THE FRONT runner in a Megalab boomerang experiment, Lawrence West, was preparing to set a world record last night, under the watchful eye of judges who included Rolf Harris.
His attempt, with Steve Pankhurst from Christchurch and Mark Harris of Frimley, resulted from an appeal for entries to set an indoor boomerang record and, at the same time, investigate aerodynamics to mark National Science Week.
Each contestant will be attempting to set the first "fast catch" world record, said Michael Feldman of the Guinness Book of Records. "You can have fun and learn a lot about science," he said.
Mr West, 35, of Basingstoke, managed to throw his home-made boomerang 19 times in a minute around a target three metres away, during heats in Hampstead, north London, last weekend.
"The biggest worry is bending your boomerang when you catch it", said Mr West, a mature student studying graphic design at the North Oxfordshire College. "Once you have bent it, it becomes useless."
Designers alter weight distribution, density of material, and the cross-sectional shape of the fins to come up with the best boomerang , said Dr Len Fisher, of Bristol University, who runs one-day courses in boomerang design.
A boomerang 's arms are like aeroplane wings; as they move, their aerofoil shape generates uplift, but because boomerangs are held almost vertically when thrown, the "lift" works sideways.
However, as Dr Fisher remarked, "Australian aborigines didn't have to know about gyroscopic precision to make boomerangs that worked. Neither do we, if we keep to basic principles."
