PP Stunter - aluminium frame & vintage lines

The first Peter Powell Stunters in the UK had a wooden frame. This was quickly replaced by aluminium, in several different configurations, and later again by fibreglass. In the job lot of Peter Powell Stunters that basically kickstarted my collection were four with an aluminium spine and leading edges, but fibreglass cross spars. In other words, I did not have a Stunter with a fully aluminium frame in my collection ...

Cue the interconnectedness of kite flyers, and the presence of this blog: I was offered a PP Stunter with complete aluminium frame for a very decent price. Specifically, the price for the kite was "a pint next time we meet in a pub". Good deal or what?

As I said above, the configuration of the aluminium frame went through several versions, and the picture below shows the configuration of this particular kite. a bent metal rod goes through the tube on the spine, and two aluminium cross spars slide over the metal rod.

So how does the oldest PP Stunter in my collection fly? I first had the chance to try it out at the Leominster & Hereford Kite Festival. And it flies exactly as you would expect a 1970s Peter Powell to fly: it needs decent wind pressure on the sail and doesn't like it when that pressure falls away. But with enough wind pressure, it flies and steers well.

Now the kite also came with the original lines and handles, and I felt it would be fun to fly it on those lines rather than our modern Climax Protec.

Flying the kite on these vintage lines is ... let's just say 'interesting'. It really felt like I had two long elastic strings connecting me to the kite. Clearly, lines have come a long way in 40 years ...