FORTISVEX Arizona State Flag 8x12 Feet Nylon - Made in USA with Rope and Thimbles

Ninety six square feet, on a forty to fifty foot flagpole outside a civic building, a campus, a large commercial site: that is the 8x12 foot flag, and it is bought on purpose, never by accident.

This is the Arizona state flag at 8x12 Feet (96 square feet) in nylon, made in the United States and finished with a sewn rope and plated steel thimbles.

Built to the Arizona flag specification

The Arizona flag is set out in Arizona Revised Statutes Section 41-851. It is thirteen rays, seven red and six gold, over a lower blue half, with a copper five-pointed star centered. The statute goes further than most and gives a four foot hoist and a six foot fly with a two foot star, then adds that the same proportions apply to flags of other sizes.

Adopted February 27, 1917, becoming law without Governor Campbell’s signature, having grown out of a 1910 rifle team banner designed by Colonel Charles W. Harris; the first official flag was sewn by Nan Hayden.

Arizona is one of the few states where the standard size and the statute agree. Section 41-851 specifies a four foot hoist and a six foot fly, then states that the same proportions apply to flags of other sizes. A 4x6 foot flag is exactly on specification.

We reproduce that design faithfully, in the standard outdoor flag sizes the whole industry uses and that the states themselves buy. What matters on an outdoor flag is that the colors, the seal and the emblems are right, and they are.

The law that defines it, in its own words

Arizona Revised Statutes Section 41-851 reads:

A. Blue and old gold shall be the colors of the state. The blue shall be the same shade as that of the flag of the United States. B. The flag of the state shall be of the following design: The lower half of the flag a blue field and the upper half divided into thirteen equal segments or rays which shall start at the center on the lower line and continue to the edges of the flag, colored alternately light yellow and red, consisting of six yellow and seven red rays. In the center of the flag, superimposed, there shall be a copper-colored five pointed star, so placed that the upper points shall be one foot from the top of the flag and the lower points one foot from the bottom of the flag. The red and blue shall be the same shade as the colors in the flag of the United States. The flag shall have a four-foot hoist and a six-foot fly, with a two-foot star and the same proportions shall be observed for flags of other sizes. C. The flag represents the copper star of Arizona rising from a blue field in the face of a setting sun.

You do not have to take our word for any of that. Read Arizona Revised Statutes Section 41-851 in full at the Arizona Legislature, and check what we sell against it.

That is the flag as we build it. Nothing about it is approximate.

What is on it and what it means

The statute describes the copper star of Arizona rising from a blue field in the face of a setting sun. The thirteen rays are the original colonies. Red and gold are the Spanish colors carried by Coronado. The copper star marks Arizona as the largest copper producing state.

What most listings get wrong

The thirteen rays do not represent Arizona’s counties. That error is everywhere. They represent the thirteen colonies, and the statute is clear about the setting sun.

Where the Arizona flag flies

The SGA flagpole in the Scottsdale and Phoenix area, about two hundred and five feet, described by the contractor as Arizona's tallest. It required a City of Phoenix height variance from ninety feet to two hundred and five feet and Federal Aviation Administration approval near Scottsdale Airport.

On December 7, 2025 a skydiving team flew a three thousand two hundred square foot United States flag in freefall over Eloy in a certified Guinness attempt to reclaim the freefall flag record. An event record connected to Arizona rather than a fixed installation.

Fly it on Arizona’s birthday

Arizona became the 48th state on February 14, 1912. Under the United States Flag Code as amended July 7, 1976, a state flag flown on the state’s birthday takes its place beneath the United States flag, and that day is the one date every year the Arizona flag has an official reason to go up.

Order ahead and this flag is ready for the day. The complete list of state birthdays lives on our state birthdays page.

Nylon or polyester in Arizona

Polyester statewide. Extreme ultraviolet at Phoenix, Tucson and Mesa, monsoon downbursts from July through September, and dust abrasion. Nylon only for shaded or short term display.

Ninety six square feet genuinely loads a flagpole. On an exposed site from the list above, polyester stops being a preference and becomes the only sensible choice, with the flagpole and truck rated to match.

This listing is nylon, right for the sheltered and moderate wind sites above, for a standard house bracket, and for anywhere you take the flag down before a storm. Two things make it the pick. It flies on the breeze most yards actually see instead of hanging flat, being light, and it dries fast, which fights mildew where humidity is high. What it sacrifices is ultraviolet resistance: nylon’s amide bonds absorb and break under sun, losing strength and color faster than polyester, plus roughly a tenth of its strength while wet. For an exposed site from the list above, the polyester version is the better choice.

Here is the part usually learned the hard way, after a second purchase: nylon catches wind on days polyester simply will not move. When the flag needs to be visibly flying — a quiet morning, a holiday, a funeral, a ceremony — that argues for nylon even on a site where polyester would technically last longer. A flag that just hangs there is not doing its job either.

The number most institutions rely on traces to the American Legion, which reports a roughly ninety-day expectation from the federal government for a flag flown daily sunrise to sunset, and about a quarter of that flown around the clock. Retailer experience puts nylon at three to six months daily, polyester at four to eight, and an occasionally flown flag at one to three years. These figures are practical guidance, not a warranty, and exposure will move them considerably.

How the 8x12 Feet is built

Six rows of lock stitching on the fly end, and the corners are zig zag stitched rather than run straight, because a straight seam at a corner can be worked open by the wind over a season.

The arithmetic behind that: 96 square feet of nylon at roughly two ounces a square yard. In a thirty mile an hour wind the fly end of a flag this size travels faster than the wind itself, because the wave running out to the tip accelerates as it goes. That is why the tip wears out first and why the stitching count at that end is the number worth reading on any listing.

Handling this size, on the ground or at the flagpole, is a two person job. A gust can take one person off balance while clipping ninety six square feet onto the halyard.

Lock stitching means each stitch is knotted into the next, so a broken thread stops where it broke rather than unzipping the seam. 6 rows does not mean 6 times the strength; it means 5 backups. This size drops grommets entirely. The heading carries a nylon rope its full length, ending in plated steel thimbles, so the load runs through the rope instead of two vulnerable points.

Commercial grade nylon is the material in this flag. Light enough to catch a gentle breeze, it sheds water rather than holding onto it and dries fast, which keeps a flag from staying heavy and stressing its seams. The ink is UV resistant and field tested, since sun exposure is what determines how long the color lasts.

A design that reproduces cleanly

Thirteen rays and a precisely placed star mean the printing has to register accurately, and the copper of the star is a color most presses render as an orange tan.

For what it is worth, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed 72 state, provincial and territorial flags in 2001 and rated them from zero to ten. The Arizona flag placed 6, at 7.92 out of 10.

Will it fit my flagpole?

Forty to fifty feet of in-ground flagpole, on a truck and halyard rather than a bracket, is the right fit.

Questions about the 8x12 Feet

What size flagpole for an 8x12 foot flag? Forty to fifty feet, on a truck and halyard rated for the load. This is an institutional flag.

What are the thimbles for? The rope sewn through the heading ends in two plated steel thimbles. The halyard snaps clip to the thimbles, so the pull runs through the rope along the whole hoist rather than tearing at two grommets.

Can an 8x12 foot flag fly around the clock? It can, on a lit flagpole, but a flag flown twenty four hours lasts roughly a quarter as long as one flown sunrise to sunset. Budget for that.

Why rope and thimbles carry most of the load

Ninety six square feet of pull, concentrated onto two small brass rings, is more than grommets alone can take, which is why a single reinforced grommet at the center of the heading now serves only as a secondary attachment point. A rope sewn the full heading length spreads that load across the entire hoist, with thimbles carrying the attachment instead. It costs more to build, and it is the only way this size lasts.

Specifications

• Size: 8x12 Feet
• Area: 96 square feet
• Material: 100 percent nylon
• Fly end: 6 rows of lock stitching
• Heading: heavy duty white, reinforced, 2 inch
• Finish: Rope, Thimbles and Center Grommet
• Ink: UV resistant, field tested
• Made in the United States by FORTISVEX

Which size do I need?

The rule behind both tables below is that a flag’s length should run about a quarter to a third of the flagpole’s height. Where two sizes both fit, the smaller one flies more often and lasts longer, and the larger one reads from further away.

If you know your flagpole height, start here.

• 6 Feet house bracket: 2x3 Feet or 3x5 Feet
• 15 to 20 Feet flagpole: 3x5 Feet or 4x6 Feet
• 20 to 25 Feet flagpole: 4x6 Feet or 5x8 Feet
• 25 to 35 Feet flagpole: 5x8 Feet or 6x10 Feet
• 35 to 45 Feet flagpole: 6x10 Feet or 8x12 Feet
• 45 to 60 Feet flagpole: 8x12 Feet or 10x15 Feet
• 60 to 80 Feet flagpole: 10x15 Feet or 12x18 Feet
• 80 to 100 Feet flagpole: 12x18 Feet or 15x25 Feet
• 100 to 120 Feet flagpole: 15x25 Feet or 20x30 Feet
• 120 to 150 Feet flagpole: 20x30 Feet or 20x38 Feet
• 150 to 200 Feet flagpole: 20x38 Feet or 30x50 Feet
• 200 to 240 Feet flagpole: 30x50 Feet or 30x60 Feet
• 240 Feet and above: 30x60 Feet or 50x80 Feet, engineered to the flagpole

If you know your flag size, start here.

• 2x3 Feet: 4 to 8 Feet bracket or garden flagpole
• 3x5 Feet: 6 Feet bracket, or 15 to 20 Feet in-ground flagpole
• 4x6 Feet: 18 to 25 Feet in-ground flagpole
• 5x8 Feet: 25 to 35 Feet flagpole
• 6x10 Feet: 30 to 40 Feet flagpole
• 8x12 Feet: 40 to 50 Feet flagpole
• 10x15 Feet: 50 to 60 Feet flagpole
• 12x18 Feet: 60 to 80 Feet flagpole
• 15x25 Feet: 80 to 100 Feet flagpole
• 20x30 Feet: 100 to 120 Feet flagpole
• 20x38 Feet: 120 to 150 Feet flagpole. This is the garrison size under Executive Order 10834, at a one to one point nine ratio rather than the two to three of the commercial sizes, and it is the size flown at the White House and the Capitol
• 30x50 Feet: 150 to 200 Feet flagpole
• 30x60 Feet: 200 to 240 Feet flagpole. This is the largest standard commercial size
• 50x80 Feet: 240 Feet and above, engineered to the flagpole

Push the flagpole past a hundred feet and the same ratio still applies, but it stops being a simple lookup: the flag, the truck, the halyard, the foundation and the wind load need to be engineered as a unit, and skipping that step damages the flagpole before it damages the flag. A number of famous large flags deliberately break the rule of thumb, on an engineer’s word rather than a table’s.

We do not limit ourselves to what is listed on the site. The full range above is available to order, and an unlisted size can still be supplied.

About the back of the flag

The reverse of a printed flag mirrors the front, which is ordinary and true of nearly every flag in the country. To have both faces read correctly requires a double sided construction: two flags joined with a liner in between, at about twice the material and twice the price. Single sided is the industry standard, and the sensible pick unless a state’s statute says otherwise.

Flying it with the United States flag

Title 4, Section 7 of the Flag Code is the source for this. The United States flag is never subordinate in position — nothing flies above it, and nothing takes its place at the viewer’s left when flags are level with each other. On matched flagpoles, the United States flag takes the viewer’s left and the flags should be sized the same; on unequal flagpoles, it goes on the taller one; and on a single pole flying two flags, it goes at the top. There is no penalty for civilians who do not follow the Code, but institutions treat it as the standard regardless.

Buy two and they both last longer

One flag flown month after month wears faster at the same point every time; two flags rotated monthly outlast three run to failure, because rest lets fabric recover. Bring the flag in ahead of severe weather — a hard storm overnight can outdo six normal months. And check the fly end first, since that is where fraying starts, and a small stitch repair there is worth a full extra season.

For cities, counties, schools and agencies

Fire and police departments, school districts, courthouses, municipalities and state agencies are all regular buyers of our state flags. Tax exempt purchasing is set up through the tax exempt page, and quantities, replacement schedules or an unlisted size are handled through the contact page.

Why buy it from us

We run a small American company and stock the flags we sell. Each one is made in the United States, printed in UV resistant ink, and built to the construction described above instead of built to hit a lower price. One durable flag beats three that fail, in our view. Free shipping applies to orders over twenty five dollars.