'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.

PPKOG 2021 kite

For several reasons, covid not being the least of them, the 2021 version of the PPKOG kite didn't arrive until January 2022. 

But here she is finally, following on from those issued in 2020 and 2019. 

The PPKOG 2021 kite flies as any Mk III Peter Powell Stunter.

And this time, there was the opportunity to get this cool hoodie as well!

One new, one old

Been really quiet on the Peter Powell blog front, simply because there hasn't been any addition to the collection since March this year. But that has now changed, as I've been able to add not one, but two Peter Powell Stunters to it!

For health reasons, a dear friend of mine had to give up his kite collection, with many of his kites ending up with me. And among those were two Peter Powell Stunters, a Mk III and a Mk I. We went out to fly them yesterday, in a blustery 6-16mph wind. 

First the Mk III. Standard colour pattern in black with flo green stripes and a black tail.

It flew really well in the prevailing wind.

The Mk I is an unusual one: it has a green polythene sail. Have seen plenty with black, yellow, blue or red sails, and I have all those in my collection, but I have never come across a Mk I with a green sail.

 It struggled a bit to climb when the wind dropped, but once flying, it performed well.

Of course, we had to fly the two together; would be rude not to!

What become clear when flying the Mk I and Mk III side-by-side is that the Mk III steered much better. But it was nice to see a new and old Peter Powell Stunter in the air together!

Another PP Stunter restored

A couple of years ago, following a few people giving me damaged Peter Powell Stunters, I established the Peter Powell Kite Adoption Agency. Following #3 almost exactly two years ago, the Agency took charge of a black Mk I Stunter last week. The kite needed some TLC (the nose had come apart, for instance), a bridle, and a tail. None of that was difficult to implement, so here is #4!

In this case, the kite had someone pretty much new to kite-flying waiting for it. Of course, before I could hand the kite over to its new owner, it needed some testing, just to make sure all was as it should be.

It flew absolutely fine!

As we had a black Mk I out, it was a perfect opportunity to give our own pair of black Mk I Stunters some air time.

While flying these, I could almost hear the restored kite whisper "Can I fly as well together with another kite?" Of course you can!

#4 definitely passed all flight tests!

And then there were two ...

Couple of years ago, I managed to get my hands on a Junior Stunter, a rather unusual Peter Powell kite. Never saw one before, and never seen one since, so it appears to be a pretty rare kite, quite possibly because it was never produced in large numbers. 

Having this blog public does have its advantages, because I got an email last month, asking me if I knew someone who was interested in a PP Junior Stunter .... Uhm, yes, me please!

Given the current lockdown, we are limited to the outdoor sports field down the road, but fortunately they're large enough to fly our second Junior on 30m lines.

Like the first one we got, this PP Junior clearly feels nimbler on the lines.

And as we have two now, we wouldn't be Flying Fish if we didn't fly them together, would we?

Because they're a bit more twitchy than a full-size PP, they weren't as easy to fly together, but flying them together we did!

PPKOG 2020 kite

It's been really quiet on the Peter Powell front this year, for several reasons, and it's been quite a while since I've been able to add to the collection. One of the reasons for that is of course that, as the collection grows, there are fewer and fewer 'new' kites to add.

But there is one now! Following the PPKOG kite introduced last year, Paul was persuaded to create a '2020' version, in a different colour scheme. So here it is!

Of course, the weekend after I received my PPKOG 2020 kite (#1, as before), the wind had died completely, but I'm pleased to say we have now given it a proper inaugural flight.

Maybe the start of an annual tradition?

By the way, I just realised this is the 100th post in this blog!

Skyraker 'Illusion'

The Skyraker was the first dual-line delta produced by the US arm of Peter Powell Kites. It came in several verisons: 1-panel, 3-panel, 11-panel and with 'Illusion' graphics (plus, it appears, a Jolly Roger version). Although I did get manage to get my hands on a  3-panel, and 11-panel Skyraker, clearly my Peter Powell collection would never be complete without a Skyraker 'Illusion' ...

Took me quite a while, but I did manage to find one!

Like the other Skyrakers, this 'Illusion' version needs a decent breeze to fly well; 12mph at least. When the wind drops away, and at the edge of the wind window, it struggles, especially in turning.

The 'Illusion' Skyraker came in three colours: yellow, green and pink ... the search continues!