Honeycomb Yoke and Throttle news

[Ray Proudfoot 8,927]

@Gabe777, yes, bought them same time as the yoke. I wouldn’t worry about the Honeycomb throttles. The pots will be of infinitely higher quality. And the thrust reversers are probably just switches like the detent point on the Saitek.

My Saitek buttons are fine. No problems with any of them. The Honeycomb will be of better quality.

Remember the CEO has experience at PFC so will know the pitfalls to avoid.

Nice to see RC4 still in use. It still does it for me too. 

[Phantoms 800]

2 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

@Gabe777

I suspect prices exclude VAT so $200 becomes £200 then add on VAT and you get £240. Times two and it's close to £500. Hopefully P&P is included in that price.

For that price it had better be good which is why I'm prepared to wait for these design tweaks to be sorted out. Better to find something wrong before mass production than afterwards.

From one of their replies on facebook, there is this:

Honeycomb Aeronautical We will airfreight a combined batch to Europe and the split up the shipment after customs, so that import taxes/duty will be paid by us.

[Phantoms 800]

Sorry, double post edited out.

Edited April 7, 2018 by Phantoms
Was a dobule post

[Ray Proudfoot 8,927]

@Phantoms, I’m not sure Import taxes / duty is the same as VAT which is an internal tax. We’ll see.

[Gabe777 132]

17 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

@Gabe777, yes, bought them same time as the yoke. I wouldn’t worry about the Honeycomb throttles. The pots will be of infinitely higher quality. And the thrust reversers are probably just switches like the detent point on the Saitek.

My Saitek buttons are fine. No problems with any of them. The Honeycomb will be of better quality.

Remember the CEO has experience at PFC so will know the pitfalls to avoid.

Nice to see RC4 still in use. It still does it for me too. 

Thnx for that Ray.

 

I really hope you're right about it, as the only alternative without spending mega bucks is another HOTAS such as the Thrustmaster Warthog at £350. But, I really would like to switch to a proper yoke setup - which I've never ever, even tried !

Have to be patient I guess and see what happens.

 

PS. I think the fact they are ostensibly offering a 5 year warranty, certainly instils a little more confidence - the more I think about it!

Edited April 8, 2018 by Gabe777

[vortex681 806]

17 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

The pots will be of infinitely higher quality.

I don't think we'll really know this for sure until someone gets a retail version to test. It already look as though some cost-cutting is going on. Shame about dropping the hall-effect sensors as that was one of the main selling points for me.

16 hours ago, Phantoms said:

From one of their replies on facebook, there is this:

Honeycomb Aeronautical We will airfreight a combined batch to Europe and the split up the shipment after customs, so that import taxes/duty will be paid by us.

I think that's just for pre-orders. Again, from their Facebook page:

"we have decided to ship all pre-orders per airfreight, directly from the factory at our cost. Pre-order will start as soon as we have a firm production schedule."

As good as they look, I'm not sure I'd want to pre-order without seeing any reviews first.

Edited April 8, 2018 by vortex681

[Gabe777 132]

I agree - I won't be buying until someone who knows their stuff - not *Froogle( !) - takes it apart and examines it at length.

Knowing the type and make of the pots may give us a clue as to durability.

Unfortunately, with these things, you often do not know what durability is like, until you find out over time. Catch 22 !!!

 

* only joking !!!!!!!!

[Ray Proudfoot 8,927]

@Gabe777, I feel the same as you. They don't give 5 year warranties without serious thought. It could be the difference between a product being a success and the company folding.

I'm with @vortex681 regarding ordering before I've read a few reviews or seen a video with it examined by a competent engineer.

This has the potential to be a ground-breaking bit of kit for those of us who want something better than the Saitek but don't want to spend silly money on PFC stuff which is still not without its problems.

Of course this kit needs beta testing so a few lucky so-and-so's should be hearing from Honeycomb at some point. An NDA will stop us knowing who they are of course.

[Gabe777 132]

Rhat he said ..... !!!    Good summary Ray. Will be watching with interest. Have this thread on Speed dial !

Edited April 14, 2018 by Gabe777

[Ray Proudfoot 8,927]

For those of you without a Facebook account Honeycomb Aeronautical posted this update last evening...

With a few days delay, here's an update on the product development.
We received quite a few of the same requests regarding the button layout on the yoke, so we have decided to make the changes. Those changes are switching the 8-way hat switch to the left handle and rotate the right 2 x 2-way rocker switch to operate horizontally (CAD image below).
With regards to production schedule, then the quoted production cost is significantly higher than projected, but we are determined to keep the MSRP of $199.99.
To do that, we have to figure out how streamline the supply chain from production to consumer. We're working on 3 things:
- Reducing our own profit expectations
- Lowering retail margin
- Scrutinizing components to see where we optimize cost with minimal effect on user experience.
The first two parts are easy, but the last part will take about 4 weeks for the factory to get back to us. Hopefully tooling work will not be affected too much by this delay.
I know a lot of you are growing impatient (so are we), and we appreciate you sticking with us. We are working as hard and fast as we can, but at the end we will not launch a product that we're not proud of even if it means delays. Switching from prototype to production is taking a lot longer than expected, but we'll keep on posting updates here on FB.

Here's the photo with the change to the rocker switch.

Work on the throttle quadrant is aligned with the yoke so both will be available at the same time.

I'm disappointed there will be further delays but if the design is improved I suppose the wait is worthwhile.

[hitter439 4]

Thank you very much for the update...I am not on FB.   I realize I am speaking only for myself, but I would still be very interested in the Honeycomb products at a somewhat higher price point if it meant not reducing the initially designed component quality.   Was wondering if others feel similarly?

[Ray Proudfoot 8,927]

@hitter439, yes, the point about not compromising quality to keep to the promised price was made by several people and was 'liked' several times.

I hope Honeycomb take that on board.

[Gabe777 132]

That shaft looks very thin.

And, as for the throttle, which will probably take another 3 years to be released, I hope they listen to someone..... the ARP should read APR.

....for the 84th time !

Edited May 4, 2018 by Gabe777

[Gabe777 132]

And as for the price..... there is a huge gap between the cost of Cr@ptek and the 500 to 700 quid, solid metal stuff. Who cares if they go to 225 or 249 ?!! Just make it good.

200 bucks..... what is this, some sort of OCD ? Make it good, and they will sell 10s of thousands. Add 15% to the cost, and they are good to go.

We spend 120 quid on a flippin aircraft..... who cares if its 220 or 235.77 ?

Geeze, these guys need a decent accountant.

Have they no concept of what is available right now ? If we can afford 400 Bucks/Euros/Quids...... we can go another 25 to 50. And it will still split the difference between 120 and 500.

Thrustmaster did just fine on their Warthog HOTAS.... their throttle unit currently has a RRP on their UK official site, of 209.99.

Sais it all. Make it. Make it good. Then... worry about the price.

Edited May 4, 2018 by Gabe777

[tttocs 301]

On 4/27/2018 at 2:47 AM, Ray Proudfoot said:

Those changes are switching the 8-way hat switch to the left handle and rotate the right 2 x 2-way rocker switch to operate horizontally (CAD image below).

Hmm.  I'm completely in agreement on moving the hat to the left side, but were folks really asking for the left side rocker to be horizontal?  The most common use for this would be for "electric" (elevator) trim which should be vertical.  This one I truly don't get.

Scott