need some opinions on this.

lately i've been cutting out flights from coke cans experimenting with different shapes. they are made similar to most which is 2 wings bent into 4. after giving them a good beating and bending them back to straight, i noticed when i curved the ends of the wings up it resembled an propeller. so i followed thru and now i'm left w/ i assume a static propeller/impeller (However you wanna look at it)

this current one goes counter clockwise (and will negate clockwise spin from ur grip/throw) . the prop is extra drag on paper. but a rotating projectile cuts thru the air more efficiently. the two negate eachother. (e.g. it's more difficult to pull a dart out the board as opposed to twisting it out). you're left w/ some 'free' rotation w/o it being a conscious part of your throw.

this is my limited understanding... threw it for a bout an hour and it definitely has some benefits (I won't go into them)... and some drawbacks. just wondering if this is worth dabbling in (Purely for amusement).... if so, i might fab up a quick mold n make a 1piece.

let me know hat you think... specifically if i'm wasting my time.

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Looks great! and a very interesting concept, you are doing something that has been done before though check these out:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] The modern version are the spiraline flights.

But your flight shape looks more like a propeller so may work even better, have you got a video of them in action?

i think arrows used in archery have flights that make the arrow spin to stabilize the arrow in flight , but i wouldn't have thought darts would benefit from this due to the distance and time in the air a dart has .

getagrip wrote:

Looks great! and a very interesting concept, you are doing something that has been done before though check these out:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] The modern version are the spiraline flights.

But your flight shape looks more like a propeller so may work even better, have you got a video of them in action?

yea i was positive someone has done them before.. it's been around too long.. and there's too many ppl on earth... along w/ the internet lol... but i am proud of myself that it dawned on my between me myself and i.

iphone is 30fps. you won't see much if anything at all in regards to rotation or dart movement. if i can dig up my older digital camera (has a 60fps setting) i'll give that a try. the flights are pretty easy to make, try it out after you've finished a beer or a coke =)

those dual wings are interesting... and remind me of oars. i wonder how they fly. ideally odd number of fins/wings is what ya want. so i want to give a 3winged one a try before i draw any conclusions. they are fun though!

jamie373 wrote:

i think arrows used in archery have flights that make the arrow spin to stabilize the arrow in flight , but i wouldn't have thought darts would benefit from this due to the distance and time in the air a dart has .

the stabilizing effect let's you throw to the same point w/ a flatter trajectory w/ same amount of force. so if you like to throw hard the benefit might be there.

I think you will have fun finding out, its nice to try things out like this, you never know you just might hit on something worthwhile and who knows what can happen after that!

yea definitely. i find the flight the most interesting piece of the dart.

also a lot in nature/machine which has rudders is intended to be steered in flight. everything else spins. bullets, footballs, etc.

i'm not the best person to test such a thing though. only been playing for a few months. hoping some others would bend up a can or two n chime in =)

you might find this interesting [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I would try bending one, but I'm hopeless at crafty type things so will likely lop my finger off in the process

jamie373 wrote:

you might find this interesting [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

nice find though. yea this is what i kinda meant to say earlier... since you brought up distance. basically you apply all differences of the dart (nothing is perfectly symmetrical to every side of the dart (all 360deg) and everything cancels out...like spinning a dart w/ a bent shaft.

air currents have biggest effect on non spinning darts... but shouldn't be throwin' near a fan anyways i'd assume, or outside.

just ask ted hankey about air con lol

Back in the early 90's, Rick's Darts and Games sold flights that looked similar to that and they produced a spinning effect on the dart. I tried them out in the store. It definitely produced a heavy spin and drag on the dart.

I like that you're thinking of different things. Many of the things we enjoy in life are a result of somebody thinking 'outside the box'.

For grins, I've taken pear and kite flights and put them upside down on the shafts. This placed more of the flight surface area forward and a taper on the back.

Before they came out with flights with 3 wings, I've taken a standard flight and cut off one of the wings. Even though the remaining 3 wings were not symmetrical, the dart still flew fine.

What if the design of the dart was changed totally, such that the flight is not at the back, but integrated into the barrel along the length of the dart.

If there weren't length restrictions, why couldn't a dart shape be devoid of a flight....like a spear....and perhaps less rigid....with maybe a little flex?

I remember using something very similar in the late 80's early 90's, I thought they were made by winmau but not too sure now, they certainly increased accuracy and the spin was amazing, it was only the tips of the flight that were curved over on themselves. I was looking for info on these same flights as I would like to try them again when I cropped upon this page. If anyone has info on these said flights either PM me or post here thanks.

chardo wrote:

I remember using something very similar in the late 80's early 90's, I thought they were made by winmau but not too sure now, they certainly increased accuracy and the spin was amazing, it was only the tips of the flight that were curved over on themselves. I was looking for info on these same flights as I would like to try them again when I cropped upon this page. If anyone has info on these said flights either PM me or post here thanks.

Hi mate and welcome to the forum, there is the Spiraline flights not sure if thats what you mean.

I will have a look through some old mags and see if I find anything.

Dangerous flights have u got pepsi ones i dont like coke lol
Man if those babies caught ur eye they would do some damage have u tried plastic bottles nice handy work im quite impressed

I'll see if I can find them, but just before Christmas I ordered a few sets from Japan that would suit this topic well. One was more traditionally shaped full 'heart shape' body flight, the other was a radical 'V' shape. Do a search for "Pro V Screw dart flight" and you should get an image or two.

Try here..... [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

And here [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

played with flights like before. Fun but ultimately a complete fail.

Reason? Technique will get you a good amount of accuracy regardless of stabilization. Most pro dart players darts don't stablize until the very last second anyways.

Other bigger reason? Massive deflections!

The first set look cool, but the second ones like just like the Spiraline flights.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] by [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], on Flickr