My buddy Bryan runs an X-TREM SPORTZ store down in Brandon, Florida and won’t shut up about his new Angel Fly marker (what paintballers call their guns so people won’t think they’re all crazed killers). Apparently there was some special edition model called the “Rasta” that they only made 150 of, and despite the fact that Bryan doesn’t even eat anything green, let alone smoke it, he somehow had to have it. So I told him to write up a little bit about it, because when he started telling me about all the things it could do, I couldn’t believe it, like communicating with other markers over IR, using optical sensors to check for ball clearance, built in temperature measurements and timers… leave it to the hardcore to turn a perfectly good tactical simulation into something supremely dorked out.
Bryan’s impressions are after the jump. He gives manufacturer WDP a long, luxurious hand job, but I think it’s just because he’s trying to make us jealous (or maybe he is finally using milled aluminum pipes for their greater, more Jah purpose).
The latest offering from WDP (www.wdp.tv), the paintball industries leading manufacture of hi-tech gadgets and gear has set a new standard with the Angel Fly.
For years the Angel line of paintball markers have been showcased as the marker to own if you re serious about paintball and with the release of the Fly they hold their position on top as far as most players are concerned.
One of the biggest problems in paintball is that shooting paintballs fast with today s super brittle paint is that they tend to explode in your marker itself. To solve this the Fly sports some flashy new eyes.
Mounted on each side of the feedneck are anti-chop eyes. This system sends a beam across directly in the path of falling paintballs. If a paintball is present and ready to be fired it breaks the beam. Then the Eyes, (called Eye-Q) sends a signal to the mainboard in the grip, which sends a single to the solenoid to release the bolt and fire the round.
This all adds up to blazing 31 balls per second, without paint breakage if you can pull the trigger that fast. The Fly is actually limited by its feed system which currently barely feed a consistent 22bps, so it s a pretty safe bet WDP will be releasing their own feed system someday.
In addition, the Fly weighs a mere 2 lbs 9 ounces and the Fly mainboard has had a menu overhaul so it now offers users a Basic, and Advanced menu. You can program 3 game timers, check the temperature, and various other things. The mainboard has an IR port so you can program remotely, or clone another Fly s settings to your own marker making it easy to get an entire team setup with the same game timers.
The LCD will display messages when the system detects problems and to remind you when servicing is required. The fly also taunts you with messages When you reach 16bps the screen scrolls “faster faster”, at 17bps, “is that the best you can do” and if you have robotic fingers at 25bps it reads “Woah, call the escort service!” and scrolls a euro phone number.
Last but not least its shorter and lower in profile than previous models, and comes with some sexy anodizing that is sure to turn some heads.
Look – Angel Fly Pic (Larger) [Gizmodo]
