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Things to Fling, A Monitor Field Test

The Christian Science Monitor

Rated Best Flying Product

Fall is here, students are back on campuses, and the air is filling with autumm leaves and flying toys. But which flying things are best? We turned to nearby MIT to help us find out.

We found the perfect flying-object tester in Paul Algreen, a senior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who is not only the reserve quarter back for the Engineers, but also an aerospace major. (For those of you who may wonder, MIT has one of the broadest sports programs in the country, with 39 inter-collegiate varsity teams).

After hundreds of prototypes, he learned how to throw it 150 feet. "I didn't know I had anything revolutionary; it was just a cool thing,'" remembers Forti. "So I took it to the engineering departments heads and asked, "How can I improve this based on what you know about how cylinders fly?"

The testing site was Steinbrenner Stadium (yes, donated by George in honor of his father) in Cambridge, MA., on a warm and sunny afternoon. Variable winds blew across the field at 10 to 15 miles an hour.

Products Tested

X-zyLo Ultra - 105 Yards - Flat out astonishing. It dips and soars, catches the wind. Very colorful, but small. You need a wide-open space to really enjoy it, but does it travel! Paul, an aerospace major liked this one the best. (He got to keep it). According to its packaging, the toy has been thrown more than 200 yards.

Nerf Turbo Jr.-It says "turbo," but it's just a Nerf football. Difficult to throw. There's no weight or grip. Did the old Nerf footballs have more heft? Perhaps it's now kinder to table lamps inside.

Aerobie Superdisc - Frisbee-like, with a clear plastic center. Our testers didn't find it living up to its hype. Expensive, too. $10.99, Superflight Inc., Palo Alto, CA. Ages 8 and up.

Woosh - A flying ring, like the Aerobie, but softer and more user friendly. Similar effortless flight, but it's soft and bounces. Easy to catch. $6.99, Oddz-On-Products, Inc. Campbell, CA, Ages 5 and up.

Aerobie Sprint - Cool, but would be hard to play catch with. It looks like something a Ninja would hurl at an opponent. Satisfying, effortless flight. (An unspecified "flying ring" was thrown 1,257 feet by Scott Zimmerman in Fort Funston, CA on July 8, 1986, according to the "The Guinness Book of Records ," Bantam, 1996.) $7.00, Superflight Inc. Palo Alto, CA Ages 7 and up.

Vortex Howler-80 yards
Pro Classic Frisbee-40 yards
Godzilla Action Figure-27
Baseball- 80 yards
Football-(Official NFL Game Ball) - 41 Yards

Our Tester

Paul Algreen
Sports:Football - reserve quarterback; baseball - center or left field
Year and School:Senior Massacusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA
Major:Aerospace
Hometown:Winterset, Iowa
Hobbies:Skydiving, surfing; plans to get pilot's license
Future:Still deciding. May work on space-shuttle engines for Rockwell/Boeing, may go on to graduate school in business.

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