On Wed, 05 Oct 2005 06:56:14 GMT, Matt Moriearty
<MathU41@tampabay.rr.com> wrote:

>unforgiven 33 wrote:
>> what's the difference between a flatline and a proto? (not even sure
>> what it is) remember man... i'm new at this }8-P
>>
>
>Tony's just spouting his usual answer: get a Matrix. If it doesn't suit
>your purpose, don't buy into it.
>
>As for the Flatline, the point's not to get the ball out much farther;
>paintballs won't break at that range anyway. It's just to keep the
>trajectory flatter, and if you're a woods player with a low canopy,
>that's a *big* plus. On the other hand, the Flatline *needs* good paint
>to work well. Good paint works well, but bad paint gets *much* worse
>with the Flatline spin on it.

The paint issue is a fact as if you spin a boiled egg it spins totally
different than a raw egg would. The flatline is finicky about the
paint that goes through it as the barrel action through means of
friction applies a back spin on the ball. As far as range and ball
breakage I do not know there (;-)) as the ball tends to maintain a
high velocity at a greater distance. Ball breakage also depends on
paint. I can consistently get breakage at least a third more distance
than most other set ups.

Accuracy again depends on your paint (remember the boiled egg) and
your velocity (fps). I find that my flatline on my A-5 does well with
about 280-285fps but my flatline on my Model 98 does well at
270-275fps. IF using CO2 when the temperature is warming up during
the day I can tell when it is time to adjust my velocity down by the
paintball tracks/flight path as it start squirreling a little.

To give you a hint I can easily put 9 out of 10 balls in a little BB
Spinner Target at about 150 feet with consistent breakage. The
paintball travels much further but most speedball fields are only 180
feet total. I go with the back bunker to the back bunker to the other
sides back bunker average.

With a Flatline the balls appear to float because the travel at a flat
trajectory instead of the always present arc of regular straight
barrels and the ball does not actually start to fall until the
velocity is gone which is similar to a volleyball/soccer balls
trajectory/hang time.

With a Flatline you also have to remember that with the backspin on
the paintball any wind during it's flight path will cause a lift to
the ball. You can also turn your barrel/marker to the side and cause
a curve to hit behind bunkers which is a great attitude adjustment for
campers and cheaters. I like the Flatline because in the woods I can
shoot between the branches and into the bunker portals and such
whereas regular barrels have to arc them through the trees and hope
that a branch or twig does not deflect the ball or cause breakage.

A little further info on the flatline would be that the:

1. A-5 Flatline is only 8.5 inches in length overall
2. 98/Custom Flatline is approx 12+ inches length overall and
therefore a little bit more accurate and with a much further range.

Remember velocity is measured after the ball leaves the barrel so all
of the drag from the barrel has been applied.