Flight Of My Darts
I have used many different types of flights during the past years as a Rusted Shaft. I first chose the flights by the way they looked. It was the design and I had no idea of the various functions of the shapes of the flights. Sure, buying my first few sets of flights I was aware the various shapes must be designed for something, but as bad as a dart chucker as I was, the differences were not going to matter much. I just wanted my dart to look good because my throw wasn't going to. I can just hear my teammates saying, "Your throws don't look any better now."
The first type I tried was the Standard polyester flight. It had a cool design and it was one of the cheaper ones at the display counter. As I found out later, this type of flight is one of the more popular styles because of the wide variety of designs and colors, and they are to this day one of the cheapest types on the market. They are a fine type of flight and can be used to add a wide selection of looks to your darts but they do have several drawbacks. They tend to wear down more easily. The fins get nicked-up more quickly and the flight frays at the point of insertion into the tip of the dart. The flights are fine but be prepared to replace them, which in the long run will cost more money, and they don't really help add to the performance of the dart.
Along with the polyester flights come different shapes besides the Standard. Some of those I have tried have been the Teardrop, Kite, Coalcracker, Pear, Midget Standard, and Round. They all have about the same performance and durability but there are some slight differences. The Coalcracker and Midget Standard are the narrowest across. This means it is easy to place your darts more closely together with less of a chance of a deflection. The downside to these two are the lose of stabilization of the dart. The others mentioned above have better stabilization of the dart but a wider flight gives a greater chance of a deflection.
To me these flights were very much the same in their performance but I often times chose the Coalcracker for its lack of deflections. I think the key about these groups of flights is which do you feel more comfortable with? The simple fact of having confidence in your flights you use will help with your throw. Throwing with confidence allows a person to have more focus. One of my favorite styles of flight is the Dimplex. This style is made of the same poly plastic and so has the same durability problems. The difference is, as the name suggests, the dimples. The dimpled texture helps to give the dart lift and a little more stabilization. My biggest problem with this style is the lack of availability of it in this area. I have only had a couple sets of these flights and have never again found them sense. I understand they only come in Standard, Kite, Coalcracker, and Teardrop. Wish I could find more of these to add to my arsenal, but as it is I have none at the present.
Another type that has been more available to me is the Ribtex. I pause here to ponder that this paper is sounding more like a story about rubbers than darts but perhaps that can be a different research I can do. (Yeah, right.) Well, the Ribtex has ribs in the flights that run about 45-degree angle from the shaft. This flight does not add lift but does help the air to flow in such a way to help the dart continue in the line at which it was thrown. The equalized air flow of these flights help to give a good clean linear throw. I have seen and used the standard shape Ribtex, but my favorite is the Vortex.
The Vortex is ribbed but its shape is more of a cross between a Coalcracker and Pear. The top of the flight has a V shape cut into it. I believe it is a good performing flight and I do like the looks of it.
Another type I tried and liked was a Dimplex CD. This is a cross between the Dimplex and Ribtex. It has the advantage of the lift of the Dimplex and the linear flow of the Ribtex. I have only had one set of these flights and they tore rather quickly on me. I didn't have much chance to decide on their performance and have never found them in the stores again.
The last style I have any thoughts on are the Nylite. I bought this flight, and I still have it, for its durability. Durable it is but beyond that I have little good to say about it. According to DARTS by Ken Kesler, the flight is made of a loose-weave nylon that is then laminated in a hard plastic. The flight holds up well but I stopped using it because it is a thicker and heavier flight than the others. I thought it threw the balance of my darts off and it widened the gap in the tip of my darts causing other flights to fall out more often. It didn't help that it was just an ugly flight as well.
I believe, in conclusion, is just to throw with what you are comfortable with. Jason, one of the best throwers on our team, uses a 1-Piece plain flight. There are no special advantages to it except it is a dart he is comfortable with and throws well. Don't fix something that isn't broken! If you are really looking for something to help your game...PRACTICE. Sorry, no magic dart but still why not use the proper tool for the job.
Comments and rebuttals are always welcomed.
I would like to give credit to Ken Kesler, the author of the book DARTS. I couldn't find a date for its printing but Cal/Oka Printing Ltd published it. This book gave me a good understanding of the dart and thoughts on throwing technique. I highly recommend the book and I¹m willing to share it with my teammates.