Peter Trevor Powell (29 June 1932 – 3 January 2016)''The Times'' Obituary - Peter Powell, 8 February 2016. p48 was a British kite maker who developed a steerable kite in 1972, using dual lines. The kite that made him famous is known as the "Peter Powell Stunter". It became an international bestselling kite in 1976. Very early on, Powell's kites had spars made of ramin (''

Gonystylus ''Gonystylus'' is a southeast Asian genus of about 30 species of hardwood trees also known as ramin, melawis ( Malay) and ramin telur (Sarawak). Description Ramin is native to Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, and Papua N ...

'') which were later replaced with aluminium tubing and, later still, by glass fibre spars. Originally they all came with black plastic sails, though later blue, red and yellow sails became available. The kites came with a long, hollow polyethylene tail that was inflated by the wind. The tail added stability as well as looking good when performing stunts.

Early life

He was born in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

, England. at SO Glos online magazine
Retrieved 5 January 2016 His parents toured with an

Ideal Home Exhibition The Ideal Home Show (formerly called the Ideal Home Exhibition) is an annual event in London, England, held at Olympia. The show was devised by the ''Daily Mail'' newspaper in 1908 and continued to be run by the ''Daily Mail'' until 2009. It w ...

show and he served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

where he trained as a mechanic and maintained

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneere ...

aircraft. He then ran a business with his brother painting road markings.

Kite production

After Powell developed the "Peter Powell Stunter", he was producing and selling about 300 kites a week. This changed when the kite was featured on an episode of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

News and current affairs television programme '' Nationwide''. Demand for the kites soared to 25,000 a week. Two factories were opened, followed by a further three with production reaching 75,000 a week.Peter Powell at BBC News Gloucester
Retrieved 5 January 2016 Powell won the silver diploma for his kite at the Exhibition of New Inventions and Techniques in Geneva in 1975. In 1976, the Peter Powell kite was elected toy of the year by the British Association of Toy Retailers. Millions of kites were sold as flying steerable kites became a craze. The popularity of all types of multiple-line

kite flying A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have ...

today can be attributed directly to Powell's development of a modern dual-line kite. Powell often took his kites around the country and sold them from the back of his car. In 1974 (approx) he was selling them on

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority, borough of Torbay which was created in 1968. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the Engli ...

sea front for £10 each. He advertised by simply flying the kites Several decades later, as other companies created similar products, his sales declined and the company tottered on the brink. One day, according to an account from his sons, "Dad had been round all the factories, collected all their jigs for making the kite and he had a big bonfire and burnt everything to do with the kite. 'He said to me and Paul, whatever you do, do not start that business back up again.'" However, in 2014, Powell and his sons Mark and Paul reopened a Kite store at the

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

Shopping Centre focusing on a MKIII version of the kite.Kite King Peter Powell opens new store Cheltenham
. Retrieved 5 January 2016

Personal

On 3 January 2016, he died at the age of 83 after a stroke at his home in

, Gloucestershire. He has two sons, Mark and Paul who carry on his kite legacy.

References

External links

Article and interview with Peter Powell (video) on bbc.co.uk

US Patent US3954235 filed by Peter Power on Aug 21, 1974

US Patent US4076189 Filed by Peter Powell on July 16, 1976

Early life

Kite production

Personal

References

External links

See also