VpR81

IMO, there is nothing like the "best" HOTAS set. The best you can get is a combination of different manufactors. But these all exceed the 200$ price range by far. For most high class controls, the joystick base alone is $200+ or even more. A not so expensive entry HOTAS to that section would be the Thrustmaster Warthog, although it has it's flaws. Within $200, i'd say the Thrustmaster T16000M Stick + TWCS throttle + TFRP pedals are a solid choice. These can be purchased as complete package wich is roughly about $200-$240. A bit more than 200$, but you'll get pedals with it and the X-56 is also at 250$. I haven't seen it for less yet. The Logitech X-56 is not recommended anyways. Despite the reputation of Logitech, it has very poor quality and suffers multiple electronic issues. I.e. ghosting (triggering buttons you haven't pressed), wich is absolutely annoying. I had the older version years ago, the X-55. So i know what i'm talking about, i had literally all issues with it you can read about online. And Logitech hasn't solved any of these design flaws, some ppl who had both report quality even got worse. Better don't spend money on that So far for flight controls, but for headtracking/VR my knowledge is way too limited to provide a reasonable recommendation. Cheers

Just perfect.

A lot of functions (in study lvl aircrafts) don't have keyboard commands mapped. You can assign one by yourself and use modificators if the button is already assigned to a different function. I mapped a few functions with keybinds in DCS by myself to lay them on the throtlle. I.e. external tanks fuel flow.

Congrats on that Virpil throttle, these are realy difficult to get. You're a lucky guy, beeing able to purchase one few days after deciding to get one. Definately a rare Virpil story. As for my WarBRD base, i have it attached to a mounting rail on my simrig, using it as sidestick. The original baseplate of the WarBRD base is very light and can be used on a desk without any issues, as long as you use the soft springs. The heavy ones might cause some stability issues, but i haven't tested it as i never used it on a desk. There are adaptor plates available for various desk mounts, making it easy to attach it to one of them. The WarBRD base aout the same deflection as the Warthog base and most desk mounts can handle the Warthog without hitting the mount, such as Monstertech or Foxx Mounts. Virpil also offers a universal compact baseplate, compatible with both the Warthog base and the WarBRD base (i think even with the T50). I used this one to attach the base to the mounting rail Ha, that's exactly what i thought when i got the Warthog. But then the Hornet grip hit the market, the WarBRD base became interesting and now the Virpil VFX grip has catched my eyes as i consider getting the DCS F-14 Tomcat. Simply love holding the stick of the aircraft i'm actually flying. Having a base compatible to various grip manufactors can get expensive over time... :D This is how i mounted my Virpil base:

Target morphs your controllers (those you include into that profile) into one virtual controller. After launching the profile, you can map your buttons/switches either in DCS or in Target, or a mixed layout. But your DCS keybindings on the throttle/Stick are gone, as the virtual Target controller is recognized by DCS as a new device. An issue with morhping your HOTAS into one virtual controller is, that one controller can only have 8 axis and a specific number of buttons/switches (can't remember exactly how much, but 8 is the limit for axis). It's a windows issue, not realy a Target problem. I.e i have only the Warthog throttle included to my Target profiles to make use of the 2 and 3 way switches, but my pedals and my stick is excluded from the profile and conpletely mapped in DCS. Just because the axis are mapped in DCS anyways and not in Target and i didn't need the additional functions for the stick either. Target is a powerful tool. If y don't use Target (or similar software), you're missing a lot of the Warthogs potential. In competive multiplayer the Target script editor could almost be designated cheating. But even the GUI software is great IMO, not as difficult to use as the script editor (unless you can code) and provides nice features and functions. But you'll find very diverse opinions about Target here. Some ppl (like me) don't wanna miss it anymore, while for others it's the seed of evil. Joystick Gremlin is a similar software, not bound to any controls manufactor. If you don't like Target, you may wanna try this one. A lot of ppl say there is no need for separate mapping software, but i'd highly recommend one.

I use Target GUI to map the switches and buttons and i have no issues mapping each position of the 3 way switches. Are you trying to map the switches ingame or do you use a 3rd party software like Joystick Gremlin etc.?

I use the TM Target GUI software for that. Not a big deal, you can map each switch position for 2 and 3 way switches. Just make sure you set the signal to "pulse" instead of "hold" for the permanent switches.

Glad to hear that. Virpil is definately a good choice you won't regret, especially the WarBRD base is a excellent piece of equipment. I love mine, it's realy great. If you have some budget left, invest the 20€ in a throttle and stick dust cover. It may help the Hotas serving you well a long time. Same for additional equipment, as the WarBRD base only comes with 2 sets of springs (soft, heavy) and cams (avia sim soft center, avia sim no center). If you are playing other games besides DCS/Flight sims, the extra heavy springs and both cosmo sim cam sets (soft center/no center) may be a good investment as well. I purchased both, because i like some versatility for my other games. TM offers the Warthog/F-16 grip now standalone without the base. For exactly the same price Virpil offers the Constellation-Alpha grips for, but propably much better availability. If the Warthog grip is an option for you, that may be interesting for you. Search for TM F16 grip standalone or similar and you should find it.

Uhm... there is no difference between these two grips. At least not the ones from TM, they just renamed the Stick into F-16C Stick when the F-16C Viper DCS module launched early access and they started to sell the base separate from the grip and vice versa. It's a marketing thing, nothing else. If you want a specific F-16C Stick replica you have to go for Realsimulator FSSB R3 force sensitive base and their F-16 grip family i guess. https://realsimulator.com/f-16-side-grips/

It is compatible with the Warthog base as well as with the WarBRD base. I think even with the T50, but not sure on that. I got 2 universal baseplates and bored up the mounting holes to make one match the mount rail of my simrig and the other one to fit stronger M6 screws instead of M5. Not a big deal. Measures are in mm:

That's a great pit, i love it. Just a bit jealous that you got the MFD mounts with Monstertech Logo.. still going to steal a few ideas from you. How did you attach the center cougar angled? I got the MT MFD mounts too and was wondering how to do it for quite some time. Did you use the pitch/nick adapter from Monstertech, or did you built something on your own? cheers

The reason for that is mostly, that Foxx Mounts uses much smaller/thinner and therefore less stable aluminium profiles than Monstertech does. Monstertech uses massive 80mm x 40mm Item notch 8 profiles, Foxx Mounts uses way smaller profiles and the Monstertech ones hold better on the desk. Put both next to each other, the Monstertech mounts are massive compared to the Foxx Mounts. The cheaper price is not magically created, it has reasons. Not saying Foxx Mounts isn'ta good product, it definately is. But ppl should be aware of the difference and that Monstertech isn't more expensive for no reason. Check Jabbers review, at 1:40 both are placed next to each other and you will see the enormous difference in size.

Have you considered constructing something by yourself? I don't mean a rotation lock or something, but a little frame where you might mount an old car seat or similar onto. A good office/game chair offering what you need is propaly around 250-400€. For that price you could create something nice on your own easily. The aluminium profiles used by Monstertech are easy to get, easy to handle and relative cheap. That stuff is also very versatile and you can add more stuff (like Stick/throttle mount, mfd mount, keyboard/mouse tray etc.) over time whenever you got some money left for your hobby. These profiles are at 5-40€ per meter, depending on diameter and if silver or black. I took one of these profiles to build a MFD mount, as my simrig lacks a frame were they could be mounted to. Make yourself a plan, order each profile piece in the length you need, a few angle bracket and connector bracket kits and you wont even have to cut or drill anything by yourself. If you got the space, i'd 100% recommend that. Propably more satisfying and in the same price range...

The standard spring is best to use with a 5-10cm extension. Sahaj offers high quallity exchange springs. The green one is softer than the standard spring, the red is heavy for 10-20cm extensions and the blue is extra heavy for extensions above 20cm. Prices are boutique, but the quality is nice. https://warthog-extensions-by-sahaj.com/product-category/springs/ edit: When ordering from Sahaj, invest the money and order one of his silicone O-rings as well. They are worth the money, last longer than the original rubber O-ring of the Warthog and are much smoother. As easy to swap as the springs.

I drop the gear at 240-250 knots and wait for the Hornet to slow down to 180-190 knots before setting flaps to half. Small trim adjustments until the aircraft is down to 160-170 knots and then i set flaps to full. Propably not correct by the book, but works for me. Don't push or pull the stick, adjust AOA with the throttle and small trim adjustments to keep the FPI in the "E" bracket.

Similar issue here. Auto Login didn't work. I restarted DCS and was able to login, then joined a MP server and DCS crashed after 20 minutes. Is there a new option to leave comments on the crash report what might have caused the crash? Since then no joy with login so far.

The X-52 was of significant better quality as the X-55. If you want something new and way better, i think the best way to go right now is a combination of different manufactors. I.e. i use a Virpil WarBRD base with a Warthog grip attached, wich is a great combination imo. If you aren't in a hurry for a new throttle, the VKB TECS might be interesting for you. But it is still under developement and i'm not aware of any release date https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=199002 Also i would still go for a Virpil base instead of a VKB one, as VKB has different connectors and aren't compatible to Virpil, TM and Realsimulator grips. This would limit your choice of grips, if you wan't to get additional grips one day. If not, VKB is a good, but rather expensive choice. There are adaptors, but these demand disassembling of the grip and replacing the connectors. Also these adaptors are almost impossible to get, as they're always out of stock. I've never seen them available. Nonetheless VKB is high end quality, their bases and their grips. For Virpil i would consider the base, not so much the grips. Their bases are excellent, especially the WarBRD, but their grips can't compete with those of Thrustmaster IMO. Especially button response/quality. If i were you, i wouldn't take MFDs or button boxes out of account. I've seen a lot of great solutions for VR. Some ppl use small silicone knobs on a few MFD buttons to make it easy to feel if they got the right one. And muscle memory will also help after a while. I'm still scared off from VR due to the bad performace and the numerous issues in DCS, but would have no concerns about using my mounted MFDs in VR. On a desk it may be a bit more difficult, but not so much i guess. Also button boxes are a good way to get more buttons and especially more axis. I wouldn't rate using them in VR too difficult and there are some interesting options out there. DSD would be the first coming to my mind. Their quality is said to be excellent, the prices are reasonable, they offer a huge variety of different button controllers and it's not made in China. Most ppl don't care, but i appreciate when companies stay at home to keep the jobs in their country. One of my RL friends owns two DSD Button Boxes for simracing in VR and according to him, purchasing those was one of the best investments in his hobby. He's absolutely happy with them and has no issues using them in VR. https://derekspearedesigns.com/button-controllers.html

I'm currently running - Warthog base/Hornet grip - Warthog Throttle - Virpil WarBRD base/Warthog grip - 3 Cougar MFDs - TM TPRs on a single TP-Link UH720 7 USB 3.2 Hub without any issues. Bought this originally a couple of years ago to prevent my old Saitek X-55 from ghosting. Can't tell it's power cap right now, but the power supply was stable enough to prevent the X-55 from ghosting what not every powered USB Hub is capable of. Even with other devices plugged into the hub, it did the job. Your VR headset propably needs too much power for all your devices plugged into one hub, but this is the best USB hub i ever owned. And i had a few ones over the years. Build quality is good and it's running for like 5 or 6 years without any issues now. Price was something around 35€ back then.

I'm not flying civilian flight simulators, but will try to help you out at least a little bit as i had the X-52, the X-55 and switched to the Warthog 2 years ago. The X-55 has very poor quality when it comes to electronics/internals. It suffers from ghosting as power supply isn't stable. Some people could solve that by plugging it into a powered USB Hub, but that doesen't work for everyone facing this issue. I had a few buttons stopped working right after warranty ended. Another issue is the throttle friction wheel. If you tight the friction too much, it somehow causes issues with buttons. Means, at certain throttle positions some buttons won't work anymore. I had this problem as well. The X-55 isn't produced anymore, there is only the new X-56 wich is literally the same HOTAS. Saitek/Logitech hasn't solved any of these problems and some ppl say quality got even worse compared to the X-55. I'd highly recommend not to purchase the X-56, no matter what you want to use it for. The Warthog has it's flaws, but is a complete different world to the Saitek/Logitech plastic products. Starts with the metal housing and ends with the much better button quality/response of the Warthog. The crappy slew control on the throttle and the plastic gimbal of the Joystick base are the things that have to be mentioned when talking about it's flaws. The gimbal needs regreasing from time to time and can break if used too much force on it. The stock slew control is pretty much useless, at least for me. But there are replacement mods for it available wich work great and are easy to install. This is also another huge advantage over the X-55/56, the Warthogs options for customisation and modification. Also the compatibility to other manufactors, like Virpil and Realsimulator as they all share the same PS2 connectors for the Joystick bases and grips. In terms of buttons number, i'd say the Warthog throttle is on par with the X-55/56 with a slight advantage for the X-55/56. Until some buttons stop working on the X-55/56. If you want something better than the Warthog, it gets pretty pricey. A good alternative to the Warthog throttle is the Virpil T50CM2 throttle. For me a no-go as it lacks afterburner detents, but providing excellent quality, metal housing and a lot of buttons, switches and a 5(?) mode selector switch. It's only a bit more expensive than the Warthog, but hard to get as Virpil is very boutique and has low production numbers. These throttles are regulary sold out a few seconds after shop restock. Virpils WarBRD base is also a great alternative to the Warthog base, providing a metal gimbal and easy to switch cams and springs. VKB offers excellent Sticks as well, but no throttle yet. Any other throttle/HOTAS set providing equal or better quality is significant more expensive, such as the WinWing F/A-18 Hornet HOTAS replica wich almost hits the 1000$ mark. edit: As you are looking for as much buttons to map as possible, have you though of getting a additional button box or TM cougar MFDs? I think that would solve your button problem with any HOTAS you'd purchase... I hope that helped a bit. Cheers

I've always recieved a confirmation email, containing the hint that i can check the status of my order by logging into my Virpil account etc. When the order got shipped, i recieved a second email, containing the shipment number.

The Supercarrier is a separate module that was planned to enter early access this month. It models several ships of the Nimitz class with animated deck drew, lower deck hangar, realistic ATC radio calls and other new features. Owners of the Hornet will get a discount on it, but the Hornet itself only comes with a pretty good, but very basic carrier missing the stated features.

100% agree. That is exactly the reason why i choosed the TPR's over the Slaw Viper RX pedals. Price wasn't an issue, just didn't want to have central pivot pedals but pendular and the TPR's are the best option in that price range IMO. Their not much cheaper than the Slaws anyways, like 80€-100€ or so over here. But as tintifaxl mentioned, theyre not suited for under a desk use.

The X-52 had throttle detents? I had this thing more than 10 years ago... Maybe it's just me, but i can't remember any physical throttle detents...

Me neither as a jet driver, but for helicopter pilots it's ok. I'd say it depends on what the OP is aiming for. If he's primarily in helos, the VKB T-Rudder pedals are a great option. If he's more into jets, the MFG Crosswinds are propably the best shot in his price range.

It's originally a SimRacing rig i purchased a flight sim kit for. I had to drill holes to attach the Warthog base center mounted and i'm still in the process of building a DIY mount to attach my cougar MFD's. And the TPR pedals didn't match perfectly so i had to drill 2 extra holes, but that's all. Not self constructed at all, just a bit customized.