The following is the detailed review of the historic 12m 34sec flight by Alex Opri in Berlin.
We (Alejo, Dizzy, Klaus, Manu, and I) met on a field south of Berlin. The field was surrounded by wheatgrass fields. Some of them got recently harvested. It was a lovely summer day with temperatures up to 30°.Light summer wind with changing directions. In the distance, you could see a wind park.Eagles we’re promising a good MTA day. We did a few throws but nothing spectacular. No clear wind direction at all. I threw an ultralight M shape (13,5g) and all of a sudden it got caught in a thermal and climbed a little. At the same time the wind picked up and started blowing the MTA south. Now it started to climb really quick and I did some easy running to stay underneath. It climbed higher and started to turn southwest. The MTA had clearly left the field and I slowed down.After 8 min I could only see a swinging point in the high distance. I had to sit down and use my hand not to lose sight. Dizzy followed me, but he couldn’t spot the boomerang anymore.
Sitting there we discussed to just let go. Interestingly the wind direction changed again and the wind park was indicating a clear wind coming from south. But the boomerang kept flying southward.So we decided to wait another moment if the MTA might lose some height and get into the northward wind. At minute 10 the boomerang was suddenly getting bigger again and as it fell it was indeed changing directions.I got back on my feet and started running, although it was rather jumping. I had to cross a field that hasn’t been harvested yet and it took me ages to cross it while the boomerang fell faster and faster. I was lucky. A few meters above the field it caught a little thermal to delay the landing for a few seconds. I made it just in time and totally exhausted. I didn’t wanna drop it in between the wheat so I grabbed hard and broke the MTA.What a flight. I’ve never seen a MTA getting that high and returning in catching distance. What a lucky gift.
Alex