Boomerang: Aspen
Manufacturer / Brand: Colorado Boomerangs
Firstly, I apologize for the dearth of posting in November on my end. Now, on to the main course...
Overview & Physical Characteristics
In my "Return 2 Blogging" post, I'm putting up a highlight of a boomerang model I've had in my collection for a while now: the Aspen by Colorado Boomerangs. Actually, I have two Aspens (PCN#18 and PCN#19), both purchased from theboomerangman.com earlier in 2010. Both of these make for good introductory 'rangs, especially for kids, but also for adults making their first throws.
 |
| From phnxhawk's Boomerang Collection |
The Aspen is of a modern V planform and is advertised to have a range of about 30 yards with a round flight pattern. It is manufactured of plywood, except slimmer than my other Colorado 'rangs. I think this ties into how flexible the arms of my Aspens seem to be. They can very visibly deflect when the tips are bent up or down. My Aspens weigh about 43 g (compared to 39 g for my Aussie Hornets, another 'rang geared toward youth throwers). Compared to the Hornets, the Aspens are a little bigger and more representative in size of your typical sport 'rang. My Aspens also came in the bright green paint scheme depicted above, which turns out to be very visible in the day.
A unique feature of this boomerang is derived from the way the wood was cut. The top and bottom are relatively flat, and the leading and trailing edges are chamfered to create a rough airfoil (which is still, more or less, a flat plate). According to theboomerangman.com, the cuts are also made such that the boomerang can be thrown successfully with either the painted or the unpainted side toward the thrower. I put that to the test this morning, actually. The Aspen works quite well, either way; I would not have been able to tell the difference if the paint had not been applied to one side.
The Throw
The Aspen is remarkably easy to throw. Even in a calm, it needs only a light toss and a moderate amount of spin coupled with moderate layover (say, 10-15 deg, at most) to coax it to return. In terms of preferred wind, I like throwing the Aspen in a light breeze. It seems to me that the flight path is a little more rounded in that condition, and the throws feel quite effortless.
Since I am accustomed to throwing hard with a lot of flick, my biggest problem when switching to the Aspen is shifting down in gear enough to have it land at my feet or at catching height. I typically use a little layover (about 5 deg). I also aim to throw the Aspen 70-90 degrees to the right of the wind and a little above eye level (5-10 deg).
While out at the beach, I have invited a few spectators to try their hand at throwing a boomerang by starting them with the Aspen. It has worked very well with children and older adults. As I said, even small amounts of flick and a light throw should be enough to get the characteristic motions of the boomerang in flight. Small improvements from there tend to be very noticeable, aiding the new thrower in refining his or her coordination in the throw.
The Flight
The Aspen has a level, round flight, the kind you expect from a typical V. On the final leg of the return, it drops in with only minimal hover (if any at all). Manny and I have not yet taken the time to mark the range, but I would guess mine go out to about 25 yards. It's definitely not very far, and my sense is that my Rainier goes out further. Since not much power or spin is required to achieve a successful return, my Aspens tend to return softly and with a relatively slow rotation. Overall, it is a very pleasant and relaxing boomerang to throw.
Incidentally, as Manny noted in a prior post, the flat top and bottom of this boomerang lend the Aspen to doubling. The two 'rangs stack without any problems, but my technique for throwing the doubled pair differs from Manny's. Manny, as he said, prefers to tune the individual boomerangs differently to alter the returns as desired. My preference (at least, before Manny changed the tuning on my Aspens) is to "choke up" on one boomerang. That is, I grip one boomerang further up along the arm than the other. My thinking is that I want to bring one of the 'rangs down more quickly, so I reduce the spin imparted during the throw by gripping higher along the arm. Typically, I try to do this with the boomerang "on top" as depicted below:
 |
| From phnxhawk Miscellaneous |
Now that I'm thinking about it, I suppose I should ask myself, "Is this a legitimate technique, or am I hacking the system?" I guess I'm bending the rules a bit...but no one told me I couldn't do it, either!
In Summary
The Aspen makes for an excellent introductory 'rang for anyone making his or her first throw. It does not require much effort to throw. So, it is especially useful for young throwers and much older ones to get a sense for the body motions necessary for throwing successfully. The ease of the throw and catch also could make the Aspen a decent warm-up 'rang with calm or light wind.
Links
As it turns out, Aspens are still available for purchase from a few vendors. If you'd like to find out more about this fun, little guy, check out these links:
"Putting my spin on boomerangs..."
0 comments:
Post a Comment