Second Skyraker

Some time ago, I got my hands on a Skyraker. This early Peter Powell dual-line delta came in several versions, and the one I added to the collection was a 3-panel Skyraker. Obviously, the hunt continued for other versions ....

Took some time, but I was finally successful in catching an 11-panel Skyraker!

First flight showed the kite to handle very much the same as my earlier one: needs a decent amount of wind (double figures, please), and needs some space to turn (certainly doesn't turn on a dime!).

Now we have a pair of them, we obviously had to fly them together .... pop over to our Flying Fish blog for a report on that.

A poster with classic kites ...

Some time ago, a scan of a Japanese poster featuring classic kites was posted on FB:

Look at the top three rows, and what do you see? Yes, almost exclusively US-produced Peter Powell kites! Unfortunately, the scan resolution was too low to read the details, but since then I have received higher-resolution scans of the PPs on the poster (thanks, Mike!)

So what's on this poster in terms of American PP kites?

First of all, the poster states that the earliest polythene Stunters were called Mark Zero rather than Mark I. If true, that's completely new to me; I've never come across a mentioning of a Mk 0 PP.

Poster then continues with further Mk Is (singles and trains):

Mk II and Mk III Stunters:

And, finally, The Monster:

We then move away from the diamond Stunters, and first see a Skychaser:

And then we come to a series of Skyrakers. This includes the single-panel version, referred to on the poster as 'Skyraker Original':

What follows is the 3-panel version ('Skyraker Basic'), the Illusion version (also referred to as 'Basic') and the 11-panel version ('Skyraker Team'):

Final Skyrakers shown are the Stars 'n' Stripes and Jolly Roger version, also referred to as 'Skyraker Team':

Next pair of kites are Wings, in two different colour schemes:

Followed by Skyblazers, again in two different colours:

And, last but not least, the two PP quads, Double Diamond and Omni:

What did I learn that I didn't know already?

As mentioned above, the earliest Stunters are referred to as Mk 0, which is new to me. But I'd like to see some independent confirmation of this before I relabel my polythene US Mk I. I was aware of single-panel Skyrakers, so it's nice to see some of the colours they came in. Also nice to get conformation of the existence of a Jolly Roger Skyraker. I was aware that the Wing also came in a 'lightning' colour scheme (which isn't yet part of my collection, I hasten to add!). The poster doesn't mention a 'Baby Blazer', so it's not clear whether the two colours shown for the Skyblazer are indeed both for the full-size kite. And, finally, the poster confirms that the Omni came in different colours, and that the two different sides of the kite didn't always use the same colours. Lack of different colours for the Double Diamond on the poster doesn't mean necessarily it didn't come in more colours, even though my kite is identical to the one on the poster, and I've never seen a photo of it in any other colour.

Bottom line is that there is no PP kite on the poster I wasn't aware of, so my mental picture of the variety of US-produced PP kites seems pretty complete!

Adoptee #2

A few months ago, I blogged about being given three Peter Powell Mk I Stunters, which resulted in the Peter Powell Kites Adoption Agency. The first of these three was made R2F a few months ago, and the second one is now also ready to take back to the sky. Few small repairs to the sail, and a replacement of one of the two cross spreaders, was all it took.

It didn't come with a tail, but I decided to fly it with a white tail; something a bit different from the usual blue, red, or yellow tails.

I already have a red Mk I in the collection, but as that one is suffering from BSS (Brittle Sail Syndrome), she's unlikely ever to fly again. So this adoptee can nicely take her place in my collection!