This is a selection of 4 vintage MTAs made by Ted Bailey in 1985. These are all part of the Al Gerhards collection. These are the first high performance Maximum Time Aloft boomerangs to fly more than one minute or float away. The development of these models incorporated the best technology available to me during the winter of 1984/85: NASA reports on Samara, helicopter and fixed blade designs, the Wilhelm Bretfeld "L" shaped MTA, the Bob Burwell Rippah elbow and blade tip design, the Al Gerhards tuning technique and the "Buckingham Pi" analytical method for scaling aerodynamic models. The first MTA to fly for more than one minute was very similar to the blue colored Maxi-MTA in the photo below. The blue MTA was made out of 4 mm Birch plywood and it has a small weight in the elbow and in both tips. The next step in the development process was the scaling down of the MTA to achieve more float. The large red MTA is the Maxi-MTA model made out of 3 mm Birch plywood. This model was very popular with competitors because of the extra long float times, but it was more difficult to catch. This is the model that Larry Ruhf used to set a world record time of 2.5 minutes in 1986. The veneered MTA is the first of the Midi MTAs. It was made with 2.5 mm Birch plywood and with veneers laminated to the upper surface in the tuned state to preserve the optimal tuning. This model is a dimensional scaling of the MAxi-MTA. The yellow MTA is the first generation design for the famous Wind Sailor. This model was later scaled down to have shorter blades and that model became the Mini MTA. A variation on the Wind Sailor was sent to Jonas Romblad and that became the first design for the famous Romblad composite MTA. The yellow Wind Sailor MTA has a lead weight in the elbow and in each blade tip. When I first developed this model, I lost 75 of these to the Jet Stream God in the first month. that made this design impractical for use in competition. All four of these MTAs are in mint condition. MTA was not one of Al's favorite events and his throwing style was not suitable to the event, so these MTAs sat in storage for nearly 3 decades. I get a lot of requests for these MTAs and I haven't made any for more than a dozen years, so this is a rare opportunity to acquire these.

Blue Maxi-MTA. Made out of 4 mm Birch plywood. 3 weights. Takes a very hard throw for maximum performance. Good for moderate winds as well as calm conditions.

Red Maxi-MTA. Made out of 3 mm Birch plywood. Unweighted. A great floater that is easy to loose if the winds are too strong.

Yellow Wind Sailor. Made out of 3 mm Birch plywood. 3 weights. Takes a strong throw and was designed to take off and disappear in gusty wind conditions. Make a replica and throw the replica instead of this original.

Veneered Midi-MTA Made out of 2.5 mm Birch plywood with added veneers. Unweighted. A great MTA for competition if tuned and thrown properly.