Measuring the flight of an arrow using the Acoustic Doppler Shift

Measuring the velocity of an arrow in flight is a task of interest to archers, but can be difficult without specialized equipment. We show how accurate velocity measurements can be made by recording the sound made by the arrow as it travels over one or more microphones. Useful recordings can be made with a data acquisition system or with the sound recorder built into most PC operating systems. Estimates of the drag coefficient of different arrows can be made using several microphones to record each shot.