Some progress on the Air Badminton shuttle as according to the video attached below it has been entering a production phase and will be available in January or February 2020. Also some official courts were recently unveiled in Guangzhou. It's a promising project and I hope to see this shuttle easily available around the world soon and some official courts appear here and there.
Just found this website: https://airshuttle.one/ Looks like the shuttle if finally available. Not sure if this is 100% legit tho. They are twice the price then Yonex Mavis but with the current situation I'm really tempted... Edit: the shop says "available on backorder". more like not really available yet.
Anyone ever try these? 3 different weights for different wind conditions. https://www.artengo.co.uk/outdoor-badminton-shuttle-tri-pack-id_8212072
Good find! Seems official but I would have think the BWF would have announced it if the official air shuttle website were available.
Yeah, I have those, as outdoor shuttles go they're ok, better than the ones I had as a kid anyway. They're just different weights to allow for stronger/lighter wind but in reality they still get blown about, particularly sideways....which is what the Air Shuttle is supposed to fix...how can it take so many years to develop? (they've been demonstrating the same design for ages now!) For the price the Decathlon ones are worth having, just don't expect them to cope with anything more than very light wind!
(couldn't see a topic about this yet) Official site: https://development.bwfbadminton.com/airbadminton/airshuttle Not available at the time of writing, but potentially will be sold here: https://airshuttle.one/ Basic design is large gaps in the sides to reduce the effects of side winds and a more flared skirt to compensate for the lack of air resistance due to those gaps i.e. otherwise it'd fly too fast. The skirt is also sculpted (wavy) presumably to promote spin/stability in flight. Unlike some other outdoor shuttles there's only one speed available. Who's going to be the first to get their hands on some? I'm guessing with the current isolation measures these could be quite popular for the garden. (with other members of your household only, of course!)
Unless you're in Denmark then it's probably best to share your order with others as the shipping is quite expensive e.g. a tube of 3 is €8 but shipping to the UK is €15 so a total of €23 for 3 shuttles!
I've read that it's about 8 grams compared to typically 5 grams for feather shuttlecocks. Need someone closer to test out and report back. Too expensive to ship to US.
I also saw my local Victor shop is selling "Victor Air shuttles." Which is weird because the ones on the official BWF website aren't branded victor. But the ones at the local shop (they are official authorized victor dealers and their stuff is 100% legit) looks identical to the BWF ones except clearly branded victor all over. Did victor come out with their own ones? Or is that some branding for the chinese market. Anyone know?
Some information regarding the manufacturing of the airshuttle by BWF Development Director Ian Wright: "The AirShuttle is produced using an injection mould process. We can confirm that the AirShuttle will be durable and delivered to the market at a competitive price which will assist us in our objective to make the game available on a global scale. The final materials of the AirShuttle will be released once we have locked in a manufacturer, but the prototypes are made of polypropylene and nylon." "We have taken the AirShuttle to badminton brands and manufacturers to include them in the project and gather valuable commercial feedback. The key design elements have been confirmed and a mould has been opened to produce samples. We are now close to making the decision on our preferred manufacturer and discussions are underway concerning the production process and schedule." They worked with different manufacturers. Looks like the production and distribution of the Airshuttle isn't exclusive to the BWF if there are already 2 version available. (bwf and victor)
I would expect BWF to own the design (patents) then set up a commercial relationship with one or more manufacturers to make and supply the shuttles. Ooooh, I found the Yonex patent for artificial feather shuttlecocks from 2012.
Always "soon" never "now" ;-) Still haven't seen a video where you can really see this thing in flight, all the promos are edited so that you only see it struck but not where it went!
Seems like the BWF have chosen Victor to manufacture the AirShuttle. No wonder some of you spotted those Victor Airshuttles already...