flying again, I will do my best. So I guess the Peter Powell Kites Adoption Agency was launched ...

So here is the first of these adopted PP Stunters: a blue Mk I, fibreglass frame. This was the kite that required the least amount of reconstruction. The t-piece was broken, but that was easy to replace. It had a few tears in the sail, but nothing that a bit of tape couldn't fix. And some glue dealt with the sticker having come off the sail. It didn't come with a tail, but I've got plenty of PP tails to hook on to it.

First of the Peter Powell Kites Adoption Agency kites, moments before take-off:

And back in the air again!

As I mentioned earlier, there are two more to follow, which need a bit more work (certainly one of them does). And if anyone reading this is ready to throw an old PP in the bin, please think again and contact the PPKAA ... If I can make it fly again, fly again it will!