On a trip to England, I went
into Andy King's Kite Store in London. I was disappointed that
everything that was on display was readily available in the US.
I told Andy I was looking for something unique. He disappeared
into the basement and returned with the H1. SOLD! The kite is
beautiful, unquestionably the finest sewing I have ever seen
on a kite.
The day after we purchased it we had a group tour to Castle Combe, Bathe and Stonehenge. We decided that Stonehenge would be a perfect place to fly the H1 for the first time. Never having been to Stonehenge, I assumed it was in a large open field. When we arrived it was drizzling slightly (imagine that) and when I realized the structured nature of Stonehenge as a tourist attraction, I felt we might not have the space to fly. Still I took the kite with me. Once we were on the other side of the road there turned out to be a large wide grassy area (gathering space?) fifty yards behind the circular pathway that runs around the monument - perfect. I quickly set up the kite and was just through attaching the lines when the woman from the British Monument Authority showed up. We were sternly admonished that this was an inappropriate area to fly and we were not permitted to do so. "Please" I said, "we've come all the way from america and we just want a picture of me flying a kite over Stonehenge." Again we were told we could fly across the street but not here. "Just give me five minutes" I pleaded. Her response, "I'll give you five seconds." "That will have to do" I handed Nannette the camera and she ran fifty feet away to get it all in. When she said she was ready, I launched the kite. With the woman from the monument authority counting the seconds I flew to the right, did a loop over the monument and flew off to the left and nosed it back down into the grass. Five seconds - EXACTLY. Nannette was convinced she hadn't got the shot. You know how hard it is with a moving kite. Still I was elated, I had flown a kite over Stonehenge! When we got back to the U.S. the photo came out better than we could have imagined. Note: not only does the photo have me, the H1, and Stonehenge, but also the woman from the British Monument Authority. If you look at her hands you will notice that this photo was taken in the fourth second of my flight!
Back in the US, I really grew to appreciate this kite. It is more precise than anything in my bag (Illusion, North Shore Radical etc.) and has a HUGE window. Framed with super spongy Beeman rods, it literally bounces onto and off of the ground!