Air Star

Air Star (also styled AirStar) was an American paintball marker manufacturer associated with Pneu Systems Inc. The company produced the Nova 700, Super Nova and Super Nova ET during the late 1990s.

Designed by pneumatic engineer Mike Wood, the Nova series was distinguished by its Articulated Barrel System (ABS), which used a moving barrel instead of a conventional bolt to chamber paintballs.[1]

Air Star's markers were distributed by National Paintball Supply. The company announced its dissolution in 2000 following financial difficulties associated with a product recall.[2][3]

History

Development of the Nova

The Nova series was designed by Mike Wood, an inventor and pneumatic systems engineer from Irvine, California. Wood had previously developed pneumatic equipment, including CO₂-powered launchers used to propel promotional items at sporting events.[2]

Air Star operated under Pneu Systems Inc. and was established as a paintball equipment business during the late 1990s.

Its first marker, the Nova 700, was publicly demonstrated at the 1998 ZAP International Amateur Open in Pennsylvania, where Air Star representative Bruce Gillette introduced the design.[4]

Contemporary reporting by WARPIG described the marker's unusual pneumatic operating system and noted that National Paintball Supply would handle its distribution. The Nova 700 was expected to retail for approximately US$400.[4]

Although VintageRex lists 1997 as the Nova 700's model year, contemporary tournament reporting documents its introduction in 1998.[4][5]

Super Nova and electronic models

Air Star subsequently developed the Super Nova, an updated version of the Nova 700.

The redesign incorporated a vertical feed port, a bottom-line regulator and a conventional 45-degree grip frame. It also introduced an expansion chamber system known as Dicer technology, which used aluminium alloy pellets to improve heat transfer within the gas system.[1]

The company further developed electronic-trigger versions of the Nova platform.

At the 1999 ZAP International Masters, Mike Wood and Bruce Gillette demonstrated the Nova 700, Super Nova and electronic Super Nova ET.[6]

Unlike many contemporary electronic paintball markers, the Super Nova ET did not require a programmable electronic circuit board to control its firing cycle. Its electronic trigger activated a solenoid, while the marker's internal pneumatic system controlled the timing of the firing mechanism.[7]

Recall and dissolution

Air Star experienced product safety and financial difficulties during 1999 and 2000.

A recall affecting certain Nova 700 markers was documented by WARPIG in 1999. The recall concerned a potential failure involving the regulator and overpressure relief system. It applied to specific markers and was not a recall of the entire Nova product range.[2]

Further regulator-related problems affected the company during 2000.

In a statement preserved through an archived version of its website, Air Star announced that the board of directors of Pneu Systems Inc. had voted on 31 August 2000 to dissolve the company.

The announcement attributed the decision to the financial effects of the recall and substantial expenditure on new product development. It identified incorrectly machined regulator components supplied by a third party as a cause of the technical problems.[3]

The Nova design subsequently influenced other paintball markers, including products associated with Section 8 Paintball and Paintball Guns International.[8]

Paintball markers

VintageRex documents three principal Air Star marker models.[5]

Marker	Documented year	Action	Description
Nova 700	1998	Mechanical semi-automatic	Original Nova model featuring an angled feed port, integrated regulator and Articulated Barrel System.
Super Nova	1998	Mechanical semi-automatic	Revised Nova with vertical feed, bottom-line regulator, 45-degree grip frame and Dicer expansion chamber.
Super Nova ET	1999	Electronic semi-automatic	Electronic-trigger version using a solenoid-operated pneumatic firing mechanism.

All three models were .68-calibre markers designed to operate using a regulated constant-air supply. The system was compatible with CO₂ and compressed air.[1][5]

Technology

Articulated Barrel System

The defining feature of Air Star's markers was the Articulated Barrel System (ABS).

Unlike conventional semi-automatic markers, which use a moving bolt to chamber a paintball, the Nova used a sliding barrel housed within an external shroud.

Pneumatic pressure moved the barrel backwards around the paintball, sealing the breech before firing. After the paintball was discharged and pressure fell, a spring moved the barrel forward, opening the breech for the next paintball.[1]

This arrangement eliminated the need for a conventional bolt, hammer and mechanical recocking mechanism.

Pneumatic valve system

The Nova used a spool valve and pneumatic pilot valve to control firing.

The system operated at approximately 95 psi, substantially below the operating pressures of many contemporary markers.

Its low-pressure design allowed the Nova to operate effectively with CO₂, while also supporting compressed-air systems.[1]

The timing of the firing cycle was controlled pneumatically rather than through mechanical linkages or electronic programming.

Dicer expansion chamber

The Super Nova incorporated an expansion chamber containing aluminium alloy pellets, marketed as Dicer technology.

The pellets increased the surface area available for heat transfer as gas moved through the chamber.

The system was intended to stabilise the temperature and pressure of expanding CO₂ before it entered the firing mechanism.[7]

Electronic Trigger

The Super Nova ET used a compact Clippard solenoid valve to activate the marker's pneumatic trigger mechanism.

Rather than directly controlling the main firing valve, the solenoid actuated a small pneumatic ram that operated the existing pilot valve.

This arrangement allowed the marker to retain its pneumatic firing cycle while offering a shorter electronic trigger pull.[7]

Legacy

Air Star's Nova series was an unusual example of pneumatic engineering in 1990s paintball equipment.

The use of a moving barrel, low-pressure spool valve and pneumatic firing sequence distinguished the Nova from the blowback, blow-forward and mechanically timed markers common during that period.

Although Air Star ceased operations in 2000, the Nova platform remained documented in paintball technical publications and collector communities.

Later manufacturers developed markers based on related operating principles, including the Darkstar and Mayhem.[8]

References

External links