Thrustmaster Hotas Warthog: to buy or not buy, info wanted pls

[Rocky_53 1,594]

One hang up I do have is using the yoke to fly aircraft with sticks. The opposite isn't so bad.

Exactly...

[TOX 0]

I've had this stick for just under a year now and I can say, as Luc has already mentioned, it is a no brainer. This is simply an awesome controller. I had a Saitek X52 pro and it was OK, but compared to the Hotas Warthog it's not even in the same ballpark! The stick comes with a disc and software but I just ditched that and use LINDA for the buttons and FSUIPC for all the slider controls, it works like a dream. Here is a short vid which I made earlier this year to show guys the amount of possibilities when assigninbg buttons. It truly is a superb bit of kit...

 

http://youtu.be/P-4SKr41mLM

 

hi Rockliffe

i watched this on you tube its great.

Do you have or know of any videos showing FSX with warthog in action?

[NoahBryant 26]

I love the stick. Within a week of owning it I threw away my yoke, although my intention had been just to use the hotas for A-10. Everything about it is amazing, plain and simple...

 

Except...

 

Out of the box I noticed that the china hat switch was sticking in the forward position about half the time. If you don't know, the china hat switch is a switch on the throttle that you push forward or backward and it springs back to center. Mine would sometimes stick forward requiring me to manually push it back.

 

In A 10 this is a big deal because pressing the switch forward and letting it spring back is a completely different command than holding it forward. On a 100 dollar joystick I wouldn't have cared but this cost over 400. It was a birthday present for me and it had been sitting in the box for over a month before I opened it. Therefore I couldn't replace it through the store so I contacted Thrustmaster who was very receptive. They had me send them a video of the problem and they suggested some oil in the switch. I tried it and it didn't work, so they took my address to send me a new part with instructions on how to change it.

 

After a month I had not received the switch so I contacted them again and they apologized and said they were sending it that day. That was almost 4 months ago and I have not received the part and my switch still sticks forward.

[TOX 0]

I love the stick. Within a week of owning it I threw away my yoke, although my intention had been just to use the hotas for A-10. Everything about it is amazing, plain and simple...

 

Except...

 

Out of the box I noticed that the china hat switch was sticking in the forward position about half the time. If you don't know, the china hat switch is a switch on the throttle that you push forward or backward and it springs back to center. Mine would sometimes stick forward requiring me to manually push it back.

 

In A 10 this is a big deal because pressing the switch forward and letting it spring back is a completely different command than holding it forward. On a 100 dollar joystick I wouldn't have cared but this cost over 400. It was a birthday present for me and it had been sitting in the box for over a month before I opened it. Therefore I couldn't replace it through the store so I contacted Thrustmaster who was very receptive. They had me send them a video of the problem and they suggested some oil in the switch. I tried it and it didn't work, so they took my address to send me a new part with instructions on how to change it.

 

After a month I had not received the switch so I contacted them again and they apologized and said they were sending it that day. That was almost 4 months ago and I have not received the part and my switch still sticks forward.

 

what flight sims are you using the warthog with? Do you think it's an all rounder system?

i want to buy 1 but i am in 2 minds in case i spend all that cash and can't use it with FSX and some war flight games.

[NoahBryant 26]

i had just planned to use it with A-10 but I immediately started using it with FSX and threw away my yoke. I love being able to lift the throttles backward to simulate the reverse thrust. I also use the two switches below the throttles as the fuel cutoff switches.

 

Yes I think it's an all-rounder. Even though it doesn't look all that realistic flying the 737 with the A-10 stick, I still much prefer it.

[zmak 331]

The main reason the stick was an overnight sensation is you could plug and play the a10 worthog without any profiling so it was a must have for the a10 fanatics and of course its about quality as well.

IMO If you own the stick then your doing yourself an injustice if you dont at least try the a10 worthog. The platform gives you stability that FSX can only dream of and also no countless add ons necessary. I fly both and enjoy both equally but no stick...yet :-)

[NoahBryant 26]

Agreed.

 

I had been playing - then got bored with - A-10 until I got this stick. The stick turned into an immediate game changer for me and completely changed how I enjoy A-10. Coupled with Track-IR I think it's more immersive than a real A-10 sim, lol.

[Rocky_53 1,594]

Do you have or know of any videos showing FSX with warthog in action?

 

No, sorry, not specifically... but there is this...

 

[TOX 0]

Thank you for your helpful answers and links guys, much appreciated.

 

I want to be able to use this stick with FSX airplanes, helicopters and of course will play a10 warthog too for some extra fast action.

I have to spend my hard earned cash on a system that i use more than it sits on my desk, this is the reason i need help on deciding.

 

I can also buy the saitek x52 pro but i like the metal gear + switches on T.H.warthog more, what do you guys think of the 2 sticks differences ?

x52 pro costs 200 euros - T.H.warthog costs 400 euros. These are cyprus prices.

[Rocky_53 1,594]

Thank you for your helpful answers and links guys, much appreciated.

 

I want to be able to use this stick with FSX airplanes, helicopters and of course will play a10 warthog too for some extra fast action.

I have to spend my hard earned cash on a system that i use more than it sits on my desk, this is the reason i need help on deciding.

 

I can also buy the saitek x52 pro but i like the metal gear + switches on T.H.warthog more, what do you guys think of the 2 sticks differences ?

x52 pro costs 200 euros - T.H.warthog costs 400 euros. These are cyprus prices.

 

OK, here it is... I have owned both the Saitek x52 pro and of course now the Warthog. Although the x52 is an OK stick, that's all it is. It gets a lot of followers because of the amount of possible assignments and different profiles that can be attributed to it. So, you do get a lot of stuff for your money, it's also pretty competent, although for many, including myself, it is quite a sloppy stick. However, the Warthog is in a completely different class of it's own, and I don't use that terminology as a cliche, it really IS in a class of it's own. So you have to ask yourself, if you have the choice, would you want to drive a Mazda or a Ferrari? As they say, the decision is your's...

BTW: I have learnt many things in life, one of them is that it's always easy to regret a wrong decision but never easy to regret making a right decsion.. :wink:

[NoahBryant 26]

I might add, that despite my problems with their support, I still fully recommend it. It's exceptional.

[zmak 331]

heres an example of a worthog stick in action..okay so you cant really see it but you can bet its getting pretty hot..Intense!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEVgBCTVLws

[Luc Brusselmans 1]

Howard, (or Rockliffe if you like),

 

One small sentence in one of your posts in this topic caught my attention.

It seems that you have replaced the original springs to modify the tension.

That is something I also took in consideration and I even removed the springs altogether in the previous version of the Tm stick (cougar). This worked alright but the stick itself (the potentiometers) wasn't accurate enough (after years of abuse in a combat environment) so I ditched the cougar in favour of the warthog.

To fly helicopters, changing the springs, is certainly an option to fly with a little more comfortand less fatigue.

But what did you use as a replacement for those original springs?

It is either that or, asking very politely at the big boss here, saving up for a dedicated helicopter control...

 

Luc Brusselmans

Belgium

[Rocky_53 1,594]

Howard, (or Rockliffe if you like),

 

One small sentence in one of your posts in this topic caught my attention.

It seems that you have replaced the original springs to modify the tension.

That is something I also took in consideration and I even removed the springs altogether in the previous version of the Tm stick (cougar). This worked alright but the stick itself (the potentiometers) wasn't accurate enough (after years of abuse in a combat environment) so I ditched the cougar in favour of the warthog.

To fly helicopters, changing the springs, is certainly an option to fly with a little more comfortand less fatigue.

But what did you use as a replacement for those original springs?

It is either that or, asking very politely at the big boss here, saving up for a dedicated helicopter control...

 

Luc Brusselmans

Belgium

 

(Howard, please) Hi Luc, sure. Very simple really. Obviously you remove the large main spring. Then there are four guide studs where the whole mechanism glides up and down. On those studs there's one spring per stud, so effectively you can use those. However, after experimenting I found that using just these springs left the controller too light, in effect the complete opposite of how the controller was originally. So I went onto Ebay and bought a box of selected springs, with the hope that I would find some springs just the right length and strength. Luckily for me, I found just that. Four springs that were stiffer, and no longer in length when compressed. This last point is essential, as if the springs are longer in length than the Warthog's original springs then they interfere greatly with the distance that the entire mechanical column will travel up and down and then you lose the amount of travel on the ailerons and elevator. Here is a video which may help, BTW, I don't know why the guy suggests removing the base plate, as this is unnecessary...

[Luc Brusselmans 1]

Hello Howard,

 

Great video and I sure want to try this for real.

I even might get away with the original springs because, at the moment, I use the stick most of the time for helicopter flying. Loosened springs are not really a problem then.

 

I leave for spain in a few days time (a short but well-overdue vacation) and since I don't have to get back to work until the end of Octobre, I will have plenty of time to fiddle around with this stick...

 

Thanks for the video

 

Luc Brusselmans

Belgium