Hi all, after trawling through my search engine, i found this site,and i have to say it is really impressive,the amount of interest,and research you lads (and ladies) have put into it is amazing so hi to all of you on here.
Now,to business, i recently bought myself an A5 stealth package, as i dont like carrying the bottle on the gun and yes i admit,it looked cool lol .
I am in the UK, so sadly i cannot be as picky about the paint i use,as the games we play at have the ruling you have to use their own, the 2 brands most common seem to be Polar Ice,and the other is Knightmare i think, the first couple of days i have put in the accuracy sucked big time,and i had bottle freeze about 3 times in the day ( cold weather,gotta love the UK ) which had me nearly attempting to just throw my paintballs at the opposition as my gun seemed to hate me.I also suffered from quite a few breakages in the barrel, looking onto the cyclone system they definitely broke in the barrl,and not the feeder.
I have read through a lot of the pages on here over the last few days,and i wanted to ask you chaps some questions,so sorry for this mega post ,
Obviously i have the flatline barrel,and i would like to make my gun work as effectively as possible, so the next week,when i have time i will be stripping it all down cleaning, new o rings and polishing the internals, also i am strongly thinking in changing to hpa ,as i said before because we have pretty cold climates here , ithink that iso nly for the better, also when i calibrated my gun it would nto get above 250 fps,and i have read it is optimal around 275 fps, could this be due to the stock being fitted on my gun,and would a new spring sort it ? basically i want to try and retain the gun,and just optimise its performance, any thoughts, ideas appreciated,cheers,Den

First off, welcome to the forums. Glad to see you have done some reading around before posting. As for barrel breaks, flatline is the most picky and tricky barrel made. It does not work well with thin shelled paint at all, and works even worse in the cold. I never use my flatline unless its 60*F or warmer outside. Once you get the right conditions the flatline is amazing! If you get a break in your flatline clean it out immediately, it will just get worse if you dont.

as for shooting 250 fps is not bad, I always keep mine at 260 fps and with the flatline as well it works best around 260 fps, i would not shoot over 265 fps with it. My theory is you can get someone out without hurting them. When using co2 and you chrono at 275 in the morning, by mid-day you can be easily shooting at 300 fps, always better to be safe then sorry.

I would recommend getting a new barrel for colder conditions, a very cheap yet affective barrel is a JJ ceramic 12-14" should be best. If you just got your A5 you really shouldnt need to replace the orings, just clean and oil them when you take your marker apart.

And I would reccomend getting HPA, co2 and cold weather is so bad. Also if you havent got a good mask yet do so. the best investment you can make in paintball is a good mask, dont cheap out on one.

once again welcome to the forums, any questions feel free to ask me.

and always remember "washer first, then oring. and tombstone holds them in place"

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FONZ pretty much got it right. For cold weather get an HPA tank. My friend and I tried to play in 30* weather and couldn't even start as his gun started to freeze and spit snow from his co2 tank. I had HPA and had no problems.

The flat line is also very pick from my understanding. I have not used one but I do have a J&J and it's great. A new spring will help with velocity should you get a different barrel, but stick with what you got for the flat line.

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Welcome to the group. Say hello to Antarios there in the UK for me. You'll soon find that this site is composed of the finest group of people you'll ever know. They are all very good at this and are more than willing to help anyway they can. Here you won't find the sniveling, childish negativity you'll find on other forums. The high standards and maturity here never cease to amaze me. And believe me, these guys know their stuff!

You have a flatline?
This should answer any questions you have on the flatline. It came from a post on another site a long time ago.

The Tippmann A-5 Flatline Barrel System FAQ
-This FAQ was written to answer any questions you may have about the flatline barrel system. It was also written to dispell some of the myths about the flatline that seem to be various in number and spread wide over the internet. It will be updated every so often when new information as it becomes available. Be warned though, this FAQ relies heavily on Physics and thus can be hard to understand at times.

What is the Flatline Barrel System?

The Flatline Barrel system is a Specially designed barrel that imparts backspin on the paintballs fired through it. This backspin causes the paintballs to generate "lift" which actually counters the force of gravity for much of the flight of the ball, resulting in about 50 to 100 feet MORE distance than ANY other barrel on the market.

How does the flatline work?

The Flatline is a unique barrel system. Instead of a straight, smooth, tight bore barrel, the Flatline is curved like a banana, has a rough internal texture, and is a huge bore (about .700).

As a paintball is fired into the flatline, the ball is forced up against the top of the barrel by a cushion of air and rolls along the rough texture of the barrel along the curve.

This forces the ball to pick up a consistant back spin, which in turn causes the paintball to form two pockets of air ournd the outside surface of the ball. A pocket of high pressure air forms under and slightly behind the paintball, pushing it up and forward, and a pocket of low pressure forms above and slightly in front fo the paintball. This is called the Magnus Effect and is the same force that is generated by an airplane wing, and the force that baseball pitchers rely on to throw curve balls and sliders.

As the ball flies through the air, the lift generated by the Magnus Effect counter acts the force of gravity, and reduces the turbulance in the air that the paintball moves through, making the paintball fly in an almost FLATLINE toward the target until the spin on the ball starts to slow down, then the outside forces of gravity and wind resistance begin to work on the ball just like any other ball. The thing is, that these forces don't start working on the paintball until it's already flown 75 feet. Thus, the barrel shoots the paintball further.

Interesting. Where do I get the Big Bore paintballs that fit the Flatline?

You don't want a large bore paintball with the flatline. Where as every other barrel systems work best when the paintball is almost indentical in size to the internal bore of the barrel (this is called "paint to barrel match"), the flatline requires a very loose fitting paintball, in fact, the smaller the paintball the better because paint to barrel match is meaningless with the flatline.

The smaller paintball will spin faster, and provides more room in the barrel for the cushion of air to form under the ball is i rolls along the barrel.

Will the flatline use more air that a normal barrel?

Yes, but the difference is only slight. The flatline has no porting, so while some of the air will escape below the paintball as it travels down the barrel, most of the air is still trapped behind the ball. It tends to slow the balls down slightly. If you were shooting a Bigshot at 280fps and switch the barrel to the Flatline, expect a drop to about 265 ro 270fps, however that's about the perfect velocity for the flatline.

What markers can I get the flatline for?

The flatline is available for the Tippmann Model 98 and 98 Custom, as well as the Tippmann A-5 and the WGP Autococker.

I have a spyder with an M98 barrel adapter. Can I use the flatline on my spyder?

No, you can't the M98 barrel adapters and the flatline barrel adapter are designed in such a way as to prevent these types of systems. The flatline adapter will sit at a 90 degree angle, destroying the function of the flatline barrel system.

I have a Pro-Carbine, and since the A-5 has Pro-Carbine threads, that means I can use the flatline on my Pro-carbine, right?

Nope, sorry. The A-5 has removeable barrel threads and you ahve to remove the barrel thread adapter in order to install the A-5 Flatline system, so it won't work.

How are the M98 and A-5 versions of the flatline different?

Good question. The systems are entirely different. First thing you'll notice is that the A-5 flatline system is all one piece. The barrel, the adapter, and the shroud come as a completely assembled single piece. You can break it down into it's components if you so desire, but there really is no point.

As it's all one piece and it's all integrated, all that is necessary to install the flatline is you loosen the front three bolts on the A-5 and take the old barrel adapter out then insert the faltline, twist it 1/4th a turn to the left and tighten the bolts. The barrel even has a screw on the top of the shroud that helps you align barrel accurately by lining the screw up with the front sight. This is a HUGE improvement over the 98 version with required a lot more to install and line up.

All the parts of the A-5 flatline have alignement markings, so if you do disassemble the system for some reason, you can line it back up perfectly by looking at the alignment marks.

The A-5 Flatline is right at 9 inches long where as the M98 Flatline is about 14 inches long. In fact the A-5 flatline also has a less pronounced curve to it than the M98 Flatline, most due to the new rough textured surface of the A-5 Flatline barrel.

Also, the A-5 Flatline has a metal shroud compaired to the plastic one on the M98 version, and looks less like a rifle stock and more like a Suppressor or the old water cooled machinegun barrels on WWI.

But that's where the differences end. The two barrels perform almost exactly the same. The M98 Flatline and the A-5 Flatline give you the same advantage of range and "flat" trajectory. There is NO noticibale difference between the performance of the barrels.

I have a friend who says the paintballs travel slower out of a flatline.

While this is true due to the fact that the perfect velocity is between 265 and 275fps, it's more of an optical illusion. At this speed, the spin and the speed of the paintball flys in the straighest flight path. The shots definately look slower, because they fly in a more predictable flight path that the eye can follow easier, even though the ball is only going 5 to 15fps slower.

In fact, a paintball fired from a flatline barrel retains it's initial speed longer than a paintball fired from a normal barrel because of the Magnus Effect, so at ranges of 40 to 60 feet, the Flatline actually is traveling faster than a shot from a normal paintball.

Tippmann did tests slowing an actuall 10 to 15% speed INCREASE between evenly spaced chronographs on a target range. Show me another barrel that can do that...

My friend says he can catch the paintballs fired from a flatline and put them in his marker and shoot them back at me because they move so slow. He also says he can dodge the shots easier. Is this true?

No. It's a big load of BS. Unless the guy with the flatline is standing about 250 feet away and the guy catching or dodging the paintball is Barry Sanders.

At extreme range, ALL paintballs move slowly enough to dodge easily, no matter the barrel they are fired from. But in typical paintball ranges (50 to 150 feet) these claims are a load of crap.

My friend also says that the flatline cannot handle high rates of fire.

This claim is also BS. Once installed properly, the flatline can handle E-Grips, RTs, and E-bolts.

Where most people get this idea is when they chop paint in the bolt because they are outshooting thier hoppers or becuase they failed to properly install the flatline, resulting in a small gap inside the adapter which can chop paint.

My friend says that the flatline isn't accurate at all.

Again, this is BS. The flatline, when properly installed, shooting good quality small bore paintballs, and shot with the proper technique is MORE accurate than the stock barrel.

The thing is that people will run out and get a flatline, throw it on without readying the directions, dump some brass eagle paintballs into the hopper, crank the velocity as high as it can go, and then shoot the marker with it tilted at an angle to the right or left.

The marker MUST be fired with the marker straight up and down, tilting the marker left or right will result in curving shot that can go around objects in the field, which can come in handy, but make it seem to be inaccurate to the untrained user.

If you shoot crappy paint, expect crappy results. Paintballs with pronounced seams, paintballs with oily shells, paintballs with dimples or large bore paintballs will result in bad to horid results.

Also, keep the barrel cleaned religiously. Between games you should sgueegie the barrel out even if you didn't break any paintballs. A dry and clean flatline is necessary in order for the barrel to maximize the back spin effect.

Another thing to keep in mind is that due to the spin the flatline puts on the ball, everything you've already learned about shooting paintballs is wrong. The flight path is different and you have to become adjusted to this.

Also, wind can have a different effect on your shots due to the spin that the flatline puts on the ball. It's definately not an all weather barrel.

It's a different breed or barrel and you have to adapt your game to get the best results with it.

So, what is the best paintballs to use in the Flatline?

You want to find good medium shelled, small bore paintballs with little or no seam on them and dry shells. The seam can grab air and oily shelled paintballs can alter the flight characteristics of a flatline fired paintball, as well as reduce the friction needed for the barrel to grip the ball and create spin.

The Best paintballs to use are pretty much anything RPS Advantage Makes, such as Marbalizors, All Stars, El Tiger, Evil, Polar Ice, and Superswirls. Also good are Proball and Proball Platinum, and Nelson Anarchy paintballs.

Avoid anything medium or large bore, or oily or with prnounced seams

Does the Rough texture on the inside of the barrel wear off? Does that effect the range/accuracy?

Yes, yes and yes. But according to the guys from the Tippmann workshop, the problem with wear on the internal barrel texture should become an issue until you've fired off around 200,000 paintballs. Tippmann HAS tested the barrel before releasing it to the public. They also noted that a lot of the problem with pre-mature wear on A-5 Flatlines seems to be improper cleaning, use of anything other than a paintball (Rufus Dawg T-Balls can damage the barrel) or user error.

Proper cleaning of the flatline is with accomplished using warm to hot dish water with dish soap and a soft squeegie. Do not use abrasive brushes, straight shots and the like.

DO NOT SEND THE BARREL IN WITHOUT TALKING TO TIPPMANN FIRST.

We've been warning people for a while about this rumor on the flatline and fighting a war on this FALSE statement. The flatlines DO NOT wear out after a couple cases of paint unless YOU are doing something wrong.

How much and where can I get it?

The flatline runs between $80 and $150 (new).

And, in closing, I've found the A5 to not like cold weather at all!

i was having major problems with chopping and breaking balls in the barrell as well. It takes the fun right out of it. Since getting my tech t squisshy paddles i have had no problems at all. Getting an hpa would be a great investment. no more freeze ups and more consistancy with your shots.
peace

Hey dude, good to see someone else from the UK, no disrespect to everyone else out there, its just that paintballing over here just doesnt attract the kind of crowds it should.
Anyway, i recently brought the A5 stealth and as you've no doubt already gathered the flatline is a picky little so and so.....
i just put mine to the back of my shed and brought a stock A5 barrel to use and it works great whatever the weather.
Also you may already know this but you should look into getting a hopper from an X7, they have a much lower profile. And most stores sell them for about a fiver [bargain ]
I have a spare if your interested.
Where abouts are you from?
Good luck with the paintballing dude.

Gaz

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Cheers for all the replies lads, i have stuck my flatline to the side for now,and am going to use a 10" fluted Opsgear barrel while its still cold .
Gaz mate i am from Birmingham,and we play up at Bassetts pole, yeah its totally true over here paintball is nowhere near as popular as it is in the states,but a mate got me into it so thought i had better start investing in better gear,so went for the Tippmann as it had such a good rep,Den

p.s yeah i bought the x7 hopper at the same time,along with a double trigger