Flight Rules?? To fletch or not to fletch???

[hawkeye]

I'm trying to find some rules on flight shooting for longbow archers and I'm hoping one of you can help.

The question is simple - Do I have to fletch my wooden arrows to comply with the rules at the National Flight Championships ? It is a GNAS shoot.

All answers welcome

[pHz]

from GNAS rules of shooting james -

PART 6

FLIGHT SHOOTING

600. Bowstyles

D. Longbow. – Equipment as defined in Rule 206

(i) Arrows must be conventional longbow arrows but may be to profile and fletching shape as preferred.

206. Longbow

(d) Arrows. Arrows shall have wooden steles (shafts), shall be fitted with feather fletchings, and may have either horn-reinforced, self or applied nocks. There is no limit to the maximum shaft diameter. Piles shall not exceed the diameter of the shaft at the point of fitment. Shouldered piles, whilst not disallowed, should be avoided because of excess damage to targets. Arrows shall be properly marked, so that there shall be no difficulty in claiming them.

which i read as saying that your flight arrows must be fletched but they can be as minimal as you like

get some short 2 1/2" fletchings and cut them down so only a millimetre or so of feather is left on them ?

slainte rob

[robtattoo]

Shave some 2" feathers right down to the quill.

[Kae]

Originally Posted by robtattoo

Shave some 2" feathers right down to the quill.

This is what I would do, and cut the quill down as well.

Kae.

[hawkeye]

Thanks for the replies, greatly appreciated. PHZ where did you find the info. cus I looked on the GNAS site and couldn't find anything.

And with regards to to shaving do to the quill - a great idea and I will try this - but doesn't that mean that there will be no feather left? Although I suppose the quill is still part of a feather.

[pHz]

Originally Posted by hawkeye

Thanks for the replies, greatly appreciated. PHZ where did you find the info. cus I looked on the GNAS site and couldn't find anything.

its from the GNAS rules of shooting - i got that and other documents (like classification tables etc) from this page on the GNAS site -

http://www.gnas.org/dyncat.cfm?catid=15546

slainte rob

[Shirt]

At the risk of sounding slightly silly, how many of those telling you to chop the fletchings down to the bare minimum possible to fit the definition of the rule have ever shot flight and done well?

[pHz]

Originally Posted by Shirt

At the risk of sounding slightly silly, how many of those telling you to chop the fletchings down to the bare minimum possible to fit the definition of the rule have ever shot flight and done well?

i havent admittedly

but i have chatted to hawleye IRL about some possible configurations for flight arrows and hes not after aerodynamic advice but only after a rules confirmation of what he is permitted to do under GNAS before he goes and builds some experimental arrows to shoot from one of his tree trunk bows

slainte rob

[robtattoo]

Never shot flight myself, at all. But I have noticed that when bareshafting, (& I've done LOTS of that! )the arrows without fletchings do fly quite noticeably faster.

[Shirt]

Correct. But they're not as stable, and waste energy by flapping sideways rather than going downrange.