July 15th Part 2: Flight Testing
Ian and I headed to the field. I guess we should have been prepared for the wild wind conditions. It was 15 to 20 mph and gusting higher. The directions went was constantly rotating about 90 degrees. My first couple throws were terrible. The wind was driving the boomerang backwards and into the ground. I was changing direction for the throws often and found that throwing directly into the wind was better than to the right of it. The boomerangs would still dip and dive in unusual manners. Ian was getting off better throws than I was. It was beginning to make me wonder. I decided to watch his throws.
Ian was releasing a bit higher than I was, maybe what some of us call a humpback throw, which is useful in the wind. Here I am taking lessons from the student instead of the other was around.
After all our throws we still were not satisfied with performance. I think the traditionals are fine. The five arm boomerang was traveling much further than I expected and not getting a full return, even in the wind. I plan on adding some undercuts to the leading edge of each arm, which should shorten up the range. The Batrang was a different matter. My opinion was that it way trying to ess out at the end. My first throws were not getting full returns at all. Ian had some pretty good returns, narrowly missing the catch on one. Still, the flights I was getting could be more typical. Ian and I want to ask our friends out there for suggestions on what to do to improve the flights. One thing we should consider is to take them out on a more normal day and see if that changes the flights. Please feel free to let us know your suggestions and comments by clicking on the add comment button below.
Dave
Photo: Ian testing a Batarang
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