I have a lot of thoughts on this. Sadly, I don't feel I'll be able to convey them; I will attempt, though.
(Don't take anything here too literally. Measurements are very rough estimates. Proportions are only meant to demonstrate points I'm going to touch on.)
"Up to speed" is different than "Over speed".
Up to speed is necessary to get a disc to glide. Over speed is necessary to create positive lift and high speed stability.
A Nuke is "Up to speed" at 250' of power for about 150' of the flight. A Nuke is "up to speed" at 450' of power for about 150'.
A Nuke is never "over speed" at 250' of power. A nuke is "over speed" at 450' of power for about 200'.
(This is the important part)
In a 20mph headwind, these numbers change dramatically. Nuke at 250' of power will be over speed for 100', at speed for 100', and under speed for 50'. 450' of power, it's over speed for about 300', at speed for about 100', and under for the last 50'.
The player throwing 250 has never seen his disc fly over speed, and probably turned it over into a roller in that 100'. If he didn't, it's at speed for 2/5 of the flight, as opposed to 3/5.
The player throwing 450 knows what his disc will do, and only has to know that it will do it longer. It's over speed for 2/3 vs 4/9; and at speed for 2/9 vs 1/3.
Do the math, and it's more consistent to throw slower discs, just based on the amount of time they're going to be acting a certain way, and being able to predict that action.
(Another important part)
The more "over speed" you can get a disc, the more lift it gets. That means you can throw lower, more nose down (more consistent) shots. If you come across "dead air" a disc over speed will lose less altitude than one at or under speed.
(Almost done)
The more "over speed" you can get, the less you have to account for fade. It still fades just as much whether you're below, at, or over speed, but the percentages are different. This is part of the reason people say slower discs are more consistent. Faster discs might fade more reliably, but that's such a small portion of the flight that it's not a travesty if it doesn't come back (when you're over speed).
Here's the kicker:
If you ever plan to throw the fastest disc in your bag over speed, you need to know what happens to discs when you throw them over speed. If you always use max D drivers at speed vs fwd over speed, you won't have that skill set for the future.
If you can glean information from this post, please translate for others. I don't think I did very well explaining it:doh:
If you don't believe in "up to speed", just watch 2 people (one throws 300-, one 450+) throw katanas and turn them over. They are accomplished very differently. The 250' turn over looks very unnatural to me.
omt ... faster discs don't lose speed as fast as slower discs. If you're not getting more distance out of a high speed disc, it's a grip issue or nose angle issue, not a power issue. I hope the rest of my post was coherent enough that it's obvious that I am not advocating 250' throwers start using nukes and katanas to get more distance.
(Don't take anything here too literally. Measurements are very rough estimates. Proportions are only meant to demonstrate points I'm going to touch on.)
"Up to speed" is different than "Over speed".
Up to speed is necessary to get a disc to glide. Over speed is necessary to create positive lift and high speed stability.
A Nuke is "Up to speed" at 250' of power for about 150' of the flight. A Nuke is "up to speed" at 450' of power for about 150'.
A Nuke is never "over speed" at 250' of power. A nuke is "over speed" at 450' of power for about 200'.
(This is the important part)
In a 20mph headwind, these numbers change dramatically. Nuke at 250' of power will be over speed for 100', at speed for 100', and under speed for 50'. 450' of power, it's over speed for about 300', at speed for about 100', and under for the last 50'.
The player throwing 250 has never seen his disc fly over speed, and probably turned it over into a roller in that 100'. If he didn't, it's at speed for 2/5 of the flight, as opposed to 3/5.
The player throwing 450 knows what his disc will do, and only has to know that it will do it longer. It's over speed for 2/3 vs 4/9; and at speed for 2/9 vs 1/3.
Do the math, and it's more consistent to throw slower discs, just based on the amount of time they're going to be acting a certain way, and being able to predict that action.
(Another important part)
The more "over speed" you can get a disc, the more lift it gets. That means you can throw lower, more nose down (more consistent) shots. If you come across "dead air" a disc over speed will lose less altitude than one at or under speed.
(Almost done)
The more "over speed" you can get, the less you have to account for fade. It still fades just as much whether you're below, at, or over speed, but the percentages are different. This is part of the reason people say slower discs are more consistent. Faster discs might fade more reliably, but that's such a small portion of the flight that it's not a travesty if it doesn't come back (when you're over speed).
Here's the kicker:
If you ever plan to throw the fastest disc in your bag over speed, you need to know what happens to discs when you throw them over speed. If you always use max D drivers at speed vs fwd over speed, you won't have that skill set for the future.
If you can glean information from this post, please translate for others. I don't think I did very well explaining it:doh:
If you don't believe in "up to speed", just watch 2 people (one throws 300-, one 450+) throw katanas and turn them over. They are accomplished very differently. The 250' turn over looks very unnatural to me.
omt ... faster discs don't lose speed as fast as slower discs. If you're not getting more distance out of a high speed disc, it's a grip issue or nose angle issue, not a power issue. I hope the rest of my post was coherent enough that it's obvious that I am not advocating 250' throwers start using nukes and katanas to get more distance.
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