Welcome to Boomtown!

aLAcrity Boomerangs is a group of boomerang enthusiasts from Los Angeles. At the moment, it is comprised of three people: Manny (a.k.a. v12aero), phnxhawk and Charles (a.k.a. hey_kuya).

Manny and I (phnxhawk) started this blog to share our interest in boomerangs--throwing and tuning, making our own rangs, as well as unraveling the science behind them. As we continue our journey into the world of boomerangs, we hope to make new friends and to expand our horizons. In this blog, we will post such things as videos from our regular throwing sessions, musings and lessons learned from throwing, and thoughts on making our own rangs.

Manny and I started throwing boomerangs since Spring 2009. It has been a long road as we developed a semblance of technique for throwing 'rangs. Nevertheless, after many a bruised hand or windy day, our fascination with these returning throwing sticks remains undimmed. We most certainly have more to learn about boomerangs, but we'll keep at it as long as we continue to have many happy returns.

--phnxhawk--

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

A close look at Adam Carroll's small and unknown wonder, "BLAST"

Just when I thought I'd seen everything Adam Carroll had to offer, he introduces me to another boomerang. He said "let me send you a boomerang that's small in size, does very well in wind, and can used in competition or for recreation". I said "great, what is it?" That boomerang is "BLAST". Adam also told me "It's one of the best boomerangs I make, but it's still unknown".


It's funny to think that BLAST sits right in the middle of Adam's catalog, and I seem to miss it almost every time or not give it a second thought when I do see it. It certainly looks as if I'm missing out, and as I've come to find out, I was. So if I were missing out, more that likely so were you.



Here are some of BLAST details. They versions that we got came gorgeously painted with nice color. The size of this boomerang is small (not Bambino small) but small. Lead weights were taped each of the three wings to help aid wind stabilization and distance.




With a quick snap of the wrist and some layover, you get a beautiful round flight that starts level, then rises and comes back to you accurately! You do need a slight breeze in order to get a full return. BLAST was so easy to throw, it took me all of 4 throws to get a feel for this boomerang! The distance was easily 50 meters, but the boomerang is so small it looked like it were flying further than it really was. In fact I had a hard time capturing it on video. Check it out below!!




I'm truly glad I had the opportunity to try this awesome boomerang by Adam. I got great distance without having to throw out my arm, and a flight path that was predictable and dependable.He really did put big performance into a really small package. If your looking for great all around boomerang, check out BLAST. You'll see for yourself why Adam gave it that name. It's really too good to be unknown!!

To order BLAST contact Adam Carroll at:

www.realboomerangs.com

Till next time,

Charles aka hey_kuya

Teach them while they are young!

I found the sport of boomerang throwing at the age of 16. I really wish I had found this sport earlier in my life. Now that I'm 40, I take great pride in watching my 5 year old son Holden learn this fantastic sport that I have come to love so much. I actually have a chance to revisit my childhood threw his eye's and his energy. I think he will be an excellent boomerang thrower, just like his dad! Check him out as he rocks his Darnell Air Dancer.



It's great to see future members of aLAcrity Boomerangs!

Charles aka hey_kuya

"Right Between the Eyes"

--by phnxhawk--

It was bound to happen sooner or later.

In the six or so months that Manny and I have been taping boomerang throwing sessions, we somehow avoided striking the camera itself. Boomerangs have overflown the camera several times and landed just shy of it on more than one occasion. And maybe once did I become entangled with the legs of my tripod.

At any rate, we never landed a direct hit...until Saturday. But what a hit! On video tape, too!



Here are some amusing stills I took from the video recording.

From phnxhawk Miscellaneous
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Colonel, that thing's coming right for us! We've got to move!"


From phnxhawk Miscellaneous
The signature shot.


From phnxhawk Miscellaneous
Is it just me, or is the boomerang flexing significantly?

That's the Mozzie by Adam Carroll framed so perfectly in the above photos. If only the camera had hands with which to catch it!

On a slightly more serious note, we were fortunate that the boomerang and camera left the scene intact. Manny and I had anticipated that this might happen, so we purchased relatively cheap video cameras that we could abuse. No strange repair jobs required. This experience also doubles as a reminder to pay attention whenever boomerangs are expected to be in the air. I can only imagine what might have happened had it been, say, the Spinback-55 that struck my camera. Worse, what if Manny had also been crouching in that spot with his back turned to me?

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this little tangent!


"Putting my spin on boomerangs..."

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Tornado ABS & Spirit ABS Review



Over the last 2 weeks I had a chance to experience two ABS models from Adam Carroll of RealBoomerangs.com. The first boomerang is "Tornado", a four wing beauty that's easy to throw and very versatile and also reversible! The second boomerang is "Spirit", an advanced boomerang ready to tackle both your sporting needs and your competitive needs.

I have seven of Adam's boomerangs in my bag. Adam's boomerangs are so important to me because the very first boomerang I throw to get warmed up to start my session is his "Cyclone". This boomerang was a happy accident as I originally ordered a Tornado (old version) from Rich Harrison. What I ended up with was Cyclone, a warm up boomerang that I can really rely on.

The reason for obtaining an ABS version of Spirit was because I couldn't throw the one I had. I had originally purchased a polypropylene version of "Spirit" from Rich Harrison (Boomerangman.com), last year. I bought it with two other boomerangs from Adam, "Champ" and "Paragon". I quickly adapted to Champ and Paragon but not with Spirit. Being that I don't give up so easy, I contacted Adam for a few tips on how I can have success with Spirit the same way I was having success with the other two. Adam simply wrote me back and said "Let me make you another one in ABS! I think you'll like it better!". The level of customer service that Adam gives is the one of the best I've ever encountered. He even talked into getting the ABS Tornado to throw along side my Cyclone. Go figure, I got the Tornado anyway! Below is what the boomerangs look like.

I put together a video review of these two amazing boomerangs. I hope that you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making it. Remember this is my very first post so be kind. With a little more practice, I should become just as good as my two boom brothers phnxhawk, and Manny and get that true aLAcrity quality! Enjoy!




As you can see these new boomerangs from Adam Carroll are absolutely fantastic. These two boomerangs cover the beginner as well as the advanced thrower. I'll be looking forward to mastering these two over the next few weeks.

You can get the these boomerangs from:

Adam Carroll at www.realboomerangs.com
Rich Harrison at www.boomerangman.com
Ted Bailey at www.flight-toys.com

I have a lot more reviews in my bag so stay tuned!

--Charles aka "hey_kuya"--