AeroGator

Nope, we don't for now. We want to finally deliver what we promised, and have a smoke and a drink on the porch. We will of course make more models, but for now no plans for replicas. I am not saying 'never', I'm saying 'not any time soon'.

Thanks people! Guys we really seriously truly appreciate this healthy attitude. Seriously, designing a device takes years - and not like 2 or 3 - rather 5 or 7. See how long it took TM to develop their new grip - and TM is a mighty company ten times larger than VKB. Worth saying by the way is that in our history we never used external financing - you heard it right. Only loans we ever had were from our parents, and that was within a few hundred bucks range. Make, sell, save, make twice as many, sell, save, make twice as many, sell, save, etc. I believe we'll be in fact doing exceptionally good if TECS sees the market in 2020. :pilotfly:

TWO #50 springs on one axis is OK but not wwithout a warning. Especially when using extension. Imagine what force you are applying to the mechanism given the lever. The mechanism is as rigid as can be in its compact size, however we expect people to understand that everything has limits. John can load the mechanism with 2*50 on each axis, and use his joystick for years no problem; Jack would destroy it in a month, simply because of difference in their individual styles (Jack slams the lever at the endpoint limiters with all his power while John hardly ever touches the limiters at all). Common sense rules.

Look, there are 2 #50 springs in the set. Why there are no say #70 or #100 springs - neither in the set, nor as an option? Might be for a reason. Why it needs additional confirmation I'm not getting, but OK, I confirm. :joystick:

Please do NOT use extra stiff springs I would explicitly warn everyone against copying this experience, seriously. Springs' resistance is carefully calculated by not-the-dumbest-in-the-world engineers, and #50 is the strongest for a reason. There are things other than just springs in the mechanism. Sure thing, nothing will break in a day or two, but this doesn't prove anything - and particularly it doesn't prove that the gimbal will keep working for years (or that VKB will accept any warranty claim resulting from such usage). We do encourage and support modifications, but not this far. Using extra stiff springs is clearly a threat to the gimbal mechanism.

This is a very good question, and very much on time. The mount is on the way, and will be marketed soon. You know we are not telling exact dates, but the time is coming. Whether VKB joystick can be used on other makers' mounts, we don't know - never tried.

It's great to talk on the forums :) about planes, air warfare, space battles and so forth. I read forums to stay aware of news about our products, feedback, customers' wishes and complaints. But please note, tech support guys do not read forums! I do, but to be precise I am not a support engineer. So the fastest way to get help has always been (and remains) to get a ticket at the dealer's. And, but not or, write at VKB home forum - in case you think your case is unique, and you think more people should know how to deal with it. The fact that I saw your post is not a shortcut, and no substitute to opening a support ticket. We do want to see you happy with your device, and will be happy to help. Please open a ticket, and help will come. ^ If you could only know how much we're hoping for the same! :joystick:

Great that you are having your device fast :) I do understand where it all comes from. We did have availability issues, and many had to wait for months. Hopefully, we are getting out of this problem, as we have had some major factory upgrades and did a lot of production streamlining, so shortages are about to be left behind forever.

I appreciate the patience - seriously. We're determined to make nothing less than The Throttle, and it does take time :(

Sure. It takes a lot longer than 18 months to design a new device. A word is that it is going ahead full steam. However, there is no hurry in making such a very advanced and very special product: customer pressure is a mighty thing of course, but it doesn't influence design and production schedules. The throttle still needs time. Months, not weeks. (but see the brighter side: months, not years!)

Ooooops Damn I'm an idiot :megalol: Thanks for pointing this out (my wife knew but I didn't!) :doh: Shame shame on me.

If I wanted to say Gladiator Pro I would say Gladiator Pro.

MCG/MCGPro are grips made for Gunfighter base, and they are normally used with these bases. Difference between Gladiator base and Gunfighter base is huge, they belong to different leagues. We do not recommend using MCG/MCGPro on Gladiator bases. KG12 - OK, Kosmosima- OK, MCG - not quite OK.

Here I have no say. We at VKB HQ supply to the dealer in EU; the rest is in his hands. Perhaps the best would be to talk to him. I know it can be uneasy at times, but still, we can't control the dealer - he is an independent business. We stock him based on his requests.

I somehow can't help wondering - has it really gone unnoticed how different this year is from last stock wise? :)

Nope, there has never been any brokerage fee that you would have to pay to DHL in Canada. Things can always change to the worst, but right now it is safe to go ahead :)

It will be great since it is going to be made by VKB. We will publish an announcement in near future, and will tell more about details and tech specs. :joystick: Stay tuned, and thank you for your interest.

I actually edited that paragraph from "no easy thing" to "impossible". That's more technically correct given the existing set of other parameters. PS there was some tech glitch that led to temporary disappearance of your post; it is now back in its original state.

Yes of course we are. We have a full-function prototype and are testing it. As in Kosmosima, we are putting all our experience in this grip. It looks simple, but it is quite a complicated device when it comes to its internals. Making external design is nothing big, we were there long ago. Sure, we understand this device is for a niche market inside a niche market, hence we are making it The Best F14 Grip, in and out. There are long travel buttons, and metal buttons/hats caps, and metal AP OFF lever. We designed a two-step trigger that is borrowed from real life combat grips. Contactless sensors, no compromise Japanese made buttons, rubber insertions for extra comfy grip. Default version will have no twist but users will be able to install a Kosmosima ® twist as an option. And more, and more. Our grip is being made in cooperation with Heatblur, and will be integrated into the game. Those who already have an F14 module will enjoy a discount; those who don't will be offered a discount for this module when they buy a grip. In a word, this grip is worth waiting. If, of course, you want a really meticulously designed product, not a lookalike wannabe.

Plastic Thickness, and When Finally There are thousands of different plastics in the market. Wall thickness depends on kind of plastic (among other variables, of course). All VKB devices are made of industrial grade plastic - something that can't be written on the same page with the word "cheap". Cheap or cheapy components is not anything VKB could be blamed for - ever. Noobifier AFAIK is no professional in casting plastic. He can only share tactile feelings but can hardly issue grounded opinions on whether the plastic used was cheap or not. By the way some time later he removed this speculative statement from his review. Wall thickness is a function of a host of variables, and cannot be changed. We are making the grip in the highest quality possible, so that we would feel proud of it when it comes out. We will publish some sort of update with a bit of detail in near future. THANK YOU for your interest!

Looking back -> MCG grip for TM base -> ooops Surprisingly, after more than a year this question popped up again at Reddit boards, so let me copy my reply here for wider coverage. >>>> There's been plenty of water since I posted that information. This plan has been dumped. The reason is simple, and very frustrating in a way: the number of people who would want to mount an MCG onto a TM base would never excuse spending on RnD and manufacturing the adapters in question. Fact is, VKB would hardly sell a handful - yes, I literally mean a handful - of these devices. TM base with all due respect belongs in history. Putting a MCG on it would mean wasting 90+ per cent of the grip's potential. TM WH grip at least has its metal appeal, and ergonomically it is an eternal masterpiece. Their base, however... I don't want to speak it out, but you understand me. Maybe it was my bad that I didn't update in on the il2 forum that we stopped working on it, but you know... no one asked about it for more than a year. I simply let it slip. So, making it finally clear, we regret to say there will be no MCG->TM base adapter. We apologize to those who are affected by this decision.

Is it the grip or the base that you hear sounds coming from? There is practically nothing in the grip to creak so give it enough time to determine exactly which part of the joystick creaks pprior to taking anything apart. (this is not to say that the above instruction by @AureliusAugustus is wrong - just hurry not to disassemble anything before you are sure you disassemble the right thing).

It has to be a different one, unfortunately. We will look into it when we get a sample of the grip. However right now we are having our mouth full of our own VKB things we must chew before even considering anything 3rd party.

:D Absolutely, and my sole purpose is to help you. So, if your device is working, and you're OK with periodically reconnecting the pigtail - good, everyone is happy. Once it begins nagging you too much, let's dig deeper. However there is a chance that if you leave it to work as is, then in some time we will either issue a new firmware, or otherwise somehow find the way to avoid it happening in future. So I'd perhaps just let it be until you get angry with it.

In modern electronics where a chip controlling my bread toaster would by far outscore a computer my father worked on 50 years back there is pretty much nothing one could rule out completely. Not at this level of complexity. And I wouldn't advise being so definite about computer-specific problems, for exactly the same reason. What works with Dell might not work with Asus. Talking about it not being an isolated case, well - some cars' engines sometimes stop on the way. Yes it looks similar - but the reasons of this can be very different. Can we say "sudden engine stop" is a typical problem? - no. It is a typical manifestation of a hundred different problems. Experience has taught me not to take guesses; either we dig into the matter, or we decide to live with it somehow. Nearly every case we dig in results in some action. Firmware update, or a recommendation to tighten the contact, or to check whether the cable could snap. With time we will finally have gone through all reasons that could possibly caused this symptom. That's how it works.