Edited and revised by:
Justin Beard
Version 3.2 July 24, 2000
Index:
·
Air Power History
·
Design Goals
·
Stock Features
·
Good Points
·
Questionable Points
·
Bad Points
·
Passed The Tests
·
Bolt Designs and
Accuracy
·
Anti-Pinch Feature
Explained
·
Velocity Adjustment
·
External Regulators
·
Air Power Toys
·
Barrels
·
Paint
·
Spare Parts
·
Maintenance
·
Behind The Scenes
·
Physical Specs
·
Why To Buy
Air Power History
Air Power had its roots in a Virginia
Beach paintball field called Combat Zone, operated by Nick Lotuaco. Nick, along with his machinist Greg Koteski,
built all sorts of upgrade parts for Nelson-based pump guns in their spare
time. One day the pair got to the point
where they had so many pieces they could build a complete gun. Thus the Apex was born, and in the winter of
1987 Nick started the company Air Power to produce it using only one mill and
one lathe! Soon after, the Apex Elite
(a revised version of the gun) was released and in late ’92 the company went to
full CNC. These guns were high quality
pieces and were the first ones ever to have what Greg coined the “Venturi
Bolt”. The Apex’s were popular,
although expensive, and are considered by many to be the finest of their class. The Navy and even the Marines used them in
various training exercises.
In February of 1993 Air Power released
its first semi, the Vector. Unlike the
Apex, however, it was born as less than satisfactory. An extreme gas hog (only 29 rnds/oz.), the Vector had unstable
velocity, and the valve tube was prone to failure in < 10k rounds. This version of the gun was later called the
Model A. Thankfully, the Model B was
introduced the next year and although it outwardly looked nearly identical,
internally it was completely revised.
Efficiency was increased, the velocity stabilized, and the valve tube
was replaced with a solid valve shaft of 17-4H stainless (stronger than
titanium). The Vector was available in
two versions, the “Backbottle” which was velocity adjusted internally, and the
“Thruster” which used an optional external regulator for velocity control. Later that year and in to early 1995 Air
Power made the Model C, which is the same gun but came with a bottomline
grip. In total there were between
1200-1300 Vectors built.
Unfortunately Air Power hardly
advertised the Vector and, due to the bad reputation of the Model A (and the
$600 list price), it never really caught on.
Because sales were slow production of the gun was discontinued in 1995. Michael Power, their main customer service
rep., left sometime in `98 as AP got out of the paintball business entirely by
moving the company and halting all warranty repairs. Today Air Power operates as a general construction contractor for
the US military.
This FAQ deals with the Model B and C
Vector, which were the only ones that were really produced in quantity. You will rarely see any used Model A’s
anyway, as nearly all of them were upgraded for free by Air Power.
Quoting
Air Power:
-
It has to be
accurate. Consistently accurate. Firearms accurate.
-
It has to mimic a
Heckler&Koch MP5 assault rifle.
-
It has to be
balanced.
-
It has to break down
without any tools for “normal” cleaning.
-
It has to withstand
1800 psi and a completely liquid system.
One
of the Vectors greatest strengths is that it is already “tricked out” right out
of the box. Here is all you get without paying a penny more:
-
Open bolt autococking
cycle.
-
100 psi regulated
action with 4-way valve.
-
Anti-chop field-strip
bolt.
-
Tool-less valve
removal.
-
Quick-release barrel.
-
Raised dual-sight
rail.
-
Target style trigger.
-
Zero problems with
liquid CO2.
-
Very loud. Air Power
says the main air charge nears Mach 1 going around the second corner when the
gun is fired. Barks like a big dog with
the accompanying intimidation factor!
-
Has probably the best accuracy of any semi. Vectors with stock barrels have won numerous
5-man and 10-man target shoots at the All American Opens.
-
Great stability; the
gun barely twitches when you pull the trigger.
-
Eats liquid or gas CO2 and nitrogen
(nitro requires a regulator, of course).
-
Shortest trigger pull
of any non-electronic gun; down to 1/16” (really!), and snaps when you pull (no grind).
-
Rate of fire is
amazing; it will outrun any finger.
-
Trigger mechanism
prevents “short stroking” (gun both fires and
recocks when the trigger is pulled; no waiting for it to be released).
-
Anti-chop is about
95% effective in preventing ball chops.
-
Very reliable -- it
cocks itself (no bolt pin to pull) and since it uses 100 psi regulated action,
will recock even in the coldest weather.
-
Precision
construction -- it’s hard to find the seams!
-
The barrel releases
at the press of a button which completely exposes the bolt for cleaning.
-
The bolt and valve
can both be removed without tools for easy cleaning.
-
Stock barrel is well
polished, and quite accurate.
-
Little blowback – no
need for a powerfeed.
-
Relatively short
considering its 12½ ” barrel -- most of the action and pneumatics are below the
barrel, rather than behind it.
-
Few cold weather
problems (you can play with CO2 in the
winter! Really!).
-
Works with very low
pressure. Air Power claims the gun will
cycle (although not shoot very far…) at 80 psi. If you are running out of
air your opponents can’t tell, unless they see the balls dropping.
-
Brand new “Thruster”
Vectors are still available for less than half
their original price!
Questionable Points
-
Great stability does not agitate the hopper; could use a
motorized loader (although the low pressure action won’t chop a mis-fed ball
from a regular hopper).
-
If you remove your
barrel while your hopper is attached, and forget to turn it upside-down, you’ll
be dropping balls all over the ground.
(Feed port is part of the barrel.)
-
Very loud. Silencers can help this somewhat.
-
Tank must be removed
to adjust velocity (an external regulator overcomes this).
-
The gun may fire once
when you gas up, regardless of the safety (this is documented in the
manual). This is a rare occurance, but
load your paint after you hook up
your CO2.
-
Gas efficiency
(summer) is estimated at up to 65 shots/oz according to AP. Overall shots per tank will vary, however,
depending on each gun’s individual 4-way.
They are designed to vent at up to an ounce an hour. A tank on/off valve would be a nice thing to
have.
-
All-aluminum body
seems a target for stripped threads (caution is given several places in the
manual against over-tightening). Use
common sense when assembling.
-
Spare parts are
expensive and hard to find but can be obtained from Justin Beard at
classicpaintball@hotmail.com (Air Power no longer has any parts).
-
The Adapter Body has
two very, very thin o-rings that seal it in, which are easy to slice when
removing to oil. Recommend having a few
spares on hand.
-
High pressure feed
line to the regulator has been known to leak on the valve side. This is easily repairable, though.
-
Almost every pin and
screw is untreated steel – oil them often, or the rust monster cometh!
-
Heavy – almost 3½ lbs
without tank or paint. Not for wimps!
-
No longer any
warranty of any kind from Air Power.
These
are a few things that AP, myself, or someone else has done to their Vector,
(accidentally or on purpose) and what happened to their gun: (don’t try these
unless you own a Vector!)
-
Paint in the airway… so much paint it was oozing out the
4-way’s vents! Result: lots of paint in the barrel of course, but
still firing away.
- Finger in the chamber when the gun was fired. Result: anti-pinch was ‘tripped’, owner kept his finger.
-
Low pressure air
line hooked to gun instead of high pressure CO2. Result: Vector continued to cycle properly at
pressures as low as 80 psi.
-
Siphon tank
attached. Result: big, BIG, BIG CO2 cloud, big
increase in velocity. Velocity adjust
was then adjusted, cut the cloud down to size and returned to 300 fps. No problems. Siphon it if you wish for superior winter performance.
Many people have heard the P.R.
about the Vector being very accurate and long ranged, and assume that it must
be a closed-bolt design. (Closed-bolt
means that the gun’s chamber is closed with the ball loaded before you pull the
trigger.) The Vector is actually
open-bolt. In addition, the bolt does
not even have an o-ring on it to seal the chamber. It is also not a
venturi bolt, like it’s pump-gun ancestor.
(The Model A also used the
venturi pattern.)
When
discussing these points with AP, I was told that they experimented with a bolt
o-ring, but they found that by removing it the Vector’s gas efficiency dropped
only slightly and the rate of fire was increased by at least one shot per
second. This was due to the pneumatics
not getting dragged down by the bolt o-ring’s friction with the barrel. This bolt was still available as an option
however.
Air Power also abandoned the venturi
pattern for the Model B and went to the old center-fire design. The real
reason AP invented the venturi bolt for the Apex was because they found
that the multi-port head was much more gentle on the fragile paint of the
era. Therefore you could raise the
velocity to whatever you wanted without shattering paint (chronographs weren’t
used much in the late 80’s). This is
why the Apex was originally considered so accurate; the trajectory of paint at
higher speeds is much flatter. However,
the new paintballs being produced in the Vector era of the mid 90’s were far
more durable, and suddenly the venturi bolt lost much of its effectiveness.
I have heard several people argue
that a closed-bolt design introduces less ball-deformation and turbulence
during firing, and that this deformation and turbulence are responsible for
decreased accuracy and range. No proof
of either of these claims has been offered, and I remain skeptical. Besides, the range of a paintball is only affected, for the most part, by its velocity (ask any physics
teacher). As for accuracy, the
condition of your paint (roundness) and its fit within the barrel has more of
an effect than probably anything else.
In my opinion, one small factor that
helps with the Vector’s accuracy is its incredible trigger. Since the trigger-pull is so short, and the
gun’s action so smooth, the barrel remains rock steady when you fire. Not having the end of the barrel jerk every
time you pull the trigger goes a long way towards a well placed shot.
Many people want to know more about
the anti-pinch feature, so here is how it works: You’re firing away and a mis-fed or deformed ball drops down your
elbow halfway into the chamber. When
you pull the trigger, the bolt moves forward, powered by a 100 psi burst from
the 4-way. About 95% of the time the
bolt will stop before breaking/slicing the ball. The gun will not fire, and will appear to be out of CO2.
With your index finger, just flip
the safety (a lever right above and forward of the trigger, on the side of the
gun) and you’ll hear a slight click as the gun recocks and resets. Flip down the safety (off) and you’re ready
to fire again. When the gun recocked, the
ball should have fallen into the chamber.
This resetting procedure takes about ½ second if you know what you are
doing.
On
an average day with average paint and a high rate of fire, expect to reset your
Vector 4-5 times. Don’t think of this
as four resets; think of it as zero ball chops, zero hooks/slices.
Oddly enough, this was not a design
goal, but rather came as a side effect when they dropped the regulated pressure
to 100 psi. AP has never marketed the
‘anti-pinch’ feature, even though is has really gotten around. Some Autococker mods lower the regulated
pressure down near that of the Vector, and with the proper bolt, they too can
have this anti-pinch feature (although you have to yank back the bolt to recock
them).
The
“Back Bottle” Vector adjusts its velocity by limiting the distance the cup seal
can move from the valve seat using an internal valve stop (velocity
piston). Adjustment is done by removing
the tank (bummer), and turning a set screw in the adapter body with an Allen
wrench. The manual states you have 6-8
turns to work with.
To set the Vector at maximum
velocity it is not necessary to back the screw all the way out. Back the screw out until it is flush with
the adapter body. Now slowly twist it
in until you feel a slight resistance (it will be several turns). When you feel this resistance you have just
hit the velocity piston. Turning
further will push the piston forward, decreasing velocity. When turned in all the way the pin can
barely move, and the cup will put hardly any air in your barrel. This adjustment in no way affects the gas
going to the internal regulator and its 100 psi for the action.
Note, as they use an external
regulator for velocity adjustment, Vectors sold as “Thruster Ready” come
without the piston and set screw.
External Regulators
So
in case you use someone else’s regulator, here’s the factory instructions that
came with a Thruster Reg’:
Remove the main spring from your
Vector; refer to the General Maintenance and Cleaning Disassembly section of
your owners manual, replace with the Thruster main spring.
Step 1: Unscrew valve seat from the adapter body. WARNING: do not scar
adapter body!
Scratches can cause irreparable damage.
Always hold
seat with a tool, not the adapter body to prevent
damage.
Step 2: Remove the shaft from seat.
Step 3: Remove the spring from adapter body.
Step 4: Remove the velocity piston.
Step 5: Remove adjuster screw.
The piston, adjuster screw, and return spring
can be stored for future use should you desire to
shoot the Vector on
siphon without the Thruster.
Step 6: Install the Thruster valve shaft return spring.
Step 7: Install valve shaft into seat.
Step 8: Lubricate o-rings and interior of adapter body. Screw valve seat into
adapter body.
NOTE: Be careful not to slice
o-rings when assembling.
Step 9: Inspect o-rings for damage.
Adapter body is now ready for insertion into
Vector.
*Note: guns sold as
“Thruster Ready” come with Thruster springs already installed.
Sometimes obtaining proper velocity
settings with a reg. isn’t quite this easy and you may have to experiment
initially with various spring pressures in the gun. One handy thing is that Nelson main and valve springs can be used
to replace the Vector’s. I’d start with
blue for the main and use yellow for the valve.
Air Power Toys
-
Bottomline Grip: MOD-2 has a
downward angle and MOD-3 is flat bottomed.
Accepts all standard bottomline adapters.
-
Shorter barrel: 8” effective
length. Available in all barrel styles.
-
Left-Hand Feed barrel: rare
-
Left-Handed Receiver: safety/reset on the
left. Very rare.
-
NRG: Non-Restricted Gravity barrel, feed port is
on top.
-
Push-Button Safety: no need to flip to
reset, just push.
-
Thruster: inline regulator/velocity adjuster.
-
Power Stock: gas-through stock
for remote use.
-
Pro-Comp Nitro System: lightweight
regulator w/114ci fiber-wrapped tank.
-
Parts Kit: includes at least one of every seal, o-ring,
and screw.
The stock 12½” barrel for the Vector
is reported to be the most accurate produced so far. Its rate of fire is 7-8 shots/second. This barrel has neither ports nor a muzzle brake. It is anodized inside and out and is very
well honed.
The
NRG barrel has the feed port moved to the top for increased rate of feed. This requires that the raised site rail
either be removed or flipped backward (two screws). Air Power also made a few NRG’s with a Weaver-style rail mounted
directly on the barrel itself at a 45 degree angle from vertical (custom
ordered only). Rate of fire is tested
at 9-10 shots/second, depending on whose finger is on the trigger. Better get a VL Revolution too.
AP
also offered a shorter barrel, which lowers the effective length from 12½” to
8”, and reduces the overhang of the barrel from 5” to ½”. Reduced accuracy is expected, but not
confirmed.
(An
interesting note here; there are some Vectors that came with an 11½” barrel
instead of a 12½”. This was because
during production the barrels were sectioned out of super long pieces of
extruded aluminum tubing, and the last barrel cut ended up 1” short.)
BoA
can custom make a ported barrel for the Vector in brass (with various finishes)
that has about equal accuracy as stock.
The feed port is also lengthened to better than 2”, which may help
increase feed speed (and get the hopper well out of the way of a nice big
site). Call BoA at (330) 878-6309. J&J and Smart Parts at one time made
barrels for the Vector by taking a stock tube, cutting it, and attaching their
own ported end. Smart Parts will still
do this as a custom job. Call them at
(724) 539-2660.
Paint
The Vectors were designed and tested
using ProBall, but don’t have any “incompatibilities” with any brand of
paint. All Vectors come with a wire
ball detent built into the barrel.
This is the stated
price for all parts shown in the breakdown in the manual (current prices may
vary).
Barrel $75 Valve Shaft $20
Site
Base $20 Return Spring $1.50
HP
Line $25 Velocity Piston $10
Barrel
Mount $45 Adapter Body* $40
Adapter
Pin $4 4-Way Valve $100
HP
Line Cover $20 Valve Arm* $20
Drive
Pin $4 Trigger Sear $20
Bolt
Head Slider $20 Trigger Assembly $30
Action
Power Unit $200 Side Cover* $30
Hammer $25 Foregrip $27
Receiver* CALL Pistol Grip $25
Valve
Seat* $30 Parts Kit $40
Notes:
-
“Return Spring” is
the valve spring.
-
Valve Seat must be
matched to Adapter Body.
-
Side Cover must be
matched to Receiver.
-
Valve Arm must be
matched to rest of action.
-
Action Power Unit
includes the regulator, ram, main spring, and hammer.
-
Total cost (without
receiver) is $791.50
Here are the
things I do when returning from the field:
-
Remove and clean
barrel, bolt, and bolt pin.
-
Put a few drops of
oil on the bolt slider (a quality lightweight
grease would work here too).
-
Put it all back in.
-
Wipe off any paint on
the outside and spray the entire gun with a pure silicone spray (makes it look
great and keeps the rust off the screws).
-
I also like to put a
drop of oil in the tank adapter every time I gas up the gun.
“Every dozen games or so” maintenance:
-
Unscrew brass
regulator bonnet, remove piston, and check/oil the two o-rings and plastic cup
seal.
-
Clean and oil all
trigger parts.
-
Remove Action Power
Unit. Clean and oil, no grease. Thoroughly clean out hammer, bolt carrier, and their passage
within the receiver.
-
Remove Adapter Body
and open valve. Check/oil cup seal and
both o-rings. Oil piston (if still
there, removed if you have a regulator).
Note: have a pair of the thin AB o-rings on hand,
they may need replacing.
-
Check all low
pressure hoses, make sure they have not slipped off a bit.
-
Check/tighten pommel
(grip) screws.
-
Put about four or
five drops of oil in the ASA adapter (where you screw in the tank), gas up the
gun, and fire a few times to circulate through the pneumatics. Leave the barrel off here to keep the excess
oil out.
-
BE CAREFUL
not to overtighten the foregrip screws when reassembling!
For oiling all the ‘external’
moving parts 3 in 1 oil is OK. For
anything that will encounter CO2 I use KC
Trouble Free oil or in a pinch Gold Cup.
Remember, the 4-way is designed to
hiss just a tad while powered up, so don’t worry. Up to an ounce of CO2 lost per hour
is acceptable.
You
may want to remove the Adapter Body well after using the Vector. If you don’t give it a good 15 minutes of
“cool down” time after degassing the gun, you increase the risk of damaging the
o-rings. When removing, twist a lot,
pull a little, and oil well before reinserting.
Behind The
Scenes
Things start with the Vector cocked:
-
Hammer is locked onto
bolt carrier by hammer sear, main spring compressed.
-
Hammer/ram are back
(next to valve).
-
Bolt is open (above
ram).
-
Trigger sear is
holding valve arm.
-
Valve arm is holding
4-way closed.
Here is what happens when you pull the trigger:
-
Trigger is pulled.
-
Trigger arm presses
against trigger sear.
-
Trigger sear pivots,
releases valve arm (safety holds valve arm if on).
-
Unlocked valve arm is
rotated by spring loaded 4-way valve pin; 4-way opens.
-
4-way stops pushing
on ram, now pulls ram, hammer, and bolt forward (this is where the anti-pinch
would stop the cycle). Bolt pushes ball
into barrel.
-
Hammer sear reaches
sear roller. Sear roller pivots hammer
sear and ram pivots valve arm.
-
Hammer sear releases
hammer from ram so the main spring can push the hammer back and valve arm pushes in 4-way valve pin
as the spring driven trigger sear locks the valve arm in place.
-
Hammer hits valve
shaft.
-
Short, high volume
gas charge released from valve, travels upwards to the barrel level, down the
power tube and fires the ball.
-
Ram compresses main
spring and catches on hammer sear (Vector has cycled completely).
-
User releases trigger
and trigger arm slides back over trigger sear.
Vector is now recocked
and ready to fire again
If a ball stops the bolt from moving
forward, the action stops. The 4-way is
still open, therefore the Action Power Unit is still pulling the ram, bolt, and
hammer forward. Leaving the Vector in
this state for long could eventually pinch the ball in half (and fire the
gun). Flipping the safety pivots the
valve arm (normally done by the ram just as the hammer strikes the valve and
fires the gun), and causes the 4-way to close and the trigger sear to catch
it. When the 4-way closes, the ram goes
back to the rear along with the hammer, opens the bolt, and the ball should
then drop into the chamber. Don’t
forget to flip the safety off. If the
trigger is pulled with the safety on, the valve arm will not pivot, and the gun
will remain in its cocked state. There
is very little difference in the “feel” of the trigger pull of a Vector on
safety or not.
One of the reasons for the high rate
of fire is that the gun does not have to wait for the user to release the
trigger to complete recocking. The
Vector relies on its own internal timing to complete the firing cycle as fast
as possible- no short stroking. Another
factor is that the gun cannot be
fired faster than the mechanism works.
If you could pull the trigger faster than the Vector can cycle (!), the
Vector will simply not cycle during those times the trigger is pulled and it is
not ready. It is quite possible
however, to pull the trigger faster than the balls can fall into the chamber.
(NRG barrels make this a lot more difficult to do.) If you do pull faster than they fall, you’ll
just trip the anti-pinch more than usual.
Weight: approx. 3½ lbs.
Length: 18” w/barrel, 13” w/o barrel
Height: 8” (bottom of grip to top of sight rail)
Width: 1” (receiver), 2” (including foregrip),
2½” (total w/feed port)
Color: jet/matte black
Barrel: Length, total 15¼” (for the standard
length), 12½” effective.
.691” inner diameter, 1” outer.
CONSTRUCTION
Black anodized aluminum alloy: receiver, barrel,
CA adapter, cover plates, trigger, sight rail, and sometimes the bolt
Untreated aluminum alloy: hammer, bolt, body
of 4-way, and a few misc. pieces
Steel: pins and springs, valve seat, bolt carrier,
velocity piston, and 4-way pin
Heat-treated steel: all inner trigger
parts, hammer sear, and all screws (grade 8)
Stainless Steel: most of ram (303),
valve shaft (17-4H), and parts of 4-way
Brass: regulator, and hose
fittings
Plastic: handgrip, foregrip,
and sometimes the hose fittings on the ram
Another semi
over a Vector:
-
Quieter
-
Lighter
-
Smaller
-
More aftermarket
stuff available
-
Can turn off the ball
feed (powerfeed)
-
More gas efficient
-
Cheaper, more
obtainable parts
A Vector over another semi:
-
No short-stroking
-
No freeze-ups (never
‘goes liquid’)
-
Stock barrel is
already accurate
-
No need for powerfeed
-
Easier field cleaning
-
No shoot-downs
-
No chops
-
Can run siphon for
exceptional velocity stability in all seasons
-
Very unique, rare,
and definitely a part of paintball history
Out of the box the
Vector is big, heavy, fast, loud, accurate, reliable, and complete.