Become Involved in Tipplers
(Internet Published) Dec 1999
There are two ways whereby a man can become involved in Flying Tipplers.
(1) He can go along to a man who has some repute as a flying man--as near as
possible to his own address and write out this man's instructions. On return
home, he carries out the instructions, to the letter, blindly obedient
notwithstanding the fact that he doesn't understand what he is doing-- or
not. Any problems--as time goes by, can be solved by questions over the
phone or "DARE I SAY IT?" letters.
I stress the fact, that not all instructions but even the stock, comes from
some successful fancier, who lives not too far away. Climate, geographical
features and a lot of unknown aspects, can affect the behavior of Tipplers.
It is no use becoming too involved with the ideas of some Englishman. As my
learned friend Michael Beat has said, "What works for one man--does not
necessarily work for another."
Furthermore, Tipplers that do consistently well in one area will fail in
another. Examples-- not every one in England has done well with the famous
Gordon Hughes, Lovatts, or Shannons notwithstanding the fact that some of
the attempts have been made by extremely knowledgeable men. The best of
tipplermen were always extremely experimental and would never put all of
their eggs in one basket -- as the proverb goes.
One may ask, "Is it necessary for a man to understand the whys and
wherefores of Tippler Culture"? I do not reckon that it is. Many a good
motor car driver knows nothing about what goes on under the hood. Many an
excellent mechanic doesn't drive very well.
Some doctors do become very sick men. These days, people do not like to
blindly follow advice to the absolute letter. At best they will think about
such advice, reject half of it and install their own ideas. I find that most
people asking for advice expect to have their own opinions
strengthened-- "not corrected." For this reason I do not give advice. I just
say what I do--or used to do.
(2) A, man can get down to the grass roots, hard facts, statistics,
observation, etc. and then work out some system whereby he can exploit his
tipplers. I find that if a man is a stockman--who has been successful with
one form of working livestock, he will adapt to another form, easily.
Certain obvious facts come to mind. (A) Tipplers fly long times, because
they are afraid to drop, without clearance and encouragement from the owner.
They do not fly ALL OF THEIR TIME for the sheer joy of flying. (B) If
Tipplers are exercised too often they become too confident and will either
find courage to drop on the loft, without clearance / permission, or they
will drop elsewhere--albeit briefly. (C) Tipplers will normally tolerate
very few contests in their lifetime, that is, if such contests involve
marathon times.
In Britain we have 4 contest each year with adult tipplers, but it is
extremely rare, that a man will fly the same kit in all 4 contests.
After the training and contesting for these 4 events, adult tipplers are not
flown again until the following year--IF indeed they are ever flown at all.
In Britain we have 4 contest with young tipplers, but it is extremely rare,
that a man will fly the same kit in all 4 contests.
After the training and contesting for these four events, young tipplers are
not flown again until the following year when they may or many not be used
for a couple of old bird contests. The "gist" is that the flying career of a
tippler is very short. It has to be, for they would never stand the strain
of use over a longer period.
A man can exploit or fool anything or anybody but not for long. Our
politicians, will SOMEDAY realise that . . . "I hope."
Rigid discipline of the kits and rigid self-discipline for the owner is
crucial.
A system of flying into darkness using lighting and droppers is common
knowledge for not more than 7 hours and always always terminating in
darkness. That is the formula and everybody should know this and understand
why. The reason is that the tipplers get used to flying into darkness during
training and then "hopefully" they will continue to fly into darkness after
a very much earlier release on the contest day. For the marathon day they
need to be in a condition and to have been fed correctly up to the very eve
of the marathon fly. These "feed ups"? Well everyone who has won a contest
has his own ideas. These ideas succeed but they often fail. All too often
"Luck" takes a hand. At the age of 75, I can say, that a man needs a bit of
luck--combined with his best effort.
Nevertheless--bear in mind the words of Confucius "A Luck Man is more rare
than a White Crow".
[A word of response from Michael Beat: Without a doubt Jack has struck gold
for new comers to the tippler sport. His words are realistic and quite
typical of the beginner. I have to agree adamantly with his reasons for the
tippler's flying times. Conditioning of the birds (which is nothing more
than repeated and consistent procedures) will enhance the abilities of one's
own family of birds. There is no need to have "purebred blood" but rather, a
patient scheme that will bring out the bird's abilities. Different families
of birds will react differently to a variety of environments. Therefore,
careful observation will note what is best. I also agree with Jack's
thoughts about night flying requiring that once the birds go "into the dark"
that careful continuance of this procedure follow. Thereafter, each time the
kit is flown, they must never be dropped except "in the dark." In time,
these birds are conditioned to accept the night flying as part of their
regular activity. Foremost for any new comer, however, are perseverance and
patience. All too often (and I was just as guilty when starting out) the
desire was to experience the flying of a kit of tipplers immediately. As a
result, impatience got the best of me and I often lost entire kits of young
birds. But success in most endeavors depends largely on patient
perseverance. You have to maintain firmly to your plan and stick to it
despite any setbacks or obstacles that you might have. Your plan might be
the conditioning and breeding whereas your setbacks might include both
losses to hawks or over flys. But an important part of perseverance is
coping with the inevitable setbacks. Rather than just giving up the birds or
quickly switching to another family or strain, the persevering person will
try again. Of course, to get going again after a setback is not always easy.
Sometimes we are faced with challenges that may appear to defy all our
efforts to overcome them. Rather than getting closer, our goals may seem to
be receding further and further into the background. Hence, we may feel
overwhelmed or discouraged when our birds do not give us the results we
expect. During these times, it is wise to reevaluate our strategies asking
ourselves what adjustments need to be made. It is vital to have clearly in
mind what we want to accomplish and why. Of course, this means setting
realistic goals, not expecting more out of our birds than what we were able
to give them in training. It is good to discern where things went wrong, and
then correct the mistake or remedy the weakness. More often than not, it
might be good to take a look at ourselves rather than at the birds. Could it
be that your personal schedule prevents adequate conditioning? Really, it is
unreasonable to expect more than a couple of hours from our birds when we
fly them only once each weekend. Remember the well-known Aesop fable about
the tortoise and the hare. The tortoise won the race, even though he was
much slower than the hare. Why? Because the tortoise had a steady,
disciplined, and consistent approach. He did not quit but chose a speed that
he could realistically keep up, and then he stuck to it until he crossed the
finish line. Remember this: a steady, organized person will see a consistent
progress with his birds. I conclude with one thought to Jack's words: Hear!
Hear!]