Flatline Answers

Z0MG 17's 73h 1337...

4NSW3RS 70 C0MM0N1Y 4SK3D F147L1N3 QU3S71ONS

    I'm really tired of little newbs asking alot of the same quetions about Flatlines so I made this post. I'm going to sticky this because I'm not sure who to PM for permaission. If any moderators want to unsticky it then I'm sorry for wasting that moderator's time. Sorry If this has been done a while ago but the newbish questions still pop up.

4b0u7 7h3 F147l1n3 B4rr31 Sys73m:

    This is what Tippman says about the Flaltine: Introducing the Flatline Barrel System made exclusively for the Tippmann A-5, 98 Custom and Model 98. This system is now available complete or as a conversion kit for your existing A-5, 98 Custom or Model 98. The Flatline Barrel System is the first production back spin barrel ever produced. The principle behind the system is Tippmann's newly designed slightly curved barrel, which applies centrifugal force to the ball, creating backspin. Not only does this system offer increased accuracy and distance but also offers flat trajectory for thick brush and canopy play. By minimizing trajectory of the ball and increasing accuracy, you increase the amount of targets which would ordinarily be out of range. The Flatline Barrel System adds 100 feet of flat trajectory GUARANTEED.

    Basically it adds backspin to the ball making the ball travel much farther than any normal (not curved) barrell. This backspin would, in zero gravity, cause the balls to curve in an upward motion. But, since we have gravity here on Earth, the gravity works against the upward curve which results in a straight line. The barrel only works on the A-5, 98 custom, and model 98.

BEST PAINT FOR FLATLINE: The absolute best paint for the Flatty are marbilizers. Zap and othe better quality rec paints work well though.

H4v1ng Pr0bl3ms?

If your Flaltine is not firing accuratly then there are a few quick things for you to check.

!!!: Practice with it! The barrel 7akes time to get used to so, before you become a Flatline hater, make sure it's not you who is causing the problems. Of couse if it is firing way off then check for these things...
1. Make sure you're using a good quality small bore paint
2. Make sure you installed it straight
3. Make sure your velocity is somewhere around 270 fps (the Flatline operates it's best at 270fps)
4. Make sure the barrel is clean
5. Check for abnormalities. like a bend to the right in the barrel or a dent. If you find any I'm sure the store would take it back or that Tippmann will send you a new one.

72h 1337 curv3b411:

I recently recieved a PM concerning this so I figured I'd add it here. If you tip your gun to the right or left the balls coming out of flatline will not have to work against the force of gravity in the same sence as before. This causes them to curve in the direction corresponding to the direction that the barrel is tipped. Some people, like myself, who have had considerable time to practice with this, find it to be a useful tool while others find it to be annoying. 

S0m3 Rum0rs:

The Flaltine barrel jams alot.
    Not true in the slightest. The Flaltine barrel will only really jam if you use crappy old paint or maybe Blue streaks or Walmart paint. If you know any other paint brands that are as bad as them or have broken in your experience with Flatline then PM with them. The Flatline is a large bore barrel but small-medium bore paint gets the best backspin.
    I personally use Zap Paintballs with my flatline. I have played alot of games and have not had one single break and have had great performance from the barrell.

You can't use it with the R/T or E-bolt/E-Grip.
    I don't even see the logic in this. When one of my friends told me this I had to try it so I got my friends gun who has R/T and put my Flatline on it and fired off a hopper full. Not one break. I hd to ask my local pro-shop about the E-bolt/E-Grip and he told me that I should have no problems.

The Flatline gives you bad accuracy.
    Also not true. The Flatline has great accuracy up to the point where it goes farther than any other barrel could even dream of going. A common misconseption is that the backspin makes the ball more vulnerable to wind and other weather conditions. This is false. The ball is only more vulnerable to those things at longer ranges like any other barrel. The longer the ball is out of any barrel the longer it is effected by these conditions and the more the accuracy will decrease.

The Flatline slows balls down.
    This barrel itself does not slow paintballs down and neither does the backspin. The balls appear to be moving slower because they are spinning and going much farther on a flatter plane.

It's hard to clean.
    Not really. for quick cleans a squeegee will do fine but for a better clean you might want to disassemble it and put it back on. But that's only if you really REALLY NEED to clean it better than a squeegee will work.
    A cool method of cleaning a ball break in the middle of a game was suggested a while ago. You take a bag with alcohol in it and put some cotton balls in it. When a ball breaks pull out the cotton swabs and put them in you gun manually (take off your hopper first and feed the swabas manually through the hole) and shoot them off. I don't know if this works because I have yet to have a ball break with the flatline but I will be trying it when I do have one.

    Also, don't worry about the installation proccess. All the needed tools come with it and I, being 13, was able to put it on straight in one try with no help.

C0nclusi0n:

    The Flatline RULES!... For woodsball. For speed ball it is kind of big and you need a more compact gun for speedball. This barrel is definitly a must have for woodsball palyers with enough money. You will enjoy a huge increase in range and good accuracy.

    When peopel say bad things about the flatline it's really only because they personally dislike it. If anyone tells you something contradicting what I said here DON'T LISTEN TO THEM.

    If you are considering buyng the Flaltine do not be disuaded! Unless of course you play speedball. Then you really should avoid it.
Thanks for reading this post. Hopefully it will help contain the amounts of Flatline posts.

HEY DON'T LISTEN TO 98 SNIPER OR SHOTBYBOTHSIDES ESPECIALLY.

Update I'm going to be gettign a teardrop and A Lapco bigshot soon so I can finally prove that 98sniper is just being stupid.

W00t: I got the teardrop today and I must admit it is a nice barrel. I really like the red color. It's true that at normal range this barrel is very good but, 98sniper, there is no way for you to shoot as far as the Flatline. I took 10 shots at a tree about 160 feet away and hit it with the Flaltine 9 out of 10 times, the one miss being the first shot where I was taking aim. Then I took off my Flatline and put the teardrop on. The Ffirst shot was horrid. It went on line with the tree but fell very short. I tipped the gun upward and shot a few more each time tiping it up even more until finally the balls were reaching it but flying off very wide of the target. I ended up shooting 32 paintballs with the teardrop to hit the tree once. I'll be practicing weith this a little more to see if it improves when I get used to the tilting.

Update: I got better with the teardrop but it's no Flatline. Didn't get biggy for Christmas so I still dont have it. I'm probably not gonna get it though. Post has also been 1337z0r1z3d.

I own one for the A5, my brother owns one for his 98 custom...

They are not all that they are cracked up to be. End of story.

I replaced it with a Armson stealth and have had an 80% accuracy increase and better shot-to-kill ratio then i ever had with that damn flatline, its fun to play around with and intimidates your enemy when they see it or hear about it, but it isnt something I'd use on a regular basis.

The barrel is subject to a "shotgun effect" (even at 270 fps with RPS marballizers), you will find that paintballs bouce off your targets even at close range under certain conditions.

Now as for the 98 Custom Flatline...Its total trash, the thing comes in multiple poorly machined pieces (unlike the A5's flatline that is one solid metal unit that resembles a supressors) the muzzel break falls off, the barrel is a serious pain in the ass to get set straight & the paintballs take a steep upward sloped path after flying straight for 30-45 feet. The paintballs (marbalizers) flew of a straight flight path then abruptly hurl upwards (think Fortune from Metal Gear Solid 2) and over your enemys heads

In other words while the A5 flatline loses effective velocity at extended range (resulting in the "shotgun effect")  the 98 custom flatline has a horrible effect that once your enemy find the point at which this happens, they can stand and return fire at you while your paintballs swirl upward and away from them (just like Fortune in MGS 2)

The entire system is clearly an after thought

The A5 version is a fun toy to goof around with, the 98 version is a nonworking rippoff.

Shotbybothsides wrote: ...I replaced it with a Armson stealth and have had an 80% accuracy increase...

That fact alone makes me doubt that anything in your post was true, but thanks for the laugh!