This page is for those who still have questions about Aerovane after reading the main product page and for any specific Aerovane fletching questions.
On other pages...
Firenock FAQ: This main FNLS page offers general specification and feature questions not answered on individual product pages.
- General FAQ: As the name implies, this section is the general or generic questions one might have about Firenock -- features, characteristics, use, maintenance, etc.
- Battery FAQ: For any specific questions on Firenock batteries (and if you couldn't find your answer in troubleshooting [see below]), this is your section.
- Extreme Shock End Cap FAQ: If you have any questions about the extreme shock end cap system (including ESEC troubleshooting concerns), this is the place.
FLNS Troubleshooting FAQ: Whenever something doesn't go as planned or hoped, this page offers possible solutions.
FLNS Modification FAQ: For those who have more...unusual arrows, we might have a Firenock modification option for you.
AQ1: Why was Aeroavne invented?
Arrows have vanes since their invention eons ago. With time, however, as the science behind the archery projectile has progressed, allowing for observed speeds of up to 460fps, the science behind vanes have become stagnant. The use of vanes made of a simple, flat piece of plastic or the traditional feathers is no longer good enough. Plastic fletchings have proven to fail under high air speeds and traditional feather fletchings collapse under the literal pressure. To address the lack of a fletching that allows high speed archery projectiles to fly without failure, we at Firenock designed and created the Aerovane. Designed to reduce or completely eliminate issues such as fluttering which generates sound and robs speed, crosswind signature effect which, and the need to increase arrow rotational speed without sacrificing forward momentum, and how leveling the arrow flight as it descents is what lead to the invention of Aerovane. In short, Aerovane is design to allow high speed archery projectile to fly in almost all conditions including high wind with minimum lost of speed and sound.
AQ2: Why are there multiple Aerovane (I, II, III)?
Aerovane was first introduce in 2008. Then Aerovane II was invented as lighter, shorter, and a simplier design is desired. The original Aerovane II was short lived due to patent issue, and a resurfacing of the mould was done to single cavity. This is actually a blessing in desguise. The original Aerovane II was over 72,000 Reynolds (very high lift factor), and it also has a high Aerodynamics Elasticity Memory (AEM) effect which make it spin as much 90 revolutions for the first 20 yard of flight on 300 fps arrow. With the resurfacing of the mould, the Aerovane II get thicker and stiffer. This lover the AEM significantly, by a factor of close to 50% as the vane now require close to 60% more effort to flex lengthwise. This stiffening of the vane make the vane more ridgit, which translate to slower in air rotational speed, and higher control factor asserted by the vane. This also mean an easier time to find broadhead that fly well with it.
Understanding what was lost the Aerovane II (current model), an Aerovane that not only has all the effect that Aerovane II has before and without causing any Patent issue was commissioned. After many tested, a winglet was the signature design different of Aerovane III (AV3). The winglet not to increase lift, but also lower the physical height of the current Aerovane II. This allow it to be use on bows with tight shooting window with low vane clearance. Since Aerovane III was design with identical dual surface texture from the get go, it is optimized with the AEM. Theoretically Aerovane III should spin over 350% more than Aerovane IIr1, but in reality, it is observed it spin only as much as the original AV2. But as distance increases, AB3 really shows its ability. It has been observed that AV3 can spin as much as 300 revolution per 20 yards after passing 60 yard mark with launch speed of 425 fps on crossbow arrows. Which make AV3 an ideal vane for target and ultra high speed projectile.
AQ3: What makes the Aerovane so unique?
Aerovane is the first to employ airfoil technology on the vanes of an arrow. Unlike traditional vanes, Aerovane is not flat and it should be fletched straight to function best. Aerovane is designed after an owl wing, thus Aerovane can fly quietly without fluttering noise.
Instead of using air drag, the Aerovane uses airfoil technology to create spin. It is based on Bernoulli's principle, a fundamental law of fluids in motion, which states that when air flow speed increases, pressure decreases and vice versa. In airplane wing design, when air flows more rapidly over the upper surface than the lower one, it decreases the pressure on the top surface and increases the pressure on the bottom surface and thus creates lift that keeps the airplane in flight. In the case of Aerovane there are multiple vanes on a shaft so circular lift occurs, causing the arrow to spin.
AQ5: What colors do Aerovane come in?
As of 2021, both Aerovane II and III come in a total of 12 colors: black, blue, clear, green, lime, orange, pink, rink, violet, white, and yellow.
AQ6: Will Aerovane increase my accuracy and/or speed?
If you fletch Aerovane correctly, Aerovane could tighten your groups and increase your effective range. The use of Aerovane will not turn an average archer into a tournament archer over night, but Aerovane can give your arrow more consistent flight. Thus an average archer can possibly increase in accuracy using Aerovane.
There is no gain in speed while using Aerovane when your arrow is launched from a bow, however you will notice a significant gain in speed as the shooting distance increases compared with other vanes on the market as Aerovane is not using air drag to induce rotation, thus your arrow can conserve more energy with Aerovane as distance increases.
AQ7: Why does the Aerovane seem not to be affected by cross wind much?
As Aerovane has a low value of "Cross Wind Signature" (CWS) (i.e., Column of air being disturbed), Aerovane is not affected much by the cross wind. The reason is that Aerovane uses airfoil technology instead of air drag, Aerovane is disturbing a minimum amount of air when air passes through Aerovane. In other words, as the column of air being disturbed decreases in size, smaller CWS is resulted and thus the effect of crosswind becomes smaller.
AQ8: What consideration should be taken to shoot Aerovane II with different spine arrows?
With a 65 lb bow, the 400 spine arrows react as if they are slightly weak in spine (hit to the right); 350 spine arrows react as if they are slightly stiff (hit to the left); and 300 spine arrows react as if they are stiff with a field point and weak with a broadhead. The simple solution to correct the 350 spine arrows would be to move the arrow rest closer to the bow (i.e., more in line with the center of the bow). For the 300 spine arrows, the field report suggested to increase draw weight from 65 lbs to 67 lbs or even 68 lbs; which this would help to even out the results.
AQ9: How fast an arrows need to be in order to work with Aerovane?
All arrows can work great with Aerovane, but arrow launching speed is the determining factor while using Aerovane. In general, as low as 260 fps is considered to be good launching speed if fletch straight. For slower speed arrow, off set can be added to the installation of Aerovane on the arrow we have found with as much as 1.5 degree as indicated on the off-set hook on Aerovane jig,one can achieve satisfactory arrow flight as slow as 160 FP.
AQ10: Is there a specific arrow rest that works best with Aerovane?
With Aerovane II, nearly all arrow rests (except a brand new Whisker Biscuit) will work. For some binary cam bows, it may be good to have arrow rest like the Hostage and QuickTune if you are not a great bow tuner. If a bow is tuned properly, any rest besides a brand new WB will work very well with Aerovane II due to the fact Aerovane has thickness and it can cause taring deu to contact with the brissels when shot.
AQ11: Is there an advantage of one type of bow to another while using Aerovane?
The Aerovane is a high performance vane that will cause the arrow to spin at high speed, any deviation on the launch cycle (nock travel) will make your set up insufficiency becoming obvious. It will be easier for Aerovane II to shoot out of a bow that can be micro tuned.
AQ12: Why is Aerovane so stiff?
Aerovane's basic structure is of a narrow pyramid, and it is to utilize airfoil technology to spin. Thus it is essential that they are as rigid as possible to generate enough lift. If safety was not an issue, Aerovane would be made of metal or similar material to fully utilize the airfoil technology. Since Aerovane also need to optimize for Aerodynamic Elasticity Memory effect, it need to be able deform lengthwise. So it is stiff from wind span wise, but less rigid longitutaionlly.
AQ13: The Aerovane feels so rough to the touch, is there a reason?
Aerovane is scientifically design to get the maximum effect of low drag and highest lift effect when it passes through air at high speed. To optimize on surface boundary layers as it effect when it interact with air, specific surface texture is needed to minimize those unfavorable effected of boundary layers and surface friction. Aerovane II has a total of three different micro texture while Aerovane III has four. The understand of how boundary layering effect as various section of the vane's airfoil, thus the reason and zoning of the two Aerovanes are significantly different, with Aerovane III has a more advance texture zoning.
AQ14: How low of a temperature will Aerovane work in as it is so stiff and is made of plastic?
Like all high durometer plastic, low temperature will make the material very brittle. When temperature reaches around -10F, any in flight contact with Aerovane will lead to shattering of Aerovane. As long as there is no in flight contact, Aerovane will not crack or tear easily even at low temperatures.
AQ15: Is Aerovane able to be shot with broadheads, or is it for target shooting only?
Aerovane is great for both target and broadhead shooting. The inherited high spin speed design of Aerovane would easily stabilize an arrow with a broadhead faster than an arrow fletched with traditional vanes & feathers, however not all broadheads are designed to spin at high speed. As most radial broadheads are not meant to spin, they would not work well with Aerovane. See individual product pages for a complete list of supported broadheads.
Fletching FAQ
FQ1: What preparation work should one do to get the best results with the Aerovane?
Aerovane is injection molded, thus Aerovane will have oil on them and inside them. Although the factory cleaned the vane with soap and water, it is always advised to clean the gluing surface and the vane base using a Q-tip soaked with pure acetone (easily available at Walmart cosmetic section) to wipe clean the vane base, then wipe dry with a dry end of a Q-tip and finally fletch as normal.
FQ2: What type of jig is the easiest to use with the Aerovane?
For best overall performance, the Aerovane Jig is the best to fletch Aerovane. For Aerovane II which has a lower installation tolerance requirement than Aerovane III, customer has reported that using a Bitzenberger with Zenith Conversion kit has work with reasonable satisfactory results.
FQ3: What type of glue works best with the Aerovane?
Most fletching glues should work well with Aerovane, but due to the release agent embedded inside the material, acetone should be used to remove all foreign material before gluing the vane on the shaft. Low viscosity glue Aerovane glue AG0600 / super glue type like Goat-tough glue / AG0GEL will usually work in most occasions as long as the vane is clean and treated correctly. For best results regarding Aerovane, see the Aerovane Fletching Guide .
FQ4: Is it necessary to use the 1/16" brass bar tool when fletching Aerovane?
Aerovane is based on quiet airfoil design and its leading edge resembles the profile of the frontal portion of an owl's wing. Thus neither side of its surfaces is truly flat. In order to be able to be used on any size arrow and also be mounted perpendicular to any size shafts, a patented wind channel (straight flex zone), is the area that were engineer and design to be straight clamped. This channel with 1.7mm wide is why an Aerovane clamp which has a 1.5mm (1/16") sqaure bar on both fletching edges, or a staright fletching clamp with a 1/16" square brass bar glue on the magent side of the clamp mates with in order to hold Aerovane straightly and be fletch as perfectly straight as possible.
FQ5: How far back on the arrow should I fletch my Aerovane?
Based on field reports, Aerovane works best under 1.5" (<30mm) from the center of the nock to the end of the vane. Due to Aerovane's ability to create circular lift, the closer it is to the front of the arrow, the larger an effect angular torque will have on your arrow as it flexes. Therefore it is best to fletch Aeroavne as close to the nock end as possible to mimimized the angular torque generate by the circular lift. Even wIth over-spine shafts like crossbow arrow, 1.5" is about the maximum distance one should use before irratical arrow flight have been observed.
FQ6: What angle should I use to fletch my Aerovane?
Aerovane's design is entirely based on an airfoil. To release its full potential, Aerovane must be fletched straight (i.e. zero degree). If your arrow speed is below 260fps, however, an offset setting of up to 1.5 degrees via an Aerovane Jig slide hook has shown to assist in sustaining good arrow flight for arrow speeds as low as 160fps.
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