The Warthog throttle is nice, and the grip of the stick. But the plastic ball/spring gimbal of the Warthog is a long way from a Virpil / VKB base with smooth ball bearings and metal cams. So that's for Christmas - good luck getting one now with chaos in Belarus (Virpil) and demand overflow for VKB. Note that they are both compatible with the Warthog so you only need a base, like the Virpil Warbrd. Such a difference... 

The main problem in my opinion with the Warthog is that it's all metal, accept where it counts (the plastic toy gimbal with a spring like an old Logitech). 

Edited September 2, 20205 yr by mazex

2 minutes ago, Pathfinder633 said:

Tell me, as far as actual feel/action of the Warthog stick goes...is it a massive improvement over the old cougar stick?

One distinguishing characteristic of the Warthog stick, aside from very high build quality and accurate output, is the fairly stiff action compared to just about all other non-force feedback joysticks.

Combat sim pilots like it because the stiff feel somewhat simulates feedback from control surfaces at extreme deflections. You can use the feel of the spring to know exactly where you're on the edge of a high speed maneuvering stall.

For civilian flight sims though, I find the stiff feel just a bit too heavy, especially for long duration flights off autopilot, or flying helicopters. There is a DIY mod you can find on the Web for removing the heavy mainspring, which I did a few years ago. There are still some smaller springs that give the stick a mild centering effect in the middle of the range, but the feel is loose enough that the stick will stay flopped over if I push it all the way to one side.

This mainspring mod allows more precise control for maneuvers in helicopters, and it still works fine for plank planes. The mod is reversible if you don't like it. Just thought I'd mention it because not everyone knows you can do this. It voids the warranty of course. 🙃

 

15 minutes ago, Paraffin said:

One distinguishing characteristic of the Warthog stick, aside from very high build quality and accurate output, is the fairly stiff action compared to just about all other non-force feedback joysticks.

Combat sim pilots like it because the stiff feel somewhat simulates feedback from control surfaces at extreme deflections. You can use the feel of the spring to know exactly where you're on the edge of a high speed maneuvering stall.

For civilian flight sims though, I find the stiff feel just a bit too heavy, especially for long duration flights off autopilot, or flying helicopters. There is a DIY mod you can find on the Web for removing the heavy mainspring, which I did a few years ago. There are still some smaller springs that give the stick a mild centering effect in the middle of the range, but the feel is loose enough that the stick will stay flopped over if I push it all the way to one side.

This mainspring mod allows more precise control for maneuvers in helicopters, and it still works fine for plank planes. The mod is reversible if you don't like it. Just thought I'd mention it because not everyone knows you can do this. It voids the warranty of course. 🙃

 

Thanks for the advice maybe that’s the next step but for now going from a plastic saitek yoke to this is night and day to me at least 👍

On 8/27/2020 at 8:40 PM, sidfadc said:

Gotcha!

Not another whiny thread, just saying I’ve purchased the Hotas Warthog joystick!  Fed up of my plastic Saitek yoke, she served me well but this sim deserves more ha 👍

No surprises. Some products are good and cheap but dont last tooooooo long. And that's ok for some people. The same happened with me. I dropped the saitek thing ( not angry at all, I know it was going to quit on me after a couple of 2-4 years). 

And now I'm back to plain good ole joystick. The thrustmaster optical sensor

 

Regards

AHS712D (N712D) Alvaro Escorcia (OMAA) - AirHispania

 

Rather than adjusting the warthog springs there’s various length extension tubes you can buy off ebay.

These increase the throw and so reduce its sensitivity and also reduce the resistance felt.

This link is just a random example from eBay to give you an idea, there’s several companies that do them , differing lengths and finishes.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Thrustmaster-Warthog-Black-Extension-7-5-cm/323756999916?hash=item4b616bc4ec:g:9VAAAOSwhkRWfR3s

13 minutes ago, jon b said:

Rather than adjusting the warthog springs there’s various length extension tubes you can buy off ebay

Yes, and thanks for mentioning that. It's one of the cool features about the joystick. With an extension it's ideal for helicopters, aerobatic civilian planes or combat sims.

I haven't gone that route because I use my "flying desk' for other things, and the spring mod works better for me at normal joystick height. If I had a SimPit I would use one of those extensions.