ORIGINAL: kerklein2
You really don't think you could throw 10 lbs at 20mph with a couple steps? What about a water balloon launcher type of launch?
Oh, and I still don't have an answer to my original question.
You're not getting the point.
Anything can be thrown like a ball. Launching a wing with exactly the correct AOA is an entirely different thing. I've launched gliders for years and years and years. Off of cliffs, straining against powerful winches, gently on test glides, every way you can think of. A running launch is no problem for me either. But EVERY flying wing I've ever handled has been extremely sensitive. And I've never seen one launched by a newbie the first try. Never.
You're not throwing a water balloon.
A water balloon doesn't have a critical AOA that has to be held very, very closely. Flying wings have a strong tendency to somersault when pushed at the wrong AOA. And you're not going to have a bit of help from a long easily observed fuselage to visually judge the AOA. And a water balloon doesn't have a propeller doing 10,000rpm about 6 inches from your "throwing" hand.
You are NOT throwing just any old thing. You're going to be trying to accelerate something at a very specific attitude without influencing it's stability, which is something it has very little of.