FORTISVEX
FORTISVEX Arizona State Flag 3x5 Feet Nylon - Made in USA with Brass Grommets
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- FPAMSTAZNYL3x5G
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Description
When most people picture a flag, this is the size they mean. It fits the bracket that already came with the house, and it is the single most replaced size in the country.
This is the Arizona state flag at 3x5 Feet (15 square feet) in nylon, made in the United States and finished with brass grommets.
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 hold to a faithful reproduction of that design, at the standard outdoor sizes the industry uses and the states themselves buy. What matters on a flag that flies outdoors is accurate colors, seal and emblems, and that is exactly what this one has.
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.
It is the real flag we produce, not a simplified version.
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.
Have it on hand before the date arrives and it is on the flagpole in time. The full state-by-state list is 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.
At fifteen square feet, a house flag, the flag material decides whether it flies on a light day and how fast it dries after rain.
This listing is the nylon. It is the right choice for the sheltered and moderate wind sites named above, on any house bracket, and anywhere the flag comes down in storms. Two things decide that. Nylon is light, so it flies on the breeze most yards actually get instead of hanging limp, and it dries fast, which is what fights mildew in a humid climate. What it gives up is ultraviolet life: nylon’s amide bonds absorb ultraviolet and break, so under hard sun it loses strength and color faster than polyester, and it loses roughly a tenth of its strength while it is wet. If your site is one of the exposed ones above, look at the polyester version of this flag instead.
The part most buyers learn only the second time around: nylon flies in wind too light to move polyester. When it matters that the flag is actually moving — a still morning, a holiday, a funeral, a ceremony — that favors nylon even somewhere polyester would last longer. A flag that hangs motionless is not doing its job either, however durable it is.
The benchmark institutions generally lean on comes from the American Legion: the federal government's own expectation is about ninety days for a daily sunrise-to-sunset flag, and roughly a quarter of that flying around the clock. Retailers report three to six months for nylon flown daily, four to eight months for polyester, and one to three years for occasional flying. Treat those as working estimates rather than a warranty, since exposure can shift them a great deal.
How the 3x5 Feet is built
Because the 3x5 foot flag is the size bought most often on price alone, it is also the size that fails first at the fly end. Four rows of lock stitching there is what buys the extra two seasons.
Work the numbers and you get 15 square feet of nylon at roughly two ounces a square yard. At thirty miles an hour, the fly end actually outpaces the wind, because the wave running to the tip accelerates along the way — the reason the tip fails first, and the reason fly-end stitching count is the number that matters.
One person puts it up and takes it down. It folds into a drawer. If you are rotating two flags monthly, this is the size where that habit costs you nothing but a minute.
Each lock stitch knots into the one beside it, so a broken thread stays broken right where it snapped instead of unraveling the whole seam. 4 rows is not 4 times the strength — it is 3 backups. Two solid brass grommets sit in a reinforced, inch and a half heading. At fifteen square feet, there is enough sail area to put real strain on them whenever the site sees wind.
The material here is commercial grade nylon. Its lightness lets it fly on a gentle breeze, it sheds rather than absorbs water, and it dries quickly, sparing the seams the extra weight and strain of staying wet. Field tested UV resistant ink handles the part that actually determines fade life: sun exposure.
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?
This is the size for a five or six foot house bracket or a fifteen to twenty foot flagpole, the most common residential setup nationwide.
Questions about the 3x5 Feet
What size flagpole does a 3x5 foot flag need? A six foot house bracket, or an in-ground flagpole of fifteen to twenty feet. It is the most common residential pairing in the country.
How long does a 3x5 foot nylon flag last outside? The federal working figure is about ninety days for a flag flown daily from sunrise to sunset, and about a quarter of that flown around the clock. Retailers commonly see three to six months in daily use and one to three years flown on occasions only.
Is this flag printed or sewn? The design is printed in UV resistant ink on one side and reads through in reverse on the back, which is how nearly every state flag sold in the country is made. The construction, the heading, the stitching and the grommets are sewn.
Why this size gets replaced most
There is nothing weaker about the 3x5 foot flag itself — it is just the size most often bought on price, and built to match. A cheap one with one or two rows of stitching on the fly end frays inside a season and is six inches shorter within two. The construction is what separates the two.
Specifications
- Size: 3x5 Feet
- Area: 15 square feet
- Material: 100 percent nylon
- Fly end: 4 rows of lock stitching
- Heading: heavy duty white, reinforced, 1-1/2 inch
- Finish: Brass Grommets
- Ink: UV resistant, field tested
- Made in the United States by FORTISVEX
Which size do I need?
The proportion that makes both tables work is simple: length equal to roughly a quarter to a third of the flagpole’s height. Sitting between two sizes is common, and the choice there is really a trade between a flag that flies often and one that is seen from a distance.
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
That same ratio keeps working past a hundred feet, but at that point the flag and the flagpole are no longer separate purchases — the truck, the halyard, the foundation and the wind load all have to be sized together, and a flag chosen without checking the flagpole first damages the pole rather than itself. A handful of well known installations deliberately run past the rule of thumb, and every one of them did it with an engineer, not a chart.
We carry the full range whether or not every size appears on this website. If the size you need is not listed, we can still supply it.
About the back of the flag
A printed flag's reverse face is a mirror image of the front, and that is standard, not a fault — it describes most of the flags flown across the country. Double sided construction, which reads correctly from either face, sews two flags together with a liner and roughly doubles both weight and price. Single sided remains standard, and correct, unless a state's statute specifically calls for double sided.
Flying it with the United States flag
This is governed by the United States Flag Code, Title 4, Section 7: the United States flag always outranks every other flag in position, never displayed below it or to its right at the same level — right from the viewer’s side, that is. Two flagpoles of equal height place the United States flag at the viewer’s left with both flags the same size; if the poles differ in height, it goes on the taller pole; on one pole flying two flags, it sits at the top. The Flag Code carries no penalty for private citizens, but institutions treat it as the standard.
Buy two and they both last longer
Alternate two flags on a monthly schedule and you will get more life from both than from three flags flown until they wear out, because resting fabric recovers and the fly end stops absorbing the same repeated stress. A severe storm is the one condition worth taking the flag down for; it can do more damage in a night than six calm months. The fly end frays first, not the center, and stitching it early adds a season.
For cities, counties, schools and agencies
We supply state flags to municipalities, school districts, fire and police departments, courthouses and state agencies. Tax exempt accounts are handled through the tax exempt page. For quantities, replacement schedules or sizes not listed, use the contact page.
Why buy it from us
This is a small American company, and what you see listed is what we actually stock. Every flag is made in the United States, printed with UV resistant ink, and built to the construction described above, not to whatever a price point demands. Selling one flag that lasts beats selling three that fail. Orders over twenty five dollars ship free.
Additional Information
Material Type: |
Commercial Nylon |
Flag Size: |
3x5 Feet |
Made in: |
USA |
Finish: |
Brass Grommets |