Hi David!

There was so much going on at the beach tourney that I really
didn't have time to break out all but one of the Bears. Space was
limited at the little beach on Easter weekend. I managed to produce 15
of my own Whishhbones by Friday afternoon, having been occupied with
an order for Dana, and barely got the opportunity to throw them with
all the contests being run all day long and the field in use. I
haven't had a chance to throw any of the mini booms you sent me David.
I will next time I get out to the field. Most likely tomorrow. I did
get a chance to throw your Jovial on Sunday evening with some of the
guys however. It's a good fun flier but too beautiful to carry in my
bag regularly.

I have to admit that the highlight of the entire weekend for me
were the three nights I spent partying and socializing with the star
athletes/fellow boom craftsmen that I've conversed with electronically
for the past 8 years but never met in person before then. For me that
was priceless. I did show everyone Your Jovial SL lap joint boom
http://tinyurl.com/2rdknq each evening however and they were all
extremely impressed and passed it around for a good look.

I've been a horrible athlete all my life and that may be why I
have little interest in competition sports and why I got involved with
boomerangs, the one-man sport. I feel a little guilty for relaxing so
much at the event and for getting there so late. We all had our own
objectives that day. Morri didn't pick up a camera all day and Dana
didn't partake in the games. But I did a little of both :)

I arrived on Saturday just before lunch break and after an hour of
L.A. weekend traffic, finding parking and multiple trips unloading the
supplies, chairs and booms that I brought, I pretty much just kicked
it with visitors for the rest of the afternoon. I offered to give a
throwing lesson at lunchtime but Morri insisted on doing it himself
because it was a personal friend of his. Later he asked me to give a
lesson and I eagerly did. Sold 2 booms too! :) I helped mark the field
a little bit too for the last event, which I also played in. Without
any direction or request for assistance everything appeared to be
under control so I enjoyed visiting and being the spectator. I would
have liked to conduct a boom building class/demo. Maybe next year.

My Mom and some relatives even showed up (a first!) and I taught
an aunt how to throw a Darnell Trifly (her first real throwing-boom!)
after introducing her to Eric himself, who happened to be sitting in
one of my chairs at the time. Dan Johnson from Wisconsin and Mark
Weary from Phoenix (where I have family) were so gracious to warmly
approach my Aunt DeeDee and tune her new Trifly for her. What class!
Even for me it was a very busy weekend. I don't know how Morri and
Dana do it!

Dana, I'm really sorry to hear that you've been under the weather.
I know pulling off this weekend's event must have been stressful and
taxing for you. I really think you should try to get more rest and
sleep. It seems like you work around the clock. Even though I've been
making and testing booms regularly, having been off work for a while
my energy level has been quite lower than normal.

By Sunday afternoon, after selling some and giving a few booms to
friends that I hardly (if ever) see, I had a few left over that I had
intended to decorate for the beach boom event but ran out of time. I
gave 5 more out, sending them in different directions of the country
for review. Well, after a weekend long discussion on aerodynamics and
boom physics (among other related subjects) the guys who were at
Randy's house were very pleased to receive them and they made it a
point to go once again out to the beach for a trial throw. I got all
positive feedback from the pros and saw my booms flying like I never
had before! I think they liked em for what they are :)

David, here's a little constructive critique on the booms of yours
that I've thrown. Your Designs and craftsmanship are outstanding but I
think you could use a little more development in the area of tuning
and airfoiling. Everyone has their own style of crafting and also
throwing but generally speaking, a good flying boom is one that's user
friendly to nearly anyone. I would practice with plywood to make your
trailing edges longer but mainly with a more shallow angle and not
such a sharp edge. leaving 1mm of thickness on the trailing edge
allows a space for the passing air on the upper and lower surfaces to
reunite more harmoniously. Just an observation I've realized over the
years. When I met up with the boom community in 2000, I thought my
booms were great because I had nothing to compare them to. Now that
I've acquired a small collection and have done some study and
experimentation and had some superb mentoring from list members, my
booms look and perform considerably better than they did back then.
You should try to get in contact with Doug Dufresne of Outback booms
as Dana suggested. He was one of the very best mass producers of strip
lam booms ever before he recently retired from boom production. He
might give you a few pointers. I love your booms but I think they
could perform as well as they look.


John V.

http://whishhbone.com/construction.html (google: "how to make
your own boomerangs")



--- In boomerangchat@yahoogroups.com, "Rev. David C. Fantone"
<boomerangboo@...> wrote:
>
> Thank Ya Sir:
> you made my day. all good comments and i am sure they are from the
> heart. boy i wish i had sent something down for the tourment to
> see. maybe next time. or at least a display to 'show'.
>
> i have no way of 'producing' booms like most. everything i do is a
> one of a kind so to speak. i would how ever like to advertise
> myself and my work as Custom Only orders. but even that kind'a
> scares me.
>
> i'll ask around about other boom-smiths in oregon and see what i come
> up with. everyone i met at the oregon west coast round up 2005 was
> either from Salem, Pdx, or Seatl. all which are about 4 to 8 hours
> away. it would be nice to find someone local to play with. my
> students or trainees lay some questions on me i have to dig to find
> the answers.
>
> looking forward to the photos and V-Clips.
>
> again THANKS
>
> David F
> Grants Pass. OR
>
> p.s. any reviews on stuff like that Pussyfoot? did JohV try that
> mini Rb-109UHB??
>