I'm thinking seriously about buying a Martin Hatfield to; a)shoot with one of the grandsons who seems to be getting into archery in a big way, and b) perhaps hunting. I sold all of my archery stuff (Howatt Hunters, fletching jigs, etc.) some 10 - 15 years ago and much has changed since then.

First - I note that there is a "Fast Flight" string now. I suspect it is made from micro dyneema or some such instead of dacron. What is the difference in arrow speed between the two string types from a 50# +/- recurve shooting a nominal arrow weight (600 (?) grains). Are the FF strings as forgiving as the dacron strings? Is buying an older Hatfield vs. a later Hatfield that can use FF strings worth the effort (and price I suspect)?

Second - When fletching your own arrows, what is the difference in using left wing vs. right wing feathers. Which is appropriate for ? I'm thinking of just staying with a straight fletch. I'll be shooting off of the shelf so feathers are pretty much my only good option if I understand the advice I've read. That is how I shot in the ancient past (bare bow, no sights, feathers). I think I'll use a sight this time. The lightest I can find.

TIA - OGG ( aka Duane)

First, sorry I did'nt notice this untill today.
I doubt you will see a huge difference in speed between the fastflight/dacron, mabey 15FPS. Where the fastflight shines is the less stretch. Helps keep your BH, and thus arrow spine more consistant.
Larry Hatfield, who it was designed and built by, still visits tradtalk.com if you care to ask him directly.
Left/right wing feathers, most would tell you it does'nt much matter.

Not sure about the string, but I do know that left and right fletch doesnt really matter. Just the direction of spin. Personally I stick to a straight fletch and it works just fine. Also, if you are going to use whisker biscuit arrow rest or some other full coverage arrow rest that holds the arrow on all sides, a straight fletch will be your best bet. I have a whisker biscuit and have tried a right fletch of 6 degrees, the whisker biscuit interferes with the rotation. So, stick to straight

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Hello, and welcome to this site, post often. :)