SUBJECT: Aeronautics
TOPIC: Boomerang
DESCRIPTION: Plans for making and flying small boomerangs made from file card paper
CONTRIBUTED BY: Gregory Vogt, OSU
EDITED BY: Roger Storm, NASA Glenn Research Center

MATERIALS:
File card
Scissors
Pencil
Pattern

PROCEDURE:
1. Cut out the patterns of the boomerangs and trace them onto a file card.
2. Cut out the boomerangs from the file cards. SOME SAMPLE SHAPES ARE SHOWN HERE.

FLYING THE FINGER BOOMERANGS:

Lay the boomerang on the edge of a book and tilt the book slightly upward. The book will serve as a launching platform. Using one of your index fingers, strike the boomerang so that it spins rapidly as it shoots rapidly off the book. The boomerang should fly straight out, turn, and come back. If necessary, give the boomerang a bit of additional lift by bending the leading edge tips of each wing slightly upward like a forward facing flap.

DISCUSSION:
Refer to the Four-Wing Bomerang Activity for more information about boomerangs.

LINK TO THE WORLD OF BOOMERANGS ON THE INTERNET

Boomerang Association of Australia Links

The first is a thorough intro to the world of boomerangs, including looking at terms like airfoils, dihedral, asymmetrical lift, and the like; while the latter is a scholarly look at the history of boomerangs over the past couple centuries.

http://www.boomerang.org.au/articles/article-boomerang-glossary.html
http://www.boomerang.org.au/articles/article-what-is-a-boomerang.html

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