Aeroplane Black, quality degraded or fake?

[zombiez]

Wah.... My 2 layer theory is good. That is a much better design. Any glue at the interface of the layer will change the characteristic. 3 layers will make it worse.

[paulierand]

My friend and I cut open a few aeroplane blacks that were bought about 5 months ago, last night. The cork is solid. We haven't encountered the 3 layer yet.

[kwun]

i will have more findings tonight...

[khoai]

After playing today, I've collected a number of different birdies to see the differences of the corks. Basically, they all have multi layers, may or may not of the same material. They can be put in 2 different groups: premium and lower grade. The premium group includes: YY AS-50, Victor Master Ace and #1, Lining A+100 and Aeroplane (with bold font, so probably old one). You can feel that the corks of the premium group are really hard, not easy to be deformed with an exception from Aeroplane's, which is a little softer. The lower grade group (AS-30, Champions #1, Chaopai Red, Carlton GT1 and Dark Knight 6650) all come with a synthetic layer. Below are some pics:

1. Yonex AS-50:


2. Victor Master Ace:


3. Victor Master #1:


4. Lining A+100:


5. Aeroplane Black:


6. Yonex AS-30:


7. Victor Champions #1:


8. Chaopai Red:


9. Carlton GT1:


10. Black Knight 6650:

[kwun]

i cut out a couple of shuttles from new tube that i got. basically the same as the bad quality ones. 3 layers with synthetic material in the middle. one of them was horrible deformed after play.

besides that, not much discovery. so i guess even the recent batches are bad quality.

[badder]

It is confirmed that Chaopai Red and purple have also changed to synthetic cork material 2 years ago.

For some reason...that and Chao Pai Purple were not cut open. So I'll have to do it myself.

[chris-ccc]

.
IMHO, synthetic cork material will be used in years to come (because of the availability of limited natural cork).

Currently, when I can afford to pay for shuttlecocks made from natural cork, I will only use them.

I am hoping that new synthetic cork (slowly and surely coming in) can be as good as natural cock. When synthetic corks get deformed, as shown in earlier posts, I shall not use them.
.

[kwun]

I don't think that 3rd layer is necessary. Most only have two layers. Here are a few that I can find around my house. Most are middle or low grade, except RSL Classic.

Attachment 124582

surprised to see RSL Tourney Classic also using synthetic layer. they are supposed to be top of the line.

[badder]

RSL has been this way for many years, including RSL Classic and No.1.

surprised to see RSL Tourney Classic also using synthetic layer. they are supposed to be top of the line.

[Rusty Galloway]

Wow... this is really meticulous stuff. Great thread!

[paulierand]

The big question is:

Does the durability, flight consistency, and feel of the shuttlecocks go down with synthetic layers put into the cork compared the the 100% cork?

We haven't gotten around to cutting a lot of them open but the aeroplane blacks we play with are still pretty good in all those categories... but i can't confirm if they're synthetic mixed or not.

[kwun]

it seems that durability is the same. Aeroplane still last longest. but somehow i feel that the crispness on impact is worse than before.

i went through the gym today looking for used Aeroplane Black. the low quality one has now completely penetrated the market. i cannot even find any old high quality ones anymore.

[Alapongtai]

so the synthetic layer has no effect on head deformation compared to 100% natural cork?

[khoai]

Like Kwun said, beside durability, if everything else was the same, high-end shuttlecocks like AS-50, Victor Master would have gone the same route and the breakthrough of synthetic material would be published everywhere. Personally, I will not buy another batch with synthetic cork since I can get the natural one with just 10% price more.

The big question is:

Does the durability, flight consistency, and feel of the shuttlecocks go down with synthetic layers put into the cork compared the the 100% cork?

We haven't gotten around to cutting a lot of them open but the aeroplane blacks we play with are still pretty good in all those categories... but i can't confirm if they're synthetic mixed or not.

[Smashdude2008]

Personally, I will not buy another batch with synthetic cork since I can get the natural one with just 10% price more.

Wow, that is a good deal!
Which shuttlecocks are you buying that has such a good price? Does it comparable to the EG1130 in other aspects?
As far as I know, the AS-50 and Victor Masters are about 40% to 60% more than the Aeroplane EG1130.
Personally, I don't see those prices are justifiable.

[Smashdude2008]

The big question is:

Does the durability, flight consistency, and feel of the shuttlecocks go down with synthetic layers put into the cork compared the the 100% cork?

We haven't gotten around to cutting a lot of them open but the aeroplane blacks we play with are still pretty good in all those categories... but i can't confirm if they're synthetic mixed or not.

Agreed and that is indeed a good question I have been ask myself and my friends. We have played EG1130 for years and just bought bulk last month or so, to be honest, we did not see much difference and we still got a good 1.5 to 2 games out of them.
Indeed, after we are done playing them, the cork does NOT look as good as when they are new.
Personally, I am not ready to pay an extra 50% more for the good-look of a used birdie. lol :-)
For the price and performance we got for the Aeroplane black label, it seems it is still a very good value to us.

[ikcud]

I always been using EG1130 for my social plays for this past year. Even though I know the recent drop of performance by them, they are bang for buck to play for social play as we all know badminton isn't a cheap sport to play. For those who are die hard for flight and consistency but not worried about money and lasting long, My friends usually grab out their Ying Yang and RSL.