Career
Foreign other people with the same name, see Peter Powell (disambiguation)
Very early on, Powell"s kites had spars made of ramin (Gonystylus) 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.
He was born in Gloucester. 300 kites a week were produced until a feature on the British Broadcasting Corporation News and current affairs television programme Nationwide, production then increased to 25,000 a week.
Two factories were opened, followed by a further three with production reaching 75,000 a week. In 1976, the Peter Powell kite was elected toy of the year by the British Association of Toy Retailers.
Millions of kites were sold and flying steerable kites became a craze in the mid-70"s in the United Kingdom. The popularity of all types of multiple-line kite flying 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 sea front. He advertised by simply flying the kites.
On 3 January 2016, he died at the age of 83 after a stroke at his home in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
