American ripstop Mk I

Even though I keep a close eye on both the UK and US eBay sites, the number of UK Peter Powell Stunters I see listed far outstrips the number of US-produced ones. Guess that could be a consequence of more PP Stunters produced in the UK compared to the US; or maybe Americans don't like to let their PP kites go! My gut feeling is that it is indeed due to production numbers.

But irrespective of the cause, the effect on my collection is that I have very few US-produced Stunters: one polythene Mk I and one ripstop Mk II. And that means I was very glad to be able to add a ripstop Mk I, in very good condition, to the collection!

Orange sail and, unusually, a purple tail. Original as far as I can tell, and the first purple PP tail I've come across.

Kite flies as you would from a vintage PP, as you can see in the video of its maiden flight (or, to be more precise, its maiden flight as part of my collection). Struggling a bit whenever the wind dropped, but mostly happily flying around, dragging its shiny purple tail (which, for some reason, refused to inflate):

Video credit: Piyush Patel

Black fibreglass spars

At some point in their 'evolution', Mk I Stunters' frames changed from aluminium to fibreglass, and this spar material continued in the Mk II Stunters (and right up to the current Mk III Stunters).

In all the Mk I Stunters I've got in my collection, as well as in all I've seen, the fibreglass used is white. Same goes for the modern Mk III Stunters. And for most of the Mk II Stunters ...

I do have a single Mk II Stunter, with polythene sail, which has a black fibreglass frame, including a black nose and black spar connectors.

When I first saw it on eBay, I thought it might have been a home reframe, but I've since seen pictures of others like this. And recently, another black-framed Mk II Stunter appeared on eBay:

So what's going on here? Interestingly, all the ripstop Mk II Stunters I have and have seen use the 'normal' white fibreglass, so it isn't a simple case of the black fibreglass spars being superior to the white ones and replacing them at some point in time. Was there a period in which Peter couldn't source his normal white spars and had to find an alternative source? Or were these a 'special' version, produced in more limited numbers? If so, what was special about the black frame? Questions which need answers ...

A Field of Poppies!

Last year, Mark and Paul created a special PP kite in support of the annual Poppy Appeal, and of course we had to have one.

Twisted Bridle, our sister pair within the L-katz team, got two of these 'Poppy Powells', and we had a lot of fun flying both their kites:

Obviously, we now had to get a second one as well!

And that means we can now fly three or four 'Poppy Powells' together!

Lisa, from Twisted Bridle, made a set of four green satin tails, with the aim of extending the wind rage a bit (as they're lighter than the standard plastic tube tails).

Anyone wanting to join our Field of Poppies, they can be ordered directly from Peter Powell.