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.

Sunday, 20 February 2022

'Duct Tape Stunter'

Over the years, I've been able to build up a decent collection of Peter Powell spares, from complete frames, such as this one, to loose leading edges, spines and cross spars.

With Storm Eunice hitting us this past weekend, I got this crazy idea, inspired by Josh Mitcheson flying a Rev frame with only strips of electrical tape as 'sail' in very strong winds at Dunstable Kite Festival in 2018 .... What about taking a PP frame, and creating a 'sail' from a few strips of duct tape? 

Only one way to find out whether this would work or not .... so last Friday night I spent some time creating a 'Duct Tape Stunter':

Step one - put a frame together ...


Step two - add bridle ...


Step three - add the 'sail' ...


Which leaves step four - fly it!

On Saturday morning, we set out in weather we would normally not go out flying in: heavy rain and extremely blustery wind, with gusts well over 40mph.

So here's the 'Duct Tape Stunter', ready for its maiden flight!



Did it fly? Yes, it did!


So the experiment worked! Sort of ... yes, it flew, but it was very difficult to steer and control. The strips of duct tape resonated a lot in the storm, which didn't help stable flight in general. 

But it was fun to try and I was pleased when it actually took off.


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