Tasky

It seems you can't even get a Virpil either, as they're not expected in stock until Feb/March next year... !!

But why, given Virpil seem to be doing so well with theirs. I'm thinking their discontinuation in 2004, right when the Chinook and Kiowa were about to be released, might have been a factor?

Had I been into DCS back then, I'd have bought one in a heartbeat. As is, within a month of me deciding I wanted one, they discontinued 'em. Now, mere interest is all we have until they're made available again, or they do something better. Can't commit to something that doesn't exist... although a company like this might be able to pull off non-refundable pre-order deposits, say £40, to properly gauge interest. Better than outright pre-orders that can be cancelled, or crowdfunding that can be refunded - People put their money where their mouth is, and WW get a modicum of security if those ordering try to wig out.

It's worth a try - Comments on their social media, YouTube vids, anywhere they might see it...

But if we show enough interest.....?

If enough people badger them about making some, perhaps they'd listen?

OK, how about this angle... What is it about the four brands I mentioned that makes them so unworthy of consideration?

It's kinda like a car seat, mounted to an old industrial 4-legged bandsaw frame so it can slide on the runners. The footprint, angle of the legs and the stretchers mean I can't fit any floor-standing kit, but I can mount pretty much any thing to the baseplate itself - This sits somewhere between normal floorplate height and where a Monstertech baseplate would be, hence a chair-mount being the closest match. I could easily do away with the upright armatures of either the PFT or MFS and just mount those directly to my baseplate. Don't I know it - I have their HOTAS desk mounts already!! The faff with the tension seems to be the biggest factor in introducing unwanted flex or slop. Many reviewers complained that getting it tight enough to prevent it dropping and removing the slop resulted in quite uneven lift pressure, stiction or outright flex... and that it wouldn't stay fixed for more than a couple of weeks. I did have my heart set on the WinWing already, but the barstewards discontinued it right before I placed my order. The shorter lever would have been great for the Gazelle, too... So which ones are these 'built for commercial'?

The chair mount is not through choice. But what kit (other than Virpil, obv) would you say is of high standard... even if the price is high? I was specifically asking about MFS and PFT because there haven't been that many reviews in the past 4-6 years...

I'm not interested in Virpil. I don't like their switches, I don't like their software, I don't like their designs, and I've seen enough reviews that imply they don't meet my expectations.

The concerning ones were usually post-release reviews (Noobifier, for example) and/or just new customers unboxing and showing off. Written complaints are more user comments on various sim forums around the web. Most videos show a slight L-R wobble at the head end... but it's when you see them lift the lever say 5" and when they let go it drops back down a good 3" from the amount of flex... It's not supposed to be like that, surely? This is more about the flexion when moving the collective arm itself, although even some that look well mounted to Monstertech kit still seem to wobble at the head end. Most of the vids were just from quick searches on YouTube, but I do recall Rotor-Sims being one. He has a fabulous H145 motion sim setup, but his MFS stick looks to have a notable about of flex.

As mentioned, I'm rather discouraged by Virpil, having read/seen how much wobble, flex and slop there appears to be in reviews. In fact, it's the number of times I saw this in Virpil reviews that had me wondering about similar wobble in the more expensive PFT and MFS products - Several review vids of PFT show the collective lever jiggling about like crazy, while the MSF lever looks to have a lot of flex... I expected much better for those prices, so I was wondering if it was just the way the reviewers had set things up?

Morning all, Given how my heli-brain is very dominant and is refusing to operate my hands correctly unless they're holding a proper collective, I'm looking around to see what options are worth considering and would appreciate some guidance... I'm after something chair-mounted, not too long and preferably with lots of different inputs as it will need to replace my HOTAS throttle. I've already discounted the Virpil based on a number of reviews, and WinWing have annoyingly discontinued theirs. I've been most drawn to the offerings from Microhelis.de (types 3 and 8 ) and the forum's own K-51... but have also wondered if Max Flight Stick (H145, OH58D) or Pro-Flight Trainer's PUMA range are any good - These latter two look quite good, but in review videos the sticks from both companies look to have a lot of flexion when operated. Is that something owners here have found? Are there any others I should be looking at?

Just an update - I got the stick extension... but more importantly I got the Cam Upgrade pack, which included the friction clutch components. I have to say, the clutch has made a lot of difference - Not only does the stick stay wherever I put it, meaning I can move my fingers enough to press buttons without the stick moving around dangerously, but it adds enough friction that I can now feel when I am moving the stick a few mil!!! Of course I still can't fly for spit and it's taking a while to understand what's actually happening with the aircraft, but this addition has at least eliminated one particular issue. The next problem seems to be the lack of fine control over the throttle and some muscle memory confusion during input, especially during slow-downs and landings. My brain is still thinking I should be moving my hand up and down to alter collective instead of going fore and aft on a throttle, so I might look into getting a collective instead.

Now this one looks absolutely fabulous!!!