First of all, I absolutely positively disbelieve your claim of 17 minutes.
This web page lists 179 seconds, just under 3 minutes.
That’s still pretty mind-blowing, but a lot more plausible.
Secondly, what do you think of the Aerobee Orbiter?
I understand that, strangely, this sport is much, much more popular in the United States than it is here in Australia. I’ve only tried it on one occasion, and that was when I was about eleven years old. Like to have a go again, but the good ones aren’t cheap, and I’d need a left handed one. Fascinating about MTA too: I’d never heard of that.
As a bit of background on these things, traditional 'rangs were mostly not designed to return. They were quite different looking and heavy, and were intended to take an animal out at a distance. The returning variety was used to kill birds. The action of throwing the thing would make the birds fly off, but it would be thrown in such a way that it would overtake the flock, and head them off, coming back at it head on and hopefully taking out a bird or two. Returning boomerangs were also used to teach kids how to throw, and also simply for fun.
I’ve never tried hunting with boomerangs. They’d be tough to aim since they’re designed to turn in flight. As far as hunting with heavier throwing sticks, TheLoadedDog pretty much covered it. Those things are designed to fly straighter and impart a great deal of energy on your prey. Returning boomerangs are pretty light. I remember reading an old book that claimed that hunters would use returning boomerangs to frighten flocks of birds into diving toward the ground where they were easier to hit/net/kill. The account seemed rather anecdotal though. I’ve thrown near birds in the park and they seem to have the good sense to avoid my boomerangs - some are curious and fly near them. Perhaps you could get lucky hitting one near a large flock if you could get close enough . . .
Not having played it yet, I’ll say . . . the boomerang!
Yeah, I’m working off of memory here - 3 minutes was the world record for the longest time, and may still officially be. I was thinking back to an article from the USBA’s magazine, Many Happy Returns from about ‘91 or ‘92 that gave an account of an American’s 17+ minute throw with return that was timed and witnessed by some heavyweights in the boomerang world. If it wasn’t a USBA or WBA sanctioned contest, it may not have made the official record books. I’m sorry I can’t give a cite - they only had snail mail MHR distribution back then and my copies are boxed up from the move. I understand it’s not uncommon for MTAers’ boomerangs to catch a low thermal and disappear never to be seen again (at least by the thrower). It doesn’t take much lift to keep one of these things autorotating and climbing - their min sink rate can be less than some sailplanes (I kept a 1300 lb glider up on thermals for 2.8 hours on a 2500’ tow last month - hung out around 12,000’ for most of the flight, so I’d guess a lucky throw could send a boomerang pretty high and far). I think the remarkable thing about the 17 minute throw is that he didn’t lose the boomerang. Don’t think I could afford MTA - competition caliber sticks get pretty expensive, and you generally don’t lose fastcatch and Aussie round boomerangs to the thermal gods! Break maybe, but lose no.
Oh yeah, the Aerobie Orbiter - It’s okay. Very easy to catch, and a pretty distinctive shape, though I’ve seen a couple wooden boomerangs with the same shape by a guy named T.W. Smith. The problem is I think they’re tough to throw well, even for an experienced guy. They’re not very forgiving, and you have to tune (bend) them to adjust the trajectory, so a fellow who doesn’t know how to throw might think it was the tuning and not fix the actual problem (his throw). The performance isn’t very spectacular, and they need a pretty specific wind state; not calm, not too windy. I’ve never seen beginners do as well with the Orbiter as with other more traditional styles. I’ve had some fun with mine though. Unlike its flying ring cousin, the Orbiter is not made for long range. Also not very robust - the rubber bumper can tear and also hardens and cracks after exposure to sunlight. Definitely worth the $8-9 if you can find it for cheap.
Mark Weary - name of the guy with the 17 minute MTA flight. Funny the things I remember in the early morning.
From the same page:
All of the records shown here are from official scores at formal competitions. This therefore excludes some spectacular, and documented, efforts (such as the MTA throw by John Gorski in 1993 of approximately 17 minutes and 6 seconds, caught 70 metres from the launch point. The boomerang hit a thermal and was estimated to have reached a height of over 200 metres).
It may not be a recognized record but it is mentioned as being documented.
-K
Guess my memory sucks. John Gorski it is, not Mark Weary!
Also, for a brief explanation of the other events which are listed with record, accuracy is throw a boomerang that flies at least 20 meters and let it land - points for landing closer to where it was thrown. Aussie round is combined accuracy and distance - points for both up to a certain distance (60 meters I believe). Long distance (look at the record - that’s 238 meters out, then back!) is throw from behind a line of a given length, measure flightpath from that line, and the boomerang has to fly back over that same line (but not necessarily be caught - these rangs are dangerous). Endurance is total number of 20m diameter throws and catches in five minutes. Fast catch is shortest time for five 20m diameter throws and catches in a row (15 seconds is pretty fast - consider how fast these sticks are flying around. Modern competitive FC is mainly all with 3 bladed booms). Trick catch is what the name implies. Doubling is throwing two boomerangs at the same time. And juggling is keeping at least one boomerang in the air at a time for the most number of consecutive throws.
Surprisingly, long distance is a pretty small part of the competitive boomerang scene, in part because so much room is needed but also I presume due to limited appeal. The records were 100-150m-ish for a long time with big, heavy hook shaped boomerangs until a few years ago when some dude started making smaller, thin almost MTA-looking boomerangs that flew a distinct “S”-shaped flightpath instead of the hooks’ teardrop. To me 238m is pretty amazing - two-and-a-half football field lengths and back from one man’s arm.