The Flipper

Most of us are familiar with ‘The Flipper’. Its behavior catches our eye, which is part of its flaw – poor guy. It’s distracting, taking attention away from its kit companions. And, if it doesn’t have what some refer to as “heart”, it can become a frustrating part of training a young kit. As the term suggests, it flips (a single backward somersault) very frequently and does so for a significant amount of the time it spends in flight. Read More

Performance Captured On Video

One would agree with the notion that you have to see a Birmingham Roller perform in person to get a sense of what drives this hobby and its fanciers. Describing the performance isn’t complex but the description does it no justice. Photography and video have seldom helped in this regard; it’s technically difficult to capture performance with a typical video recorder or camera. There are however a handful of videos that one can look to if needed.  Read More

Attributes of Good Kit Birds

by Steve Agent; August 2002

1. They must kit and kit tight. Kit of Birmingham Rollers in flight
2. They must spin, preferably when others spin.
3. If they spin alone, they should cut the spin off shorter than if they spun with the kit. Basically, if they are 30′ they should stop around 15′.
4. If they have the kitting instinct they will cut the roll off (as needed).
5. If they did not spin and some of the others did, they should wait for the others to catch up instead of continuing the fly pattern creating a large gap between them. Read More