;D ;D ;D ;D G, you never fail to make me laugh! ;D ;D ;D ;D
This thread just gets better and better! Keep up the good work A.G ;)
Roxy x
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;D ;D ;D ;D G, you never fail to make me laugh! ;D ;D ;D ;D
This thread just gets better and better! Keep up the good work A.G ;)
Roxy x
Sorry to hear about your mutant cat Snowy, I think I've seen similar problems in the Trowbridge area, but only when people wear sandles & no socks in the summer :-/Quote:
Originally Posted by Gerry
Whilst I can understand your "gliding" theory, I'm not sure a more compact streamlined "missile" form wouldn't go further.
Do you think you may be able to train it to tuck it's legs and feet in behind it and stick it's chin out sort of Superman fashion in time for summer ?
Just a thought !
G :)[/quote]
I still think gliding is the way forward in this sport. Obviously she needs to keep her tail as straight and as aerodynamic as possible but since I broke her tail as a kitten (purely an accident I hasten to add) she does have difficulty with the little kink halfway down.
Are we allowed any additional mechanical devices to be used? I'm thinking of putting webbing in her pawpits like those flying squirrels use to fly between trees in those jungle programmes I have watched on the telly.
.
Just on an interesting and factual side note (which you will think I’m making up, but I’m not) as a lifelong Falconer (well Austringer to be exact - a trainer & hunter of Hawks, not Falcons) one of the best small hawking birds is the Sparrow Hawk. She weighs only about 10oz but can take down birds up to the size of a partridge or hen pheasant (the male or “Musket” is really tiny at about 6oz, so not really any use to Falconers).
Anyway… you usually hunt them from your fist using a dog to flush quarry, but there is a very old technique of throwing them to launch them for a quicker get away.
You hold them in your hand like a spear, head towards wrist, tail between thumb and finger and just throw them - hard !
The interesting thing is that when they get used to it, they don’t “fly” for the first few metres but keep their wings tightly tucked in to make the most of the speed they are doing and only start to fly as their speed drops off.
This is a bit like a falcon would do on a stoop and in the classic photo of a Peregrine stooping at a Grouse.
There’s also an advanced technique where you wrap a small piece of silk / cord over their head to give extra leverage, a bit like you may have seen a spear being thrown in Africa with the aid of a rope.
I’ve tried throwing a Spar in the past but never with any great success but never been brave enough to try the silk / cord method.
I’m sure you readers will think this is the usual Simpson crap , but if anybody fancies a small wager, I can dig out my old hawking books and prove it [smiley=thumbup.gif]
This educational post was brought to you today by the letter S. :)
G :)
Oh, forgot to add - can I paint my cat red as its the fastest colour due to the lower friction co-efficient of the pigmentation molecules?
Simpson - sounds like you are a bird geek along with your badges for being a supercar geek, karcher geek and in training to be a trackday geek! Rock and Roll dude. ;)
Roxy x
Why, thank you young K x - I've never been called a geek before !Quote:
Originally Posted by roxychick
No, not a "bird" geek, hunter first, Austringer second, there's nothing like rearing a chick, training it to fly free (and the hard bit, come back) and then when it's trained watching it fly over the moors in Caithness or the Wiltshire downs.
Saying that. it's a sport for masochists as you can walk for six hours in the freezing weather, have five flights that last for less than a minute and come home with a single rabbit or a pheasant to show for your efforts.
I miss it a lot.
G xxxx
I like the way you have thrown yourself into this Snowy.Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWGraeme
I think red may help, although don't paint over any holes you may find as it could lead to breathing difficulties ;)
G
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gerry
Macho GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR for you! :-*
Roxy xxxx
I like the way you have thrown yourself into this Snowy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gerry
I think red may help, although don't paint over any holes you may find as it could lead to breathing difficulties ;)
G [/quote]
If you're tossing over pussies I think lack of breath could be an issue Gerry. :o ;D
I like the way you have thrown yourself into this Snowy.Quote:
Originally Posted by monday21
I think red may help, although don't paint over any holes you may find as it could lead to breathing difficulties ;)
G [/quote]
If you're tossing over pussies I think lack of breath could be an issue Gerry. :o ;D[/quote]
Lack of oxygen would really be an issue as its important to keep the cats lungs inflated as that maintains the internal organs in the right place, ensures the correct ballast positions and therefore relative angle point in the wind for the best flight dynamics.