Cerulean

I want to start by saying I am floored and humbled by all the attention my flight/space sim channel is getting. I know some of you viewing it are from here, and thanks! More than 5,000 hits in just the last few days. Anyways, in one of the earlier vids--when I was noting how long I've done DCS and my struggles to refuel in it--I remarked that I was starting to think my problem was my joystick. I don't want to knock the Warthog stick; I liked it. But the center detent was so strong it interfered with the delicate movements required to refuel. That's partly because, living on a farm as I do, I use my arm so hard splitting wood and moving grain and hay and stuff that it was very painful to perpetually fight the Warthog's very powerful spring and center detent at the end of a hard working day. That changed like magic with the VKB setup. With the MCE Pro on a Gunfighter III base, I made successful connection to the refueler first time I tried for 10 seconds, twice. Next day--successfully refueled twice. Just as quick and easy as that! I am absolutely salivating over the smooth movement of the stick and the lighter springs. I had thought for years I was struggling with the hand-eye coordination or something. Turns out I was struggling with my old hardware. A proper stick like the VKB and suddenly the daunting task of AA refueling in DCS became merely a challenge. I expect soon I'll be refueling as easy as a carrier landing.

I have no need of unmounting them. I have a desk specifically setup for flight/space sims. Not quite a pit but halfway there. Do you think the Monstertech is a better option even if I have no need to move them? I ask because the Strongholds looks wider and deeper, so I am thinking they might be even more stable.

My new flight sim channel is growing rapidly, already getting thousands and thousands of hits, so I am feeling pretty jazzed about upgrading gear. I'm going to order table mounts soon for my Warthog throttle and VKB stick. I am debating between Monstertech and the VKB Stronghold. I would love some experience-based opinions. Thanks!

You know, I googled it and searched the DCS forums. It didn't even occur to me VKB had its own forums. My bad.

Finally found it after digging around various archives for over an hour. Default single 20# springs per cam. I wish VKB would be a bit more thorough with their documentation.

I got my MCG Pro last Wednesday and am LOVING it! I thought the Warthog stick was precise, and it is, but the MCG/Gunfighter combo is a whole new level of precision. All this time I thought I just had to keep practicing certain things, but it turns out I was struggling with the Warthog. Anyways...I am debating making the stick just a little stiffer. I probably won't make any changes for at least a couple weeks because I want to wait and see how I feel after getting fully used to the MCG/Gunfighter. I am used to the extreme stiffness of the Warthog so the VKB stick still feels very light to me. I've looked all over the internet but can't find anything saying what VKB's default spring loadout with a MCG Pro stick is, though. Anyone know?

I heard back from VKB this morning. Problem seems resolved.

There is probably a simple answer that I am overlooking. My Gunfighter III base and MCG grip arrived this morning, and I am trying to assemble it. I cannot find an instructional video for it on the VKB website, and the instructional material that came with it is ... sparse. Basically just says: Here are your components. I found this video, but is there anything more specific to simply doing the default assembly of the hardware? Also, I ordered a MCG grip with twist. I had been expecting it to come with a separate twist adapter but there isn't one. Is twist built in if you order one with twist?

I live on a farm in the Canadian north woods, which means lots of hard work splitting firewood, moving hay and grain, fixing fences...that kind of stuff. Over the years, I've kind of torqued out my right arm. It's fine so long as I keep it at a comfortable angle. So, for simming, I keep the stick to my right similar to the way sticks are positioned on the F-16. I'd like to add a 200 mm extension to increase precision with my MCG. But before I go through the expense of ordering an extension and Stronghold mount, I have a question: Does an extended stick need to go between the legs or can it work out well if I position it to my right? If anyone knows, or has done this, I would definitely appreciate your feedback.

I am looking forward to it to getting my hands on it and giving it a try.

I ordered a Gunfighter III and MCG combo last Saturday and just wanted to say I am truly impressed with the speed of shipping. Ordered on Saturday, and the parcel was shipped first thing Monday morning. According to tracking, it's almost here 6 days later, and that's saying something given I live on the opposite side of the world in east Canada. Good chance it'll arrive tomorrow or Monday. Kudos, VKB! I am going to try it at the shortest setting to the right of chair, F-16 style, for a few weeks and see how it feels. If I decide to get an extension, I'll definitely be ordering that and a couple Stronghold mounts with confidence. Planning to do a review of the whole thing soon on my new channel, but already I am impressed with the customer service.

I know, but truth be told, I prefer a polymer grip. I've owned Glocks and know from experience a good polymer is stronger than metal. I wish VKB offered 5 way hats as an option on the MCG at order, but I'll get used to the analog sticks.

Thanks for the input, everyone! After having looked over all the options mentioned and doing a mountain of research on specs and long-term reviews, I went with the VKB Gunfighter MKIII base and the VKB MCG Pro stick. I have a Warthog stick and base and like it a lot, but it is lousy for really fine stuff like AA refueling. The VKB, of all the options, was the most flexible. I decided against the MCG Ultimate because whether the stick is metal literally makes no difference to me, reason being I've also owned Glocks and know from experience polymers can be much tougher than metal. I also wanted a stick that was flexible since I have no plans to switch sticks to match aircraft, and the MCG is designed to be flexible. I do wish the MCG Pro had more 5 way hats and less analog sticks (or at least an option to choose between at order), but I can live with that. But the main reason is the Gunfighter MkIII base is flexible. It can mount on a desk desk, and I can add an extension later if I want. For now, I plan to mount it on the desk and give that a try, aiming for a feel similar to the F-16 stick. But if I don't care for that, I'll build a base on the floor and order an extension.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts. I tend to be the exact opposite of an impulse buyer. I'm not rich and I've dreamt of a good HOTAS for ages. I am extremely happy with my Warthog throttle and upgraded the ministick to a DeltaSim analog last month. so now that throttle is about perfect to me, and this month I decided to address the stick. If I wasn't starting a flight sim channel, I might not have but I can justify it now. After countless tests on my Warthog stick, I find that powerful center detent to be a real pain with fine stuff, like AA refueling, where it simply wears my arm raw, and I am a strongly built guy after having spent a lifetime working a farm in north Canada. After a mountain of research, my choice came down to the Virpil Alpha and the VKB MCG. They both looked awesome but the flexibility of the VKB base combined with its well known precision, and a flip up trigger that looks to be far more useful, and the ability to setup the stick and then not have to worry about running a driver, won me over. I do WISH VKB would have put at least one more 5 way hat on the stick, or given the purchaser an option between 5 way hats and mini-sticks, but I reckon I'll get used to it. Again, thanks for all your input. I am starting a flight/spacesim channel and will review it a bit down the line.

I am going to order a new grip and base today. I really want a base that is smooth and precise. I am debating between Winwing, VKB and Virpil. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks!

The topic title says it. I live in Canada, so which WinWing store should I order from? The one in the USA or the China one?

What is your impression of the gimbal?

Regarding my OM post, it's irrelevant now. I love my TM Warthog throttle, just wanted a throttle with an analog stick. As it is clear the TECS throttle may be only a pipedream, or may not be out till the apocalypse, I just modded my Warthog throttle with a DeltaSim analog stick. Issue resolved.

One reason you see very little in the way of duties from products from the UK to Canada is the UK and Canada have worked out a trade deal in the last couple years similar to NAFTA, where they don't penalize each other's goods. The UK and Canada have always had strong ties, so it only makes sense.

I'm not worried about figuring out the software. But it is concerning that after only 1.5 yrs, such an expensive stick has analog sticks that are getting wonky and problems showing up in its software or internal memory.

Thanks for all the replies. Are the two ministicks on the pro edition reprogrammable to work as 5 way hats?

I am seriously thinking of getting a Gunfighter MkIII in the next few days. I was wondering what the long term impressions of users are. How do you find the buttons and switches hold up after a year or two of hard use? Of especial importance, what is the experience of the base like? How would you compare it to (if you are familiar) bases for the Warthog, Winwing or Virpil sticks?

It is not for we mere mortals to question the ways of Thrustmaster.

My Deltasim mod for the TM Warthog throttle arrived from the UK last Tuesday. Even though I live in the Canadian backwoods, it didn't take all that long. A little over a week, and that despite two massive ice storms. I won't go over the installation as that has been covered in detail in a really good video. I just wanted to say I wish I had put this on the throttle 20 months ago when I first bought it. You know, I actually got to be pretty good with that shoddy little cell phone mouse TM uses for a ministick for weird reasons known only to TM. It is so bloody weird that TM keeps using that component because the Warthog, even all these years later, is still a great HOTAS, especially when you consider the price compared to the competition. But that hideous ministick knocks the Warthog throttle from a 4.5 out of 5 star product to a 3.5. But the Deltasim mod is great and brings it back up to a 4.5 star product. Installation only took about 20 minutes, and it would have taken barely half that if I had had any familiar with the throttle's internals beforehand. It's very simple. Remove four screws, pop out the worthless TM ministick and unplug it, replace it with the DS analog sticks and plug it in to the circuit board, and screw everything back into place. You can find the TM config software on the Deltasim site. For some reason, it's no longer available on the TM site (at least that I was able to find). You don't need it, though. You can configure the TM Warthog throttle entirely through the Windows 10 USB game controller configuration menu, and through the TARGET software. But Damien at Deltasim recommended running the TM configuration app to get the most out of the ministick, and I did, and he was right. It is noticeably more sensitive now. BTW, Damien at Deltasim is great. If you have a question, he gets back to you fast. As to is it worth it? Even with 20 months of practice (mostly in the A10C and FA-18 and F-16), it was tricky lining up the TGP and cursor on the AA radar screen using the original TM Warthog ministick. Not anymore, with the Deltasim mod movement is very precise. I've been messing with Star Citizen lately, and movements on SC are also smooth and precise now. So, yeah, definitely. Only reason I put off getting the mod so long is the terrible exchange rate between Canadian and UK currency. It's better now, but still about a 40% difference. Even so, still definitely worth it! I'll probably create a video showing the Deltasim in action on my new YouTube channel: Cerulean Skies.