Apex

Dusty wrote: Torquestar wrote: The backspin is what's adding the distance.  Since the rubber ramp  providing the backspin is inside the end of the APEX barrel, a longer barrel will do nothing to improve the range. o thanks for the help

A longer barrel does nothing to increase range. If the barrels are the same differing only in length and the ball leaves the muzzle of each at the same velocity the flight distance is exactly the same. The Flatline and Apex barrels extend the distance by imparting backspin on the ball. Backspin generates lift so the ball does not arc downward after it leaves the end of the barrel. Gravity is compensated for by the lift generated.

The flight path of the backspining ball is extended to the point at which the ball runs out of forward momentum...thus giving an impression of the ball just suddenly dropping out of the air. At any point along the trajectory a backspinning ball has the same forward velocity as the ball fired from a smoothbore...until the smooth bore fired ball hits the ground.

There is some debate that the backspinning ball retains velocity a little better,(backspin reduces drag?) but the difference in terminal velocity is insignificant.(Percentage of overall drag reduction at these velocities, though calculable, is insignificant.)

A little interesting information for those not familiar with ballistic trajectory physics. When a rifle is mounted so that the barrel is parallel to the ground and fired across a flat plain (Utah salt flats?), no matter what the forward velocity, the bullet hits the ground at exactly the same instant that the same bullet dropped from barrel height at the instant of firing hits.

The same is true of paintballs, EXCEPT when the ball is backspinning. The lift generated keeps the ball flying forward well past the time interval at which the dropped ball hit the ground.

flatlandpercy wrote: only true in a vacume. air resistance keeps the rifle bullet airborn longer than the one that's dropped because of it's aerodynamics.

At the distances of a conventional high powered rifle shot the difference is virtually undetectable without some very sophisticated equipment and can be/are ignored in ballistic time of flight calculations (where is this cannon shell gonna' hit)

The difference in the horizontal time of flight of a backspinning paintball versus one dropped from barrel height is significant and observable with no sophisticated equipment (eyeballs only...wait, actually, eyeballs are pretty sophisticated equipment)