As I needed to open my TM Warthog stick today to replace the CMS switch, I decided to have a look at how Thrustmaster handles the coolie hats on the stick.
I found that the TMS, DMS and Chinahat all share the same type of switch: They are some kind of bucket, pushed through from the front and hold in place by plastic clips.
The caps are hold in place by screws from the backside and a spring, that controls the resistance of the switch.
While the caps are interchangeable, the chinahat's ring with Nose up/down written on it is part of the bucket.
So if you want to switch that as well, you would have to take out both complete coolie hats, which involves messing with the cables.
The cables are luckily plugged in on a circuit board, so no soldering required.
So in conclusion: If Thrustmaster handles the coolie hats on the F-18 stick similar to the ones on the Warthog, you probably will be able to interchange them. Just not as easily as swapping the caps.
