Boomerang Test Flights

In this video I string together the clips of a number of catchable boomerang throws I have conducted in the process of using and flight testing the prototypes I constructed, throwing in various wind conditions. The ideal conditions for testing the aerodynamicity of boomerangs is in fact no wind whatsoever, but this degree of stillness is rare, so boomerangers have to contend with light breezes more often than not, which are tackled head on, by angling the flight of the boomerang at about forty five degrees to the right of the oncoming wind for a right handed person and boomerang and bringing more verticality and less power or spin to compensate for the tendency to be blown behind you by stronger breezes and freak gusts.
The art of boomerang throwing and catching requires considerable concentration, awareness, skill and a lot of practice to get right, the closer you can bring back your boomerang to you, the easier it is to pluck it out of the air or pick up at your feet when it spins down onto the ground. I started throwing and catching returning boomerangs when I was about seven to eight years old, so the difficulties faced by beginners in achieving accurate returns, or indeed effective throwing techniques for these returns and the matter of careful adjustments, sometimes with changes by only a degree or two, are not appreciated by me because my skills have developed naturally and instinctively over a lifetime of practice and I have to think carefully about what a beginner is doing in regards to grip, angle of release, spin etc. to ascertain how to correct their technique to achieve a more desirable and accurate return and flight path.
The majority of the throws are with variants on the 110 degree elbow boomerang I have called 'Rangi'. This basic design is from the book; 'All About Boomerangs'. This book was published in the mid-1970s before triple and multi-bladed boomerangs were legally allowed in competitions and the true definition of a boomerang then only included the two arm, elbow variety that most people associate with what they regard as 'normal' boomerangs.
Though I am working on these as a slightly high hovering model, safe and suitable for learners to acquire the basics, I have also constructed a large and heavy triple armed boomerang (or what we used to call in the 20th century a 'trirang') which is also depicted in this short film somewhere near the middle. Even though this 'trirang' configuration, albeit much smaller and lighter, with multiple arms, is used in modern international boomerang competitions for events such as fast catch, it is essentially a three bladed, unattached propeller and in my opinion, NOT a boomerang in the traditional sense of the word. When I was a kid these types of multi-bladed 'flying propellers' were just regarded as a flying toy and by definition not allowed competitively because their centre of gravity is always in the centre of it's physical structure. It surprises me that four, five or six pronged boomerangs with big round holes in the centre haven't been developed and used in competitions also, since the time trirangs were accepted competitively. There were 'pseudo-boomerangs' in the sixties developed where you could thrust your hand and arm into the centre of an essentially returning throwing ring with multiple wings radially coming off it with similar flight characteristics to the trirang. I will probably try making a couple like this in my next run of boomerang construction. Eventually I'd like to create a range of retro boomerangs using techniques and principles that bear no resemblance to the modern trends for smaller and easier to throw, and go for the bigger, harder, heavier styles of boomerang that dominated the seventies and probably even attach lead or copper sheeting to the tips and centre depicted in the book. The modern trend is to embed weights for distance but I like the idea of metal plated clunkers with narrow and longer wings at the same 110 degree 'elbow' that are highly dangerous in the hands of an unskilled thrower but still have an impressive low to the ground fifty metre circle suitable for an event called 'Aussie Round'. I'm also looking into fashioning some boomerangs out of hard woods like Jarra or natural pieces of acacia.
There is more yet to come...
So far attaching coins to the wing tips of my thinner 110 degree elbow angled 'Rangis' is increasing the flight circle distance by an impressive ammount but considerably more power in the throw is required to make a complete circle and the boomerang stays lower to the ground throughout its journey.
Filming was done using a wearable head camera and the accompanying music is from my overdue release album entitled 'Synthaesthesia'. The music track is entitled 'Synthaesthesia IV' and this is the first time any of it has been publically revealed, in this case as some accompanying music for this short film featuring my first prototype retro boomerangs.