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

[Rocky_53 1,566]

 

 

 

Oh I hear you Rock, I am just dissapointed they dont make a nice yoke like they did with the Warty. It looks like a nice piece of equipment for sure and I may go get one. I just wish they would make a yoke in the same manner EVEN IF the yoke had to be a little gamey.

 

I absolutely agree and if I was in the development of such products I would produce a yoke to the standard of the Warthog in a flash, with all the switch functions at your fingertips, which sadly is not available on yokes such as the Elite and VRinsight. The only one that comes close is the yoke that was reviewed by Word Not Allowed, the PFC Saab yoke. This yoke has more switches to hand than the other two from what I can see, but still falls short of the Warty in that department. I really think there would be a massive opportunity for someone like Saitek or CH Products to use their current production templates to simply create an alloy version of their yokes. If they could produce an alloy yoke for a little less in price than the Warthog and still retain all the switch functions and hatswitch, then IMO they'd fly out of the shop (sorry for the pun)

 

I bought the multipanel, Are you aware that vrinsight are not pmdg compatible? I thought I saw somewhere you were 737 flyer

Hi Zoran, I use the tact and toggle switch panel on the NGX and have all functions assigned through LINDA. I have also just received the Vrinsight Boeing style MCP, which can also be used for the NGX via LINDA.

 

Thanks Howard!

 

There's a lot of Springs in that package!! 150 of them actually. That's not going to be easy to ship to Brazil at all. Plus my Warthog has a Stuck Screw that I don't know if I'll ever be able to open it again. Maybe I'll just leave it as it is, isn't so bad.

 

Alexis, if you have a stuck screw, are you talking about the base plate? Anyway, use a small amount of WD40 and position the hog in a position so that the WD40 can seep into the thread of the screw. Not too much, just enough to seep into the thread. Leave it a couple of hours or overnight and then you should be able to move it...

[Jetblst 23]

Uh I have a different problem now guys, 1984 came by and screwed all my tweaks DAMMIT!

 

 

8P :help: :Party:

[TOX 0]

i found a thrustmaster hotas warthog in my local there is only 1 left.

My q is: The serial number on the thrust unit says: 05359, is this a good batch or is it 1 of those problem units?

 

Any info would be great before i decide.

 

 

Thanks guys

[Rocky_53 1,566]

i found a thrustmaster hotas warthog in my local there is only 1 left.

My q is: The serial number on the thrust unit says: 05359, is this a good batch or is it 1 of those problem units?

 

Any info would be great before i decide.

 

 

Thanks guys

 

I have no idea Tox... I suspect any problems that were associated with the Warthog would have been dealt with by Thrustmaster by now. I suspect any stock in a store would be newer versions, unless of course the one you are considering has been in the store for a long time. The problem I see it is that whenever there is a post from a few guys with a problem, naturally it's very easy to focus on the issue and forget about the other thousands of happy customers who are using their Warty with no problems at all. If you're really concerned, why not drop an email to customer support over at Thrustmaster and see if it's an issue that they were aware of and if it has been dealt with. EDIT: I've just done a search on Google 'problems with Thrustmaster Warthog, and came up with just a couple from about 5 years ago...

[TOX 0]

thanks for that Howard,

 

yes i think i ll drop thrustmaster an email to see what happens, you are also right about the good and bad comments, people tend to focus on the bad more than the good maybe because they dont want to be caught up in the same problem area like some others have.

If the warty wasnt so expensive we would just buy it with our eyes shut, for most people this is the main reason we are more careful.

[Molew 8]

Adding my two cents worth in favor of ThrustMaster hardware... I've owned a T.M. Cougar for over ten years now. I have not 'modded' it with replacement springs or replacement Hall Effect sensors. It's been a rock solid unit for the entire time I've owned it. I am an avid flight simmer and use my flight controller just about every day, and have done so since I first started flying flight sims back in the early '90's. Before I got my Cougar, I would wear out Saitek gear in a couple months, CH gear in a couple years. My Cougar has withstood all of my heavy use and keeps right on working, flawlessly.

 

The only piece of equipment I am tempted to buy to replace my Cougar ... is the WartHog. There is no other flight controller out there that I would expect to last ten years or more while enduring almost daily use. The WartHog (like the Cougar before it) is not just an expensive toy, it's a solid investment in your flight simulation hobby.

[TOX 0]

Adding my two cents worth in favor of ThrustMaster hardware... I've owned a T.M. Cougar for over ten years now. I have not 'modded' it with replacement springs or replacement Hall Effect sensors. It's been a rock solid unit for the entire time I've owned it. I am an avid flight simmer and use my flight controller just about every day, and have done so since I first started flying flight sims back in the early '90's. Before I got my Cougar, I would wear out Saitek gear in a couple months, CH gear in a couple years. My Cougar has withstood all of my heavy use and keeps right on working, flawlessly.

 

The only piece of equipment I am tempted to buy to replace my Cougar ... is the WartHog. There is no other flight controller out there that I would expect to last ten years or more while enduring almost daily use. The WartHog (like the Cougar before it) is not just an expensive toy, it's a solid investment in your flight simulation hobby.

 

 

hi molew,

Thanks for your post, like many warty users here your comments make a lot of sense, you made some good points there.

 

I had a chance the other day to actually feel this warty in the store.

Well i was very suprised to see how it felt, so smooth with a cool metal sense, the stick moved very nicely, although some say the big spring may need to be removed in my case it was spot on with it in place.

The throttle felt just as nice big chunky but very smooth too, i didnt even need to hold the base down it moved very freely but solid.

 

As long as i can use this baby with most of FSX planes, PMDG, lock-on flaming cliffs 2 and some helicopter sims, i will buy it.

 

i have been reading stuff like people have trouble mapping to different planes in FSX.

Not sure but do they mean for planes like airbuses or cessnas you need to re-map everything or one setup flies all?

 

thanks

[hs118 707]

I purchased the Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog this week. Been flying with it all day after spending a good bit of time designing the button assignments.

 

On the HOTAS itself, I can only say WOW!. Build quality and overall "feel" light years ahead of the highest end Saitek or CH product. For my hands, the controls fit perfectly, spring tension is spot on, and button locations very accessible. Hard to imagine how great it feels and flies until you get it in hand.

 

Regards function assignment, I only use FSUPIC and have disabled all joystick functions/axes in native FSX. Using FSUIPC takes some getting used to, especially if, as I have, you would use different assignment profiles for different aircraft. The reward for the extra effort is well returned however. With FSUIPC, you can do conditional assignments based on the flight status of the aircraft (on ground or in air), you can map mouse clicks in the VC to buttons/switches on the Warthog, and do multiple FSX actions on a single button/switch assignment.

 

If you can afford the price tag (and it did hurt me a good bit), it is an amazing piece of kit, as Howard would say.

[Robert McDonald 167]

Candidly, I cannot recall a Warty owner saying anything derogatory or negative about this hardware. Yes, it's a "joystick/throttle combo" and no, it's not a "YOKE", but for 1/3 the cost of the Precision Flight Controls Boeing Yoke with Hall Effect Sensor Option ($150 USD extra just for the Hall Effect Sensors that are STANDARD on the Warty!)- I think for most FSX/Prepar3D and even XPlane10 owners - it's a 'no-brainer' to buy the Warty. I've flown mine nearly daily for over 1 year - and am still as much in love as the day I unboxed her.

 

Seems the consensus is either use FSUIPC or Linda or a combination of FSUIPC and Linda (I use the combination method) to assign functions and to calibrate the Warty. As another poster said, you must disable all controls within FSX itself, and use FSUIPC to Calibrate, and then either FSUIPC or LINDA (free download here on AVSIM), to assign aircraft functions to the many buttons, switches, knobs and levers on both pieces of the Warty combo controllers.

 

I prefer Linda for assignment of aircraft functions, because Linda's UI (user Interface) is quite simple and Linda can easily accommodate my true love, the PMDG 737NGX aircraft and some of the nuanced commands out of the SDK (software developer's kit).

 

I use FSUIPC to calibrate the Throttles and reverse thrusters, as well as assigning the large grey slide switch on the RIGHT SIDE of the Warty to run my flaps 0,1,2,5,10,15,25,30 and 40 degrees... works a treat as my buddies across the pond like to say! So much so that I even used my PC to print out a calibrated sticker that I attached directly to the Warty throttle base to show all my flap positions. Wow, that's a nice thing to visually know precisely where each flap detent position is on the Warty!

 

What will grab you from the moment you connect this up to your flight deck is that now you're flipping REAL switches, instead of MOUSE-CLICKING on a "virtual cockpit". Is that a LOT different than using the 'virtual' switches? As they say in Minnesota, You Betcha!

 

Truth is the 'real switches, knobs, buttons and levers' add a whole 'nother level to your in-flight enjoyment. When I push back from the gate and flip the Engine Start knobs on the VRinsight V737 OVHD and watch the engines start spooling, that's just amazing. Then once N2 goes over 25, I flip the two toggle switches on the bottom left of the Warty to turn the engine run switches to "ON" and she catches her breath and begins to really come alive... Press another button on the warty to release the parking brakes, pull the large grey slider lever to set flaps 5 and ease those split throttles forward to begin my taxi roll... In addition I have previously calibrated my aircraft's POSition in the FMC by flipping the two top toggles on the Warty to engage IRS L and IRS R alignment... well you begin to feel the possibilities. Once you get all that going, it's not a huge leap to adding other hardware to expand your 'real world' tactile control in lieu of the 'virtual cockpit' knob/switch/button/lever' via your mouse...

 

But if all you buy is the Warty, you will fall in love, not only with the look and feel of it, but the split throttles are ideal when flying 2-engine heavy metal, and let's be honest, 2-engine airplanes seem to be where the market is heading (it's 1/2 the maintenance cost of 4-engine planes, DOH!) It's one louder now, isn't it! (With apologies to SPINAL TAP)

 

Someone here on Avsim talked about the Warty this way - "Buy it, you'll never regret it."

 

Truer words were never spoken, IMHO. I'm hard to satisfy and have sky high expectations. Thrustmaster did not disappoint. I first tried the Saitek throttle quadrants and let's leave it at what I perceived was superior build quality of the Warty versus Saitek, particularly on the throttle! Heavy metal machined to a level of quality you seldom see any more versus molded plastic that was bent up and looked cockeyed from the moment I unboxed it. I do very much like the Saitek Combat Rudder pedals though and the Saitek radio panel as well. I never tried the CH stuff.

 

As far as using this with many different flight platforms, I can't say, I only fly my beloved PMDG 737NGX. For that purpose, I'm completely satisfied.

[Rocky_53 1,566]

It was Robert who initially 'sold' the Warty to me... glad you did mate! :drinks:

[TOX 0]

It was Robert who initially 'sold' the Warty to me... glad you did mate! :drinks:

 

you mean Robert mcdonald?

[zmak 331]

wrong thread

[Rocky_53 1,566]

you mean Robert mcdonald?

 

Sure...

[hs118 707]

Here is a worksheet I developed to aid in the button mapping. I couldn't make much headway with the assignments without organizing it first.

 

http://uchisworld.wordpress.com/?attachment_id=72

 

Feel free to download.

[TOX 0]

Sure...

 

interesting, so after he went out and bought another warty then...?

 

 

 

 

Here is a worksheet I developed to aid in the button mapping. I couldn't make much headway with the assignments without organizing it first.

 

http://uchisworld.wo...ttachment_id=72

 

Feel free to download.

 

 

This gives me a better idea on mapping the warty very good thanks. Is this for FSX or other?

 

Any more mapping ideas on the T.H.warthog guys ?