The arrow spins faster the faster it flies, and point shape plays no part
4 studies
The summary today
The measurements at several speeds all come from one Japanese research group, which put arrows in a magnetic suspension wind tunnel, where the arrow is held without any support, and then launched them in free flight, filming them with high-speed cameras. In 2011 the spin rate rises in proportion to the flight speed, both in the tunnel and in flight, and, in the tests with the enlarged X10 model, does not change between an ogive point and a tapered one, although with that model the spin in the tunnel was much lower than in flight. In 2012 the same group puts a number on it: the spin parameter, the ratio between the speed of the spinning surface and the flight speed, stays between 0.028 and 0.033 both in the tunnel and in flight, with differences too small to affect drag. For a sense of scale, an archery arrow spins about sixty times a second, against the four of the crossbow bolt with which the same group had begun its measurements, precisely because it spins slowly and flies like a rigid body. Outside that group there is an Australian model from 2011, checked with a shooting machine on a compound arrow: at its steady rate the arrow makes one turn every 2.12 metres, so the spin rises with speed, but the proportionality comes from the formula rather than from shots at different speeds, and it does not deal with the point. The picture is consistent but narrow: the direct measurements come from a single group, few arrows, and the part about the point rests on the figures of a single paper.
Also phrased as: "arrow spin in flight"; "how fast the arrow spins"; "fletching makes the arrow spin"; "ogive or tapered point"; "arrow spin rate"
In practice
Archers are told that the spin comes from the fletching and keeps the arrow stable, and those who shoot different points often wonder whether they also change the way the arrow spins in flight.
Evidence
-
2011
For Equipment tests Published later
In a magnetic suspension wind tunnel and in free flight, with launches by compressed air and by an archer filmed with high-speed cameras, the spin rises linearly with speed, and there is no difference between an ogive point and a tapered point. With the enlarged X10 model the spin in the tunnel came out much lower than in flight.
A10 Aerodynamic Properties of an Archery Arrow : JAXA's 60cm MSBS Experiments · Yuta Komori, Keita Mukaiyama, Takeshi Miyazaki, Hiroki Sugiura
-
2011
Context Equipment tests Published later
An archery arrow spins about 60 times a second, a crossbow bolt about 4: that is why the bolt, shorter and stiffer, had been used as a rigid body in aerodynamic measurements, and its results need care before being applied to the arrow.
Aerodynamic properties of an arrow: Influence of point shape on the boundary layer transition · Keita Mukaiyama, Kazuhiko Suzuki, Takeshi Miyazaki, Hideo Sawada
-
2011
For Model Published later
A model independent of the Japanese group calculates the spin of an Easton Protour 470 with X vanes set at just under half a degree, shot by a machine from a single-cam compound: at its steady rate the arrow makes one turn every 2.12 metres, 237 radians per second, and reaches that rate in about 10 metres, losing 0.46 metres per second of speed. In the model the steady spin rate is 2V sin α divided by the shaft diameter, so it rises in proportion to the flight speed; the rotation angle measured from 1 to 15 metres follows the calculated curve closely. The proportionality comes from the formula, not from shots at different speeds, and the vane angle was chosen precisely to make the steady spin match the measured one.
The aerodynamic drag and axial rotation of an arrow · J L Park
-
2011
Context Equipment tests Published later
With the same shooting machine, at 30 metres, the group of arrows with vanes set at about 0.25 degrees was less than half the size of the group of the same arrows with straight vanes: the spin serves to offset small imperfections in the shaft.
The aerodynamic drag and axial rotation of an arrow · J L Park
-
2012
For Equipment tests Published later
On an A/C/E arrow with spin vanes, the spin parameter stays between 0.028 and 0.033 both in the tunnel and in flight, so the spin rises in proportion to speed; the differences between the two conditions are too small to have a meaningful effect on drag.
Aerodynamic properties of an archery arrow · Takeshi Miyazaki, Keita Mukaiyama, Yuta Komori, Kyouhei Okawa, Satoshi Taguchi, Hiroki Sugiura
Status history
- 2011 Reported The first measurements arrive, in a magnetic suspension tunnel and in free flight: the spin rate rises in proportion to the flight speed and does not change between an ogive point and a tapered one. The same year a second paper from the same group points out that an arrow spins about sixty times a second, against the four of the crossbow bolt with which the same group had begun its measurements. Also in 2011, in Australia, a model of the spin checked with a shooting machine on a compound arrow reaches the same proportionality by another route: at its steady rate the arrow makes one turn every 2.12 metres, so the faster it flies, the faster it spins. There, though, the proportionality comes from the formula rather than from shots at different speeds, and the model does not deal with the point. A single direct test of the equipment, with a model in agreement: reported.
- 2012 Reported The same group publishes the measurement as a number: the spin parameter stays between 0.028 and 0.033 in the tunnel as in flight, so the spin follows the speed, and the differences are too small to affect drag. It is a second paper in agreement, but from the same laboratory, with arrows and instruments partly shared, and it adds nothing on the point: the status holds.
Related
Related articles
- How much the air slows an arrow down, and what really changes the dragHow much speed an arrow loses in flight, how much the shaft, vanes and point add to air drag, and how much of it actually reaches the target.
- Vanes, feathers or Spin Wings: what actually changesLarge or small vanes, feathers or plastic, vane angle and orientation on the shaft: what the studies measure, and where research has not yet reached the target.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). The arrow spins faster the faster it flies, and point shape plays no part (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/equipment/arrow-spin-flight-speed
@misc{campagna2026_rotazionefrecciavelocita,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {The arrow spins faster the faster it flies, and point shape plays no part},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/equipment/arrow-spin-flight-speed},
note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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