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Badminton · Level 6: Advanced · Sub-level 6.3

The Science of the Shuttle

10 tests · 100 facts · updated 29 October 2026 · markdown

How a shuttle is built, feathers and cork, drag and slowing down, the flight path, the flip, spin and tumbling, feathered and synthetic flight, the racket and string bed, the chain that makes a smash fast, and testing shuttles.

Each test below is ten questions on Insporta. The list under a test is what the questions check: one fact per question, with the source it was written from. Read it before the test, or come back from a wrong answer.

Test 1How a shuttle is builtTake a test

  1. Base plus skirt.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  2. Shuttles are very light.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  3. A heavy nose and draggy tail keep it stable.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  4. The cone brakes and steers.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  5. A cork base with a covering.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  6. Mass at the front, drag at the back.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  7. Common names.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  8. Base leads.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  9. One shuttle is lightest.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  10. The base carries most of the mass.

    Source: General badminton reference · applied

Test 2Feathers and corkTake a test

  1. Goose feathers are the premium choice.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  2. Duck feathers are common in cheaper shuttles.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  3. Matching curves give a steady spin.

    Source: General badminton reference · applied

  4. Thread and glue fix them.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  5. Cork is light and springy.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  6. Mismatched feathers wobble.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  7. Selection and assembly cost.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  8. Choose, fix, bind, test.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  9. Goose is premium.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  10. Matched feathers give a stable flight.

    Source: General badminton reference · applied

Test 3Drag and slowing downTake a test

  1. Drag is very high for its weight.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  2. Drag rises sharply with speed.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  3. Smashes lose much of their speed.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  4. Shuttles are high-drag objects.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  5. Falling speed where drag equals weight.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  6. A shuttle drops quite slowly.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  7. Distance lets drag work.

    Source: General badminton reference · applied

  8. Speed drops along the path.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  9. The shuttle has the most drag for its weight.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  10. Drag slows it all the way.

    Source: General badminton reference · applied

Test 4The flight pathTake a test

  1. Drag makes the end steep.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  2. Forward speed is used up.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  3. Vertical shuttles are awkward.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  4. Less drag gives a rounder arc.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  5. High serves drop vertically.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  6. Allow for the steep fall.

    Source: General badminton reference · applied

  7. Drives stay level.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  8. Climb, slow, drop.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  9. Higher shots fall steeper.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  10. High drag shapes the path.

    Source: General badminton reference · applied

Test 5The flipTake a test

  1. The shuttle turns over after impact.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  2. After every hit from the base side it must turn.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  3. Stability turns it.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  4. Unsettled shuttles are awkward to hit.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  5. The turning shuttle is hard to attack.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  6. Very quick.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  7. Every shuttle is built to fly base first.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  8. Hit, leave, turn, fly.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  9. Unsettled shuttles are hardest.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  10. The flip after impact.

    Source: General badminton reference · applied

Test 6Spin and tumblingTake a test

  1. Feather overlap makes it rotate.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  2. Spin stabilises.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  3. It tumbles across the tape.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  4. A slicing touch.

    Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 7 · recall

  5. Hitting the feathers gives poor control.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  6. Feathers absorb and deflect.

    Source: General badminton reference · applied

  7. Wait for it to settle when there is time.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  8. Meet, slice, tumble, struggle.

    Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 7 · recall

  9. Spin increases tumbling.

    Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 7 · recall

  10. Tumbling comes from a spinning net shot.

    Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 7 · applied

Test 7Feathered and synthetic flightTake a test

  1. Nylon skirts deform.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  2. Deforming changes drag.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  3. Feather precision.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  4. Durability and cost.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  5. Top events use feathered shuttles.

    Source: BWF General Competition Regulations 2026 · recall

  6. Feathers respond differently.

    Source: General badminton reference · applied

  7. Feathers are fragile.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  8. Synthetic lasts longest.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  9. Premium feathers first.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  10. Nylon skirts deform more.

    Source: General badminton reference · applied

Test 8The racket and the string bedTake a test

  1. The bed acts like a spring.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  2. Light shuttles rebound fast.

    Source: General badminton reference · applied

  3. Contact is brief.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  4. Fast head, fast shuttle.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  5. Inertia bends it.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  6. Off-centre hits waste energy.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  7. Tension sets stretch.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  8. Meet, stretch, spring, leave.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  9. Centre gives most.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  10. The string bed works as a spring.

    Source: General badminton reference · applied

Test 9The chain that makes a smash fastTake a test

  1. Legs, trunk, shoulder, arm, wrist in sequence.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  2. From the ground up.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  3. Rotation of the arm whips the racket.

    Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 7 · recall

  4. Timing adds up speed.

    Source: General badminton reference · applied

  5. Arm-only swings are weak.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  6. Relaxation lets speed through.

    Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 7 · recall

  7. The trunk link is missing.

    Source: General badminton reference · applied

  8. Ground up.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  9. More links, more speed.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  10. Linked body segments.

    Source: General badminton reference · applied

Test 10Testing and choosing shuttlesTake a test

  1. Speed must suit conditions.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  2. A testing stroke checks length.

    Source: BWF Laws of Badminton 2027 (player's view) · recall

  3. Temperature and altitude vary.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  4. Weight and spread alter drag.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  5. Officials test speed.

    Source: BWF General Competition Regulations 2026 · recall

  6. Cold halls need faster shuttles.

    Source: General badminton reference · applied

  7. Personal adjustment.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  8. Bring, test, choose, use.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  9. Hot and high need slow.

    Source: General badminton reference · recall

  10. This is the speed test.

    Source: BWF Laws of Badminton 2027 (player's view) · applied

Sources

BWF Coaches' Manual Level 1 (2017), BWF regulations and history, Olympedia; original questions authored, nothing reproduced. Numbered rules belong to the Rules category (Badminton - Laws of Badminton).

  • General badminton reference90
  • BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 76
  • BWF General Competition Regulations 20262
  • BWF Laws of Badminton 2027 (player's view)2