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Long Distance Boomerangs should be purchased and thrown at
your own risk. Long Distance Boomerangs, or any boomerang for
that matter, are NOT Toys, they are designed for sport and competition
use and should be treated with respect and caution. These boomerangs
can go more than 200 yards under some conditions and are VERY
difficult to control. They require ideal throwing conditions and
Expert skill to use safely. They should always be thrown with
utmost Caution in mind. The material used for Long Distance Boomerangs
is typically Paxolin, which is thinner and heavier than plywood
– the “normal” boomerang material - and therefore
will fly further and spin faster than the normal plywood boomerang.
These boomerangs can do serious damage to people or other objects
if not thrown with caution and experience.
Long Distance Boomerangs should only be thrown in very mild to
no wind and require a very large open area with no people present
to throw in. A soccer or football field is no where near big enough
for these boomerangs. Make sure there is plenty of space on All
sides of you. Paxolin boomerangs are more fragile than their wooden
counterparts and thus soft-ground is recommended to prevent damaging
or breaking your boomerang. |
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| Pre-Throw Preparation |
| Since Long Distance boomerangs often have sharp edges it is recommended
that you wear at least one glove on your throwing hand. For extra
safety you may wish to wear gloves on both hands to protect yourself
while catching the boomerang. If you are new or inexperienced to
throwing long distance boomerangs we suggest that you remove any
additional weights that may be taped to the underside of the wings.
In most cases the weights can be reattached at a later date when
you have more experience. |
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| The Grip |
| As with Paxolin models it is recommended that you grip your Long
Distance boomerang using a pinch grip. This grip, in which the boomerang
is held between the thumb and index finger, will allow you to get
maximum spin from your boomerang, which helps in stability and catchability. |
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| Throwing Orientation |
| In general most long distance boomerangs should be held with about
50° of layover. If you have opted to remove the added weights
you should hold the boomerang with about 35°-40° of layover.
Position yourself at about 50° to the right of the wind (50°
to the left of the wind for left handed throwers). Aim approximately
15° above the horizon when you release the boomerang. |
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| The Throw |
| For your first throws, again, do not throw very hard. You want
to try to add as much spin to the boomerang as you can by flicking
your wrist upon release, similar to casting a fishing rod. The notch
in the dingle(trailing) arm is designed to help control and accelerate
the spin of the boomerang. If all goes well you should get an elliptical
flight path and the boomerang should land close to you. |
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Adjusting and Tuning
your Long Distance Boomerang to Correct Flight Problems |
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| The Boomerang Does not Return but Goes Straight Out |
| If your boomerang does not return to you the first and easiest
adjustment you should try is to add a little more layover (closer
to horizontal) and try aiming slightly lower at the horizon. If
that does not help you need to tune the shape of your boomerang
a little bit. Remember, when tuning a little goes a long way. First
try adding a little positive (counter-clockwise) twist to the lift/leading
arm and a little negative (clockwise) twist to the dingle/trailing
arm. You can also try to slightly bend each of the arms upward.
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| The Boomerang has a Normal Return but Needs to be Fine
Tuned |
| The Boomerang Climbs Too High and then Crashes into the
Ground before Returning all the Way |
| The easiest adjustment to make if your boomerang is hitting the
ground before returning to you completely is to hold the boomerang
with less layover (more vertical) or aim a little higher above the
horizon when you release the throw. You can next try bending either
the dingle or lift arm down slightly or add a little positive (counter-clockwise)
twist to the dingle arm. If these don't help to improve the return
you can add additional weight to the elbow. You typically want to
add about 1/2 of the existing weight. |
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| The Boomerang Stays Low but Still Doesn't Make it all
the way Home |
| This generally means that the boomerang tuning and your positioning
is correct, but it needs a little more spin or power. Usually this
problem can be corrected fairly easily by adding a little more spin
to your throw and throwing a little bit harder. You can also try
aiming a little bit higher to see if that will allow the boomerang
to make it all the way back to you. If these simple adjustments
don't correct the problem, try adding a little bit of additional
weight to the elbow section. |
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| The Boomerang Lands Way Behind You |
| The easiest solution to this problem is to try holding the boomerang
with less layover (more vertical). You can also try adding a little
negative (clockwise) twist to the lift arm. If neither of these
solutions get the boomerang to land closer to you, add a little
bit of weight to the lift arm. |
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| It is best to make small changes to your orientation and positioning
before you try tuning or modifying your Long Distance Boomerang.
Try making one small change at a time so you can see how the adjustment
affects the performance. If you try to tune your boomerang, again,
make one slight adjustment at a time so you can learn for yourself
what results each adjustment produces. A little tuning goes a long
way. And Remember, throwing a Long Distance Boomerang takes a lot
of practice and patience. |
