SUNDAY 3rd OCTOBER 2010 - Record Fly Number 1

On Sunday the 3rd of October, Rupert Braganza called an Official AFTU Fly. He had been training his kit of 5 for competition and was ready to put them in the air for the day. Following is John Cox's (AFTU Secretary) Fly Report for this fly:

I had the pleasure of timing Rupert's kit this arvo. Kevin Smith timed the morning for Rupert and the birds were not going to get away with anything under Kev's watchful eye. The day was a little gusty, warm, clear sky till later then a bit of cloud.

The Birds kitted nicely and flew steady all day, they kept a pleasant mix of going from mid height to the pins with an occasional showing down low, just to remind us that they were still up there. The kit was a mix of 1 Brian White cross, a Pott's Grizzle and 3 Blue Shannons blended with Ruperts old birds, they were well trained and flown together to know to stick together like a team.

Unfortunately one bird dropped out at the 9 hour and 29 minute mark, so time was called and the droppers released. The first bird was down and boxed in 2 minutes and then the work really started to drop the other 4. It was obvious that they had another 2 - 3 hours in them, they were very high and doing it easily nice tight tail, easy wings.. But they responded to the droppers and headed down straight away, however they did not want to give in - it took another 40+ minutes to drop them and box them.

When the birds landed they were fairly relaxed and picking up grain straight away, reminding of birds that have just come down from a 2 hour routine afternoon fly.

When we checked the rings I commented to Rupert that these birds still have heaps in the tank, they had not flown the puppy fat off that they get after a feed up and rest. Then I asked are we on again for next weekend :-))

Congratulations Rupert and well done mate!

cheers John Cox

Fly details:
Fly Date: Sunday 3rd October, 2010
Judges/Timers: Kevin Smith/John Cox
Kit Release Time: 6:50am
Time Called: 4:19pm
Time Flown: 9hrs 29mins
Last bird trapped: 5:10pm


Sunday 10th OCTOBER - Record Fly Number 2
On Sunday the 10th of October, Rupert called another Official AFTU Fly. This time removing the bird from the kit that had dropped out of his last fly. Despite an appearance from the Falcon, this kit went on to set a new Australian Record of 10hrs and 25 mins. Rupert's dedication and commitment, along with some fantastic support from his family has allowed him to raise the bar and set a new benchmark for Tippler Fliers around Australia to strive for. Darryl Sinclare did the officiating on this occasion and following is his report:

Good evening all AFTU members. Today, Sunday the 10/10/2010 I witnessed Ruperts record flight in Australia.

I arrived at Rupert's home at 6.00am, took photos and verified the 4 birds to compete in today's fly. The weather conditions on release at 6.30am was misty and not very clear. The birds started to kit and move with a fast motion.

At approximately 10.00am, the misty conditions started to clear to a blue sky. The birds flew at a low to medium height for most of the time at this stage, but always in a tight kit - beautiful to watch.

Mid afternoon Robert Verbeek arrived to watch a falcon strike but the birds won for a change, regrouped within a few minutes and got back into their routine. At about 4.00pm, the birds lifted to pin height and stayed there for 1/2hr. The birds started to show signs of coming down near the 10hr-15min mark, then Rupert put the droppers out at 5.55pm. 3 birds dropped and the last one dropped 5.57pm.

I take this opportunity to thank Rupert's lovely wife for all the great food and drinks that just never stopped coming all day... and to Rupert for making a new Australian Tippler record.

Fly details:
Fly Date: Sunday 10th October, 2010
Judges/Timers: Darryl Sinclare
Kit Release Time: 6:30am
Time Called: 5:5pm
Time Flown: 10hrs 25mins
Last bird trapped: 5:57pm





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