5 minute read
TECH: A.P.A.C.H.E
NO TAPPET... NO WORRIES!
AUSTRALIA STILL HAS AN ISSUE WHEN IT COMES TO AIRSOFT AS WE ALL KNOW, AND OUR FELLOW PLAYERS “DOWN UNDER” CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR THEIR GAME! HOWEVER, JUST BECAUSE AIRSOFT GAMES THEMSELVES ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO HOLD DUE TO THE ONGOING LEGAL SITUATION, IT DOESN’T MEAN THAT NEW INNOVATIONS AREN’T FORTHCOMING, AND LEGIONNAIRE IGGY BRINGS US UP TO DATE WITH THE VERY LATEST!
WAHOO!! I have been excited to write this one. For some time in Australia, the forgotten country when it comes to Airsoft, Aztech Innovations has been working hard on something quite spectacular that they have now brought to fruition; they have designed and now sell a tappetless cylinder head!
The Air Pressure Activated Cylinder Head Engine, or APACHE as it’s referred to, is the brainchild of the team at Azraels Armoury. The concept came about in December 2020 as a result of Shakka the head technician reaching his wits end with altering tappet plates for high end gel ball DSG builds. After altering a tappet plate for the 50th time to get perfect timing with a respectable FPS he threw the tappet plate through the office divide window at Brent Alderton the business owner whilst shouting, “tappet plates suck, we need a tappetless system.” Together they tried to find an option. Brent mulled over the idea at home over the weekend and by Monday had a few designs to show Shakka.
From that point they went through six prototypes before the initial gel ball APACHE was available to the public in May 2021. After an initial slow release their popularity has boomed in Australia.
Gel ball, although shunned as a kids toy in most of the airsoft world, and you could say understandably so, in the last 3 years has evolved astronomically from the woeful blasters that were initially available to people in Australia. Due to the law in Australia, gel ball is the only option for the people in Queensland and South Australia when it comes to anything even vaguely like airsoft, and consequently the demand and drive for better has been the catalyst for improvement. The team at Azraels Armoury have a lot to do with this improvement through innovating and redesigning products from the airsoft world to suit gel ball and up the quality.
The in stability of the gel itself will always be the Achilles heel, so with that in mind the playing style puts far greater demand for perfection in the builds. People want extreme rates of fire of 45 rounds per second and higher at varying muzzle velocities from 300 FPS to over 400 FPS. This in turn puts more and more strain and demand on the internals meaning
there is very little room for error in the builds. This demand for better has enabled Azraels Armoury to come up with the APACHE to improve gel ball blasters and allow gel ballers to enjoy the only skirmish sport they are allowed to play.
TIMING IS EVERYTHING!
After the success of the APACHE in gel ball, they realised that with minor modification the APACHE could be used in Airsoft and mitigate against timing issues. Initially there were five prototypes for the airsoft variants sent out to Airsoft technicians around the world. After their feedback the altered version was sent to a further ten airsoft companies and eventually, they arrived at the version that is available today. The prototypes included different base types and a fixed nozzle length. All were tested to breaking point and redesigned before arriving at the current model.
The APACHE itself comes with an adjustable nozzle that will fit most V2 style AEG’s but there are a selection of fixed nozzles from 17.90mm to 19.90mm allowing people to use just the fixed size specific to their AEG.
The APACHE was designed to mitigate against the timing issues in high end builds by bypassing the tappet plate and return spring. Due to it being powered by air driven by the piston it is self-timed by the piston speed and cycle, which in turn takes away the resistance on the sector gear. This also has added benefits of fixing feeding issues and creates a uniquely satisfying sound.
The APACHE cylinder head is internally sealed. As the pressure builds in front of the piston when fired the APACHE nozzle is driven forward into the T-piece/ hop housing creating a nice tight seal. Once the piston is retracted by the rotation of the sector gear, the APACHE internal spring retracts the nozzle to allow the next BB/Gel to load into the barrel. Then the cycle repeats.
Additionally, the APACHE “pop” that you get as a result of installing one is superb. It really makes your AEG a head turner, and we have often been asked if we are running a HPA set up in many of our own builds. You certainly know when someone is running an APACHE.
So, although Australia may not yet be known for airsoft per se, there are certainly innovations originating from “down under” that may well have a profound effect on our beloved game globally! Only time will tell on games themselves here, but with outfits like Azraels Armoury looking to provide unique parts that will increase your AEGs performance edge, then Australia will most certainly have its say in the international airsoft marketplace! For more information head over to their website at www. aztechinnovations. com AA
