Honeycomb...the end?

[orchestra_nl 952]

9 hours ago, fppilot said:

I just turned 75. These should last me "forever". And my 75 prior years have made me wiser....  I logged 450 hours+ in 2023, all with flawless Honeycomb Apha and Bravo.

I sincerely hope you will outlive your Bravo. Mine broke just after the warranty expired.
I do think they could be great products. The idea behind this is great though and they offer versatility like no other device at a decent price.

12 hours ago, micstatic said:

Honeycomb products I guess I liked.  But they also had many human factors issues.  The actual units were very ackward for many types of desks.  The bravo for instance was strange that it took up far more space than it should.  The switch panel was hard to label, and see.  When mounting the logitech radio panel on top (which it was designed to do) it further magnified that issue.  No hall sensors...  It was a great mid range product like I said earlier.  Far better than the lower range ones, but not as good as the top tier ones.  The charlie never made much sense to me as I think the MFG Crosswind and pendular TPR was superior.  A huge opportunity for another company to step in here.

I agree about the size of the Bravo. They probably wanted to standardise the look of their products or save costs by using the same housing for both.
The switches on the "switch panel" are a bit difficult to reach, but so are many knobs in real aircraft. If they were 2-way buttons instead of switches they would be more practical for Sim use but the feel of them is pretty good. I also think the status leds could have been left out and spend the money on hall sensors and better internal wiring.

When looking for a replacement for my Bravo I discovered we don't have much to choose from. The Fulcrum TQ never got produced unfortunately which was the only alternative if you want something that is versatile (jets and 4-engined props). 

For jets I now have a Thrustmaster Airbus TQ which is almost perfect (for jets) but it is not as versatile but for props my partly usable Bravo will have to do unless something better comes up.
I am seriously thinking about getting another Bravo while they still are avaiable even though I swore never to do that. But if I do, the first thing I am going to do is open it up and check whether they have solved the wiring problem in their recent products and perhaps re-route those wires so they don't get cut.

Edited January 29 by orchestra_nl

[micstatic 4,337]

The throttletek line is very nice.  A move up.  But also a move up in price point.  The VirtualFly TQ6 is also nicer than the bravo.  But it's not as customizable and the general aviation style doesn't appeal to many.  In terms of yokes I would say that the thrustmaster boeing is definitely better than the honeycomb yoke.  But still not much in this space.  

[orchestra_nl 952]

49 minutes ago, micstatic said:

The throttletek line is very nice.  A move up.  But also a move up in price point.  The VirtualFly TQ6 is also nicer than the bravo.  But it's not as customizable and the general aviation style doesn't appeal to many.  In terms of yokes I would say that the thrustmaster boeing is definitely better than the honeycomb yoke.  But still not much in this space.  

Price is not my biggest concert. I have even been eying the VirtualFly TQ6 NEO (over 2400$ if you include the trim addon) but while it is simply perfect if you only fly throttle+prop+mixture/condition, it can't do much else.

My main requirement for a TQ is versatility since I like to fly anything with wings.
Lately I've been flying the DC-3 and with the Bravo I can do prop+throttle+mixture the real thing has. When I want to fly the DC-6 I can do 1prop+4throttle+flaps. The extra airbus levers are perfect for the latter.

Another requirement for me is that the TQ must be of good quality and durable. Unfortunately, that is where Honeycomb failed IMO.

It's funny; if Virtualfly just made the tops of the levers interchangeable and added 2 throttle levers in the package it would be perfect for anything with propellors. Add an option for jet levers and they would have the perfect TQ of anything that flies. AFAIK, they are simply not interested in this.

[eslader 1,809]

2 hours ago, micstatic said:

The throttletek line is very nice.  A move up.  But also a move up in price point. 

It is nice stuff, but unless you're building a type-dedicated simpit, when you get into the multiaxis throttle arena you really want interchangeable handles so you can reconfigure when you change planes.

Sadly, the Bravo is really the only one out there that ticks all the boxes (and even so, it doesn't have hall-effect sensors so it will die an early death and, apparently, now be irreplaceable).

 

[Buzz71 4]

I'm having exactly this dilemma.  Building a sim pit as per other posts on the forum and looks like I have just missed the boat with the Bravo.  Have almost all my other gear on order, I just need yoke and TQ.  I was planning on Alpha XPC and Bravo but sadly that looks not to be an option.

My problem is that my two most flown aircraft in the immediate future will be SWS PC-12 and PMDG 737-800.  I'm aiming for a fixed sim pit using Next Level Racing Flight Simulator Pro so I am trying to avoid having to get two separate throttles for GA and Commerical with all the set up/take down issues that would bring.  I was considering the VirtualFly TQ6 which I assume would be fine for PC-12 and any subsequent prop aircraft, but can it be adapted 737 or similar aircraft?  In a real quandry with this - it's the last piece of the sim pit jigsaw puzzle but I am struggling where to go to now.

[Bozdog 63]

Shame this was on my list for when my Saitek finally fails.  Can’t justify buying at the moment but if anyone else is considering Them AEROSOFT seem to be selling them with a discount at the moment 

[orchestra_nl 952]

20 hours ago, Bozdog said:

Shame this was on my list for when my Saitek finally fails.  Can’t justify buying at the moment but if anyone else is considering Them AEROSOFT seem to be selling them with a discount at the moment 

Yep, but be quick because the sale ends after tomorrow.

[Buzz71 4]

I managed to get an Alpha XPC and a Bravo at the Aerosoft sale - the savings were eaten up by the eye watering shipping cost but I guess that's what I planned to pay anyway!

[Buzz71 4]

I may have spoken too soon ... Alpha shipped but not Bravo sigh ... seems a lot of retailers say they have stock but the moment you pay they switch to "waiting for supplier".

[micstatic 4,337]

I managed to grab a discounted bravo just after the sale launched.  Delivered yesterday.  I'll keep it boxed as a backup just in case. 

[JacquesBrel 639]

An update about "new management" was posted on the Honeycomb website today:

https://flyhoneycomb.com/blogs/news/management-change-update

[F737MAX 5,700]

Who to believe? 
A professional sounding communiqué with an official-looking email address or a message on Discord with a Gmail address? 🤔

Either way, I would not send any of my money to either of these warring factions until well after the dust settles, strong evidence exists that the business is a going concern and efforts to reimburse or make good on deliveries of those fully paid-up Charlie pedals has been made.

 

 

Edited February 5 by F737MAX

[JacquesBrel 639]

More details about the Honeycomb drama: Interview with Nicki Repenning who tells his side of the story about the internal company power struggle:

https://www.thresholdx.net/article/wtfhcmb

[Buzz71 4]

Its all very confusing with multiple sides to the story.  Hopefully it will get sorted out in the long term - I guess this is better than a complete collapse of the company with no hope of future production.

[fppilot 4,390]

On 2/7/2024 at 5:14 PM, Buzz71 said:

Its all very confusing with multiple sides to the story.  Hopefully it will get sorted out in the long term - I guess this is better than a complete collapse of the company with no hope of future production.

The product line, both released and planned, are way beyond viable. Promising and remarkable! The issue is financing growth.  Design, development, tooling, materials, and production, all lead well in advance of sales revenue, which only comes with actual sales.  Too many companies/concerns rush past their capabilities to finance that growth.  You cannot sell lemonaide at the lemonaide stand before paying in advance for the lemonaide. 

I applaud Nicki's passion and vision, but what I witnessed at his area at Flight Sim Expo, last summer in Huston in June. The product developement, protype displays, and promises, boggled my mind.  Not making a conclusion here, just recognizining indicators based on 35 years of related business consulting experience.

I am not surprised by these developments, but am also not fatalistic.  There is too much quality in the products and product development for potential rescuers to ignore.