streakeagle

If VKB could reach the point where they weren't out of stock 90% of the time on 90% of their products, that would be good for some of us. But of course, having stock laying on a shelf collecting dust is not profitable, and this is really a very small niche market. So, it is understandable that a small company would rather churn out products over time to have steady income instead of selling everything to everyone in a month or two, then having very little business over the long haul. But if you can't meet demand, someone else will. At this point, I would like to buy the two stand-alone grips I don't have: the KG12 and the SCG Premium. I could get the complete SCG Premium with the base, but I would much prefer the Pro version and only the desktop version is available. I am not going to pay the extra cost when I could get the grip for a lot less or get the Pro version which has all the components I prefer: small base and stick extension.

The worst flaw, and the one the finally got me after many years of use, is simply plugging in the throttle can kill the control board, rendering the throttle useless. Other people had worse luck than me and lost their throttles in relatively short time. Under warranty, such a repair might be "free" of monetary cost, but do they have the board in stock and what do you have to pay out of pocket if you have to ship the throttle to them and back? I bought the board and shipped it... wasn't particularly cheap, but it was much cheaper than a new throttle and now it works 100% correct again. Aside from the stiction issue (which isn't present on every stick), the "feel" of the centering systems near the center is horrible. You can feel a solid transition as you hit the center then move to the opposite spring, both in pitch and roll. Of course, if you like a really solid "centering" feel, maybe you consider this a plus. But the VKB has different cams and the one I am using centers just fine but is smooth as glass as you approach and cross the center: you don't feel any kind of "bump", perfectly smooth/frictionless. Using a 10 or 15 cm extension greatly improves the precision/feel of the Warthog (besides the "stiction" and the "bumpy" transition as you cross the center, the springs are a bit stiff and difficult to overcome without overcontrolling without the leverage provided by an extension).

If I could only have one Fw190 variant, it would be the A5. But given the choice between the A8 and the D9, the D9 is the only way to go if you are like me and prefer air-to-air combat.

This is an awesome deal. I already have two fully functional Warthog HOTAS, but at this price it is tempting to get a third. There are some critical flaws in this product, but overall it is still the best value available. At this price, it is insane not to get it.

If you don't already have a good use for the little spring to center up/down/press switch, it is great for the kneeboard. Press to toggle the kneeboard view, up for next page, back for previous page. If the little button to the right of it is available, you can map that to the mark position function. I typically use the little 4-way thumb + center press switch at the bottom of the MCG Pro to perform these exact same functions, but this option works just as well or better.

Many bare aluminum fighters were polished for speed. It wouldn't surprise me if a few B-17s were given a similar treatment. If they were concerned about being spotted, they would have kept painting them. Instead the focus was on saving weight and money once air superiority was pretty much achieved.

This photo showcases how the natural aluminum typically looked on a B-17G in active service. It also shows my favorite version of the plexiglass nose: no seam or frame except where the flat plate is for the norden bombsight.

My preference is for replica grips. Ideally, I would have a 1:1 scale physically identical grip for each aircraft I fly. I don't mind squeezing in extra functions such as being able to click down on a 4 or 8 way thumb switch. I find it very immersive to feel the same stick as I see on screen, even more so in VR. However, having to change grips every time I change aircraft isn't practical and the majority of grips I would like to have don't exist. So it is more practical to use a grip that can model most other grips. It is hard to beat the MCG for this purpose. The analog brake lever is useful in a number of aircraft and the flip-up gun trigger is used in even more aircraft. But as capable as it is, you have to map the functions of US sticks to weird positions. I also find the top tier buttons hard to reach, particularly one of the most commonly used buttons for US grips: the red weapons release button at the top left. It feels horrible if I map that to the clickable analog hat just below it despite the superior location. The SCG is almost the perfect compromise for me. It fits right in my hand like my real B-8 grip. It has everything within easy reach. It doesn't quite model any real grip, but it is the closest one I have to the size and comfort of the B-8 as opposed to the MCG, Warthog, and F/A-18C grips. But the lack of the analog brake lever forces me to favor using the MCG, which is by far the best grip for flying Russian jets and also a good choice for the Spitfire.

To get the Target Script Editor working correctly with the F/A-18 grip, 1) Make sure you have the latest Target installed (mine says 3.0.18.328). 2) Make sure the correct firmware installed in the stick (mine is updated to V12 13/11/2017). 3) Delete your stick from your device list. 4) Unplug your stick and plug it back in (it may take awhile or hang, in which case you can unplug it again). 5) If you want to be extra careful, you can reboot the PC but that shouldn't be necessary. 6) Open the Target GUI and make sure the stick shows up as an F/A-18 grip instead of the Warthog grip: both images will be listed, but the one that says "connected" is the one it sees. 7) Create an advanced profile with the devices you want to use. 8 ) Map a key to one of the buttons to provide sample code. 9) Copy the script from the gui profile. 10) Close the GUI. 11) Open the Target Script Editor. 12) Create a new script. 13) Paste the sample template from the GUI. 14) Compile and test the sample template. 15) Edit to your heart's content to map keys to buttons, because it can and does work if you jump through all the hoops correctly. This script works perfectly on my PC mapping the "a" key to button 2: include "target.tmh" int main() { Configure(&HCougar, MODE_EXCLUDED); Configure(&Joystick, MODE_EXCLUDED); Configure(&T16000, MODE_EXCLUDED); Configure(&T16000L, MODE_EXCLUDED); Configure(&LMFD, MODE_EXCLUDED); Configure(&RMFD, MODE_EXCLUDED); Configure(&TFRPRudder, MODE_EXCLUDED); Configure(&TWCSThrottle, MODE_EXCLUDED); Configure(&TFRPHARudder, MODE_EXCLUDED); if(Init(&EventHandle)) return 1; SetKBRate(32, 50); SetKBLayout(KB_ENG); SetShiftButton(0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0); MapKeyIOUMD(&JoystickF18, S2, PULSE+'a', PULSE+'a', PULSE+'a', PULSE+'a', PULSE+'a', PULSE+'a'); MapAxis(&JoystickF18, JOYX, DX_X_AXIS, AXIS_NORMAL, MAP_ABSOLUTE); SetSCurve(&JoystickF18, JOYX, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0); MapAxis(&JoystickF18, JOYY, DX_Y_AXIS, AXIS_NORMAL, MAP_ABSOLUTE); SetSCurve(&JoystickF18, JOYY, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0); MapAxis(&Throttle, SCX, DX_XROT_AXIS, AXIS_NORMAL, MAP_ABSOLUTE); SetSCurve(&Throttle, SCX, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0); MapAxis(&Throttle, SCY, DX_YROT_AXIS, AXIS_NORMAL, MAP_ABSOLUTE); SetSCurve(&Throttle, SCY, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0); MapAxis(&Throttle, THR_RIGHT, DX_Z_AXIS, AXIS_NORMAL, MAP_ABSOLUTE); SetSCurve(&Throttle, THR_RIGHT, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0); MapAxis(&Throttle, THR_LEFT, DX_ZROT_AXIS, AXIS_NORMAL, MAP_ABSOLUTE); SetSCurve(&Throttle, THR_LEFT, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0); MapAxis(&Throttle, THR_FC, DX_SLIDER_AXIS, AXIS_NORMAL, MAP_ABSOLUTE); SetSCurve(&Throttle, THR_FC, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0); } int EventHandle(int type, alias o, int x) { DefaultMapping(&o, x); }

So this script doesn't work mapping spacebar to S2? include "target.tmh" int main() { Configure(&HCougar, MODE_EXCLUDED); Configure(&Joystick, MODE_EXCLUDED); Configure(&T16000, MODE_EXCLUDED); Configure(&T16000L, MODE_EXCLUDED); Configure(&LMFD, MODE_EXCLUDED); Configure(&RMFD, MODE_EXCLUDED); Configure(&TFRPRudder, MODE_EXCLUDED); Configure(&TWCSThrottle, MODE_EXCLUDED); Configure(&TFRPHARudder, MODE_EXCLUDED); if(Init(&EventHandle)) return 1; SetKBRate(32, 50); SetKBLayout(KB_ENG); SetShiftButton(0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0); MapKeyIOUMD(&JoystickF18, S2, PULSE+SPC, PULSE+SPC, PULSE+SPC, PULSE+SPC, PULSE+SPC, PULSE+SPC); MapAxis(&JoystickF18, JOYX, DX_X_AXIS, AXIS_NORMAL, MAP_ABSOLUTE); SetSCurve(&JoystickF18, JOYX, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0); MapAxis(&JoystickF18, JOYY, DX_Y_AXIS, AXIS_NORMAL, MAP_ABSOLUTE); SetSCurve(&JoystickF18, JOYY, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0); MapAxis(&Throttle, SCX, DX_XROT_AXIS, AXIS_NORMAL, MAP_ABSOLUTE); SetSCurve(&Throttle, SCX, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0); MapAxis(&Throttle, SCY, DX_YROT_AXIS, AXIS_NORMAL, MAP_ABSOLUTE); SetSCurve(&Throttle, SCY, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0); MapAxis(&Throttle, THR_RIGHT, DX_Z_AXIS, AXIS_NORMAL, MAP_ABSOLUTE); SetSCurve(&Throttle, THR_RIGHT, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0); MapAxis(&Throttle, THR_LEFT, DX_ZROT_AXIS, AXIS_NORMAL, MAP_ABSOLUTE); SetSCurve(&Throttle, THR_LEFT, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0); MapAxis(&Throttle, THR_FC, DX_SLIDER_AXIS, AXIS_NORMAL, MAP_ABSOLUTE); SetSCurve(&Throttle, THR_FC, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0); } int EventHandle(int type, alias o, int x) { DefaultMapping(&o, x); }

Target should work exactly as it does with the Warthog grip. Wrong, corrected below: The buttons may be arranged differently and the graphical representation will therefore be confusing, but you should be able to use target with the F/A-18 without any other issues. I don't use Target with DCS World. But most of the buttons/hats on the F/A-18 grip directly correspond to buttons/hats on the Warthog grip. I have only needed to make a few changes to my previously saved Warthog mappings to make the F/A-18 grip work. I can't imagine it would be much different in Target. Correction: Target includes a graphic representation of the F/A-18 grip... no problems at all using the latest Target with the F/A-18 grip.

Of all my stick grips for flying DCS World, this is my favorite one for flying US aircraft. I bought the basic version because I intend to use its guts to make a real B-8 stick grip into a functional VKB grip, but I am going to get the advanced version the next time I see it in stock. The shape and button/hat placement makes this grip capable of substituting for most US grips with reasonable size/shapes/positions. The MCG Pro has more of everything, but its size and shape are not as comfortable to me as a B-8 style grip. So, if I don't need an analog brake lever, the Kosmosima is a better fit for me. But the basic version I have only had the single button on the side which can't match the functionality in the F-5 stick grip or most other later grips. With the extra options on the advanced version, I can't imagine many US stick grips that couldn't be emulated with the Kosmosima. It is easily a match in functionality for the Thrustmaster Warthog and F/A-18 grips (which I also have), but it is simply more comfortable and closer to the arrangement and feel of the real B-8 grip I prefer.

I got my first Warthog HOTAS for $350. I have seen Dell sell them for $300. When I needed to replace the PCB in my throttle, Thrustmaster was out of stock. I didn't want to wait for the part. It is not cost effective to buy just the Warthog throttle, so I bought a 2nd complete HOTAS. The only good deal at the time was from Germany: $375. The Warthog isn't perfect, but I loved it enough that I now have two of them (after finally replacing the PCB in the throttle). $350 for many years of flawless service (purchased in 2011) isn't bad at all and when it finally failed I was easily able to fix it once the part was in stock.

While my VKB is removed, I did some maintenance. While I had the base open, I doubled up the 50 lb springs. I won't be installing and testing it any time soon, but it definitely feels a little stiffer. I am not sure when I am going to reinstall it and try it out because I am enjoying the F/A-18 grip.

Per the title, I received my new Thrustmaster F/A-18 stick grip today. I love it. The only problem is that I had to remove my VKB MCG Pro stick to try it out. Even if the adapter VKB sells would work, I think this grip is way too heavy for the MCG Pro, especially with the stick extension installed. The look/feel/functionality of the grip is as good as I could hope. The problem is using the Warthog stick/gimbal after having flown with the VKB stick for so long. It is a very big difference in the feel, particularly near the center where the stick is stiffer and more clunky.

I am not sure now. Oculus pushed another update. My device showed up with USB warning. I restarted the PC and the warning went away. But my mic died midway through a mission whereas last night, my mic didn't die at all and was still working when I shut the PC down for the night and again when I started it this afternoon.

Having had problems with the mic cutting out and also starting to get a warning from the Oculus software that my USB drivers might need to be updated, I spent last night looking for solutions. I had imaged my original Windows 7 install to a new 1TB SSD and then used the free upgrade to get to Windows 10 to be compatible with VR headsets. This wasn't a good way to go if you had Windows 7 USB drivers installed. Everything appeared to be working, but Oculus Rift S didn't like using my addon card USB 3 ports, only the motherboard/intel ports. So, I started with reading up on USB 3 drivers/Windows 10/Oculus problems and solutions. I ended up uninstalling/re-installing all of my USB related drivers multiple times before I was satisfied that all of the hubs/ports were working correctly up to full speed. This did not solve the mic cut-out problem, nor did it remove the warning that I needed to update my drivers, which were already fully up-to-date. But I did get to the point that I could connect the Rift S headset to any of my USB ports instead of just the motherboard's intel ports. Scouring the internet again, I stumbled onto some advice about getting rid of the "update your drivers" warning: The display port of the gpu might not be compatible with the version needed for the Rift S. nVidia provides a firmware update for many of their cards with display ports to bring them up to the current standard. The GTX 1080 is one of the cards they may need a firmware update. I found the update through the nVidia support page search function (which matched the link I found on forums). I installed the firmware update. After restarting my PC, the update caution warning has disappeared and so far, the mic hasn't cut-out yet. I am keeping my fingers crossed! The idea that it is the display port version supported by the gpu that has caused some of my problems makes very good sense to me. I didn't have these problems with the original Rift. One of the key differences is the display port connection of the Rift S replaced the hdmi connection of the original Rift. But the results I am seeing now may be a fluke. All I can do is wait and see and keep this forum topic up-to-date with my results.

MCG Pro is much better for precision near the center due to the smooth motion and much lighter forces. But a Warthog with an extension works almost as well. It is simply a matter of me preferring the feel of the MCG Pro to the Warthog, but functionally, there was very little gain. I could use either one and be happy, but the analog brake lever of the MCG Pro is very useful in realistically flying MiGs and the Spitfire. With the Warthog, I had to assign a brake pedal to be the brake lever.

For the time being, flat panel monitors vs VR have tradeoffs. VR simply can't match the visual quality of a large screen 4K panel. But if the hardware ever catches up to the point I can have 90+ fps with a full FOV and a "retina" resolution, I won't need a flat panel ever again. In the mean time, I alternate between flat panel and VR depending on what type of flying I am doing: do I want/need image quality? or do I want/need 1:1 head tracking and scaling? Flat panel/TrackIR can't match the experience of 1:1 head tracking with stereo 3d images. I can easily see around canopy frames with stereo 3d, whereas aircraft like the Fw190 that have canopy frames at inconvenient locations cause major problems on a flat panel display. Of course, I may not even be able to spot/locate an air-to-air threat in VR that I can easily spot on a 4K flat panel as long as it stays away from my canopy frames ;)

For me, the Rift S has four basic problems compared to the CV1: 1) the mic stops working when being used by an app such as VAICOM and won't work again until you unplug the USB connector and plug it back in. 2) white noise periodically appears in place of image (not very frequent, but at least once a night). 3) head tracking base reference point periodically shifts to one side, often when mission first starts, but at other random times, too. 4) system loses guardian settings or other such mumbo jumbo and I have to put batteries in the touch hand controllers to recalibrate the forward reference and ground level even though I have guardian safety limits disabled.

I paid about $500 for the VKB MCG Pro... so $200 for just the grip isn't even close to that price. When you consider I have two complete Warthog HOTAS, I bought one for $350 and the other for $380, the VKB is very expensive. I have two real B-8 grips. Each one cost me about $500 and they only have a 4-way trim hat, trigger, and 3 other buttons. So compared to all of my other purchases except for my Saitek stuff, $200 for a replica grip is fair. Summary: VKB MCG Pro: grip, base, and metal extension for $500 (including shipping) Warthog: grip, base, and heavy duty dual throttle for $350-$400 (they were even as low as $300 from Dell one time). Warthog throttle stand-alone: $270-$330 F/A-18 grip: $230. Warthog stick grip and base stand-alone: $200 (formerly $300) MCG Pro grip: $160. The complete Warthog HOTAS is clearly the real deal. The F/A-18 grip looks expensive compared to the new low price for the standalone Warthog stick, but isn't really that much higher than the MCG Pro grip and is metal instead of plastic. Given that I already have two complete Warthog sticks, spending another $230 to get the F/A-18 grip isn't that bad compared to buying a complete MCG Pro setup that costs more $150 than the complete HOTAS and leaves you with only a stick.

It isn't just in the cockpit, it makes a difference in the clarity of visual contacts in dogfights. The improvement is really very small, yet it is quite significant. That is to say, it still doesn't even come close to what a 1080p flat panel allows, but I am now willing to fly a lot more missions in VR rather than on the flat panel due to the ability to see better both inside and outside the cockpit. Of course, about the same time I upgraded from the Rift to the Rift S I also went from a 1080p 46-in LCD TV to a 4K 49-inch LED TV. So I am still flying a lot of flat panel missions to enjoy the amazing 4K graphics. If the hardware ever improves enough for VR to match flat panel quality, then I will fly 100% VR. Until then, I am going to continue enjoying the advantages of both as it suits me on any particular night.

I could fly the UH-1 fairly well, but VR not only looks so amazing, but makes flying helos so much easier due to the field of view and better perception of relative motion and altitude.

I flip back and forth all the time. When the limitations of one setup gets in my way, I switch to the other. The visuals in 4K are absolutely stunning. But the Rift S got the VR visuals up to a good enough that I can tolerate VR graphics in a lot more situations. The 1:1 tracking and scale of VR is hard to give up. But I still love the image quality of 4K, which I see via a 49 inch TV about 2 to 3 feet in front of my face. But as good as 4K looks, I still like to have antialiasing, which is only practical to a x2 level. I only get 40 fps with the Rift S, along with some ghosting of air threats, whereas I can have 60 fps with vsync on the 4K monitor. When VR can give me the graphics quality I crave and smoothly maintain a high fps (80+), there will be very few situations where I would want/need to go back to a flat panel display.

Waited forever for this to be released. The price is pretty high for just a grip. That explains why there were never any grips released for the Cougar or Warthog prior to this: the grip is the principal cost of the stick and many people won't even consider paying the price of a full stick (or HOTAS!) for just an add-on grip. However, already having not one, but two Warthog sticks. I really want to see more aircraft specific addon sticks. Given how much I paid for a VKB MCG Pro, the Hornet grip is chump change and will be a great addition to my hardware options. While I love the VKB stick mechanics, you have to flash the firmware every time you want to swap grips. Swapping grips also requires using tools and carefully aligning spacers. Thrustmaster has the superior design when it comes to just unscrewing the grip and screwing the new one on. If VKB ever provides adapters to permit using Thrustmaster grips with the MCG Pro stick base, I will get the best return on my investment being able to use all of my grips with the best stick base aside from having to flash the firmware every time I switch grips.