Choosing Fletching - What Makes a Difference and What Doesnt

Not a video about how to apply your fletching but more about shape, size, position on the shaft etc.
There's also a load of other stuff including whipping and fluflus!

If this vid throws up any questions please don't hesitate to put them in the comments section below. I will try to answer anything that comes in...
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[NUSensei]

Great info. Thanks for presenting your expertise clearly.

[Starlingchaser]

..Marvellous... After all these years, I've finally found your channel...

[vieuxacadian]

Well done Sir . The trailing edge feathers I know them as swept wing . They are great at giving a light tickle " notification location " when anchored . I use them mostly .

[MONKLJ]

Your clear and precise information has answered all the questions that rattle around in my mind, about fletching. There are way too many thoughts out there, on arrow precision with micro weight, this and shape of that that can just boggle the mind. Thank you for this excellent video.

[kaptn_kapton]

Is there any more amazing sound than an incoming arrow?

[patfitzgerald]

Really useful video! Thank you. Can't wait to see how the Ottoman low profiles perform.

[davidburgess]

I like the AAE Tradvanes because they're pretty flexible and the lower profile has more clearance on a rest to the shelf. Perhaps my 600 spine shafts are a bit weak with a 40 lb recurve bow, but 40g tips has helped with that. More arrow speed, and less parachute effect. Accuracy at 20 and 30 yards vastly improved over high profile feathers .

[chrismatthews]

Makes really good sense. More sense than others who try to explain the topic that total surface area should complement how in-tune your arrows are.

[CampfireKodiak]

I did a test at 35 yds shooting 5" parabolic and shield cut feathers with a 50 lb recurve. I was unable to detect any sound difference however the shield cut had more drag so impact was lower. At 25 yds there was no noticeable difference. I stopped using helical because it's too noisy and harder to use with 5" feathers however even my straight jig has a tad bit of twist to it so the arrows do spin. Thanks for making this video.

[alanbeaulier]

Kev, you did an excellent job. I agree on the length as I was told 5" and shot that for years now I use 4" and they shoot great. As for 4 fletch I was told it will stabilize an arrow quicker then 3 fletch, I have shot them and could not tell any difference. I would like to see a slow motion video to o see if this true.

[TheDukeBoxer]

I use twin fletches on 32" shafts. Initially I was a bit sceptical as I'd never even heard of twin fletches. But they seem to fly pretty straight, with less parabolic dip and they're quiet.

[tomh]

Thanks for sharing this information. It's great ot hear this from someone who knows arrows.

[ballali]

Thanks for the info Kev.
Explained in simple enough terms, that even an idiot like me has a basic idea now.

[PBS-nmuu]

great presentation, thanks for your input.

[richardhucker]

Lots of great information. What size fletchings would you use for a medieval style arrow

[sjohnson]

Thanks. That really gives me something to think about. I have been using heavier arrows that are a bit more rugged than I would use normally. I do a lot of stunping and the lighter arrows don't seem to take as many hard hits as heavier, thicker walled arrows. I have been four fletching them and they are pretty slow. I might try to cut down on fletching length and number to see if I can speed them up a bit.

[RobertaBruce-momg]

Love your video's. Do you have a book like your video's? I am a beginner and want to learn as much as I can on archery.

[glennbayley]

a question for Robin Hood archery.how far up the arrow shaft do you start fletching your arrows.feathers.

[lucianohenrique]

Thanks for the great and very informative video.

[Skinflaps_Meatslapper]

I would contend that fletching size does matter with an increase in bow poundage. Naturally, the arrow itself is going to weigh more the higher you go in poundage (ie tapered 1/2 shafts for 150# war bows), so the fletching needs to work harder to stabilize all of that weight. Using the same size fletching on a heavier arrow means you get slightly less stabilizing effect, so using slightly more fletching is necessary to compensate for that. The increase in ballistic coefficient you gain with a heavier/denser arrow offsets the drag induced from the additional fletching, or to put it another way, keeping the same fletching with a heavier poundage will net less stabilizing drag. All other things being equal, the slight difference wouldn't be terribly obvious between something like a 35# bow vs a 55# bow anyway...but it would be there, however marginal it is.

One other note that gets into fluid dynamics is how the shape affects the efficiency of the fletching. Looking at it aerodynamically, the fletching can be viewed as an aircraft wing, and when it develops lift, it causes the shaft to spin. The most efficient shape for a wing in subsonic flight is a high aspect ratio (very thin and long, like a sailplane or a wind turbine blade), this gives you the most lift (in this case, spin) for the drag it produces. Obviously we can't glue little airplane wings on our arrows due to clearance considerations, but it does demonstrate why certain shapes tend to do better than others. A long, low profile fletching like the trailing rear edge you've shown would be considered low aspect. A short, high profile fletching like the exaggerated parabolic shape found on modern carbon fiber arrows will lean more toward a high aspect ratio. If you want to get the absolute most out of fletching shape, more sticky outy and less lengthy lengthy.