APC LOFT
    George & Jennifer Rankin


                               
                                                              

                                            George Rankin was introduced to the Racing Pigeon Sport in Scotland and
Jennifer Rankin was a practicing Neurological Medical Doctor in Shanghai and Beijing before marrying George
and becoming his partner in a manufacturing business in Houston Texas.

George continued with the Racing Pigeon Sport in Houston Texas for 20 years and his business travels to
Europe presented an opportunity to develop a relationship with World Racing Pigeon Champion Jos Thoné in
Belgium.

APC (American Pigeon Center) Lofts was founded in Houston Texas as an enterprise involving the Rankin’s ,
Dr. Ken Warren and Jos Thoné that brought together proven high quality Belgian Racing Pigeons from Jos
Thoné and the unique collection of 969 line Janssen Bros, Arendonk pigeons cultivated by Dr.Warren.

APC Lofts has competed in the Gulf Coast Homing Pigeon Association since 2002 and sends young birds each
year to Futurity and One Loft Races.

Dr. Ken Warren passed away in 2003; George and Jennifer sold their manufacturing business recently and
have built a modern facility to continue breeding and racing pigeons from their Cypress country home outside
Houston Texas.

The Rankin’s and Jos Thoné have recently purchased top lofts racing and breeding stock from record setting
auction sales in Europe. Kleine Figo the sire of NL03-5301441 “De Kannibaal” bred by Kees Bosua is the
premiere pigeon purchased that is now breeding at APC.

The Rankin’s mission is the application of business and professional skills to operate a high quality facility for
studying the behavior and needs of one of nature’s most intriguing creatures.

OUR CONCEPT OF PIGEON RACING
SUBJECT:
Evaluating a Racing Pigeons Performance.
OBJECT:
The development of a concept for calculating a Racing Pigeons Performance
DESCRIPTION:
A Racing Pigeons Performance depends on four Elements
which are related to the Degree of Difficulty of a race.
By establishing a Rational for defining a Degree of Difficulty for a Pigeon Race and generating comparative
values for the four Elements it is possible to evaluate a Racing Pigeons Performance on a race.

METHOD:
Four Elements of a pigeon race are:

a: Speed
Point to Point Distance divided by Flying Time, expressed as Yards per Minute (YPM)

(Distance / Time)

b: Place
From calculating a birds Point to Point Distance divided by Flying Time or by assignment based on clocking
order as in One Loft Races where a value of one is awarded to the Top Speed Bird and remaining values
assigned in increasing numerical order to birds returning in race time.

Relating the number of birds sent to a race and the birds calculated or awarded place in the race as a ratio
yields : Birds in the race (BIR) divided by (BIR) plus the calculated or awarded place (POS)

(BIR / BIR+POS)

Note: This ratio is always less than one and greater than one half.

c: Survival
Expressed as the ratio of the number of Birds in a Race divided by the number of returning Birds in Race Time
(BIRT) plus the BIR

(BIR / (BIRT+BIR))

Note: This ratio is always less than one and greater than one half.

d: Distance
Expressed as a ratio of the race Distance being analyzed to the longest distance normally flown in a race
series (800 miles)

Expressed as race Distance in Miles divided by 800 Miles (KM divided by 1287.42)

(Distance/800)

A Rational for defining the percentage values of the four Elements covering a Racing Pigeons Performance is
to estimate the percentage value by Element based on how each Element relates to the following Factors.

Element Percent by Factor

    Factor        Speed        Place        Survival         Distance           
    1: Homing Ability         10         10         40         40           
    2: Athletic Ability         25         15         35         25           
    3: Loft Environment    22.5      17.5      40         20           
    4: Health                     35         17.5      25         22.5             
    5: Training                  20         15         27.5      37.5           
    6: Race Experience    25         20         30         25           
Consolidated Percent       22.92    15.83    32.92    25.33         
A Rational for establishing a Degree of Difficulty for a race is based on an assumption that a racing pigeon
normal flying speed is approximately 20.6 meters per second (46 mph/1350YPM).

The Degree of Difficulty (DOD) of a race is calculated by dividing 20.6 M/S (1350YPM) by Top Speed Birds
velocity.

DOD = 20.6/Top Speed (1350/Top Speed)

The ratio of a Birds Speed to the Top Speed times the Degree of Difficulty of the race and the values for Four
Elements and six factors influencing a Racing Pigeons Performance produces the following non dimensional ( "
P " ) formula:

" P " = ( Bird Speed, MPS/ (Top Speed MPS )) *DOD)* (.2292 +.1583*BIR/ (BIR+Place) + .3292*BIR/ (BIR
+BIRT ) + .2533*(KM / 1287.42*))
CONCLUSION:

1. " P " is a calculated value of a Racing Pigeons Performance on a Race.

2. " P " relates the ratio of a Birds Speed and the Top Speed on a race to values for Four Elements and Six
Factors with a Degree of Difficulty which influence birds speeds on a race.

3. The singular rational of calculating the winner of a Pigeon Race by dividing the apparent distance flown by
the elapsed time from release point to a loft does not ensure the determination of the best performance from
among the birds in a race or a series of races but when combined with rational for calculating a races Degree
of Difficulty together with an accounting for the related influence of Four Elements and Six Factors a numerical
value for a Racing Pigeons Performance " P " is generated.

George Rankin

American Pigeon Center
APC LOFT
Address:18419 Cypress Rosehill Rd
Cypress TX 77429 USA
Cell:713-875-0209 & 0208
   loft lounge greeting area