Technical Archery Insights - Preface

Preface

This collection of articles will cover various technical aspects of archery as presented by a practicing aerospace engineer, and perhaps the occasional guest author or two.   Underlying physical principles associated with the ballistics of the archery arrow will be introduced and explored using modern engineering methods and terminology.   The importance of the use of proper terminology cannot be overemphasized, as proper terminology is the doorway through which decades of fundamental relevant research in related fields may be accessed and applied within the archery community. The intended audience is the experienced bowhunter who is looking for more information than what is normally presented in hunting magazines or online videos.  The topics being presented in each article are of general interest to the casual reader but also lay the foundation for more advanced investigation by those archers so inclined to dig deeper.   Particular care is taken to include bibliographical citations of relevant published works for those times when the necessary brevity of a given article precludes a more thorough exploration of the topic.

The articles will present topics related to the launch, flight, and terminal performance of the arrow, with new articles being published on a monthly basis or as time permits.    The goal is to present practical information based on scientific principles that the archer may find both interesting and useful.  It is my hope that in time other accredited technical experts both within and also outside of the archery community will join in and present relevant information from their own areas of expertise.

Why Archery?  My official journey into archery not counting my youth (where our idea of fun was shooting an arrow at full draw straight up to see who could hold out the longest before dashing to safety as the arrow crashed back down through the tree canopy) began in 2016.  After almost 30 years of working in the US Department of Defense, it was time for a change.  It turns out hunting arrows have a lot in common with the modern finned projectiles fired from battle tanks that I dealt with on a daily basis.  The goals are identical (aim, launch, fly, kill).   But one can be practiced in a backyard, while the other requires government laboratory facilities and a security clearance.   Judging by the many conversations I’ve had with influencers within the archery community, there’s a desire to understand more fully the behavior of an arrow in flight.  It is my hope that starting these conversation will lead to both a greater understanding and a deeper appreciation for our sport.  

Acknowledgment

Many thanks are due the folks at Vantage Point Archery (for whom I serve as a technical consultant) for giving me a platform to publish these articles.   From the start VPA has promoted the idea that for the good of the archery community rather than for their own self-interest, I would have free reign to write without any imposed constraint or requirement to “push product” or in any other way serve as a shill for the company.   Therefore, in a situation that is at the same time both liberating and petrifying, I alone am responsible for the presented content.   I will do my best to present technical information in a manner that is both palatable and applicable, without arrogantly presenting such rigorous-sounding babble that only my own ego is served.  Our industry deserves no less.

Darrel Barnette, May 2024