X-31_VECTOR

Sorry, I was away from teh forums for a few days and just catching up. It sounds like you found a good solution in the FoxxMounts adapter plate, but if you still need pictures of my mod, just let me know and I'll grab some tonight or tomorrow. By the way, I also use velcro for my throttle and it's very solid, with no extraneous movement I can detect whatsoever. I never met a job that I couldn't needlessly overcomplicate, but in this case the easy way really was best.

Hey thanks very much for that invite! I've never done the MP thing, mainly b/c my simming time is highly erratic with work/life stuff. But maybe it's time to take the leap. Good news on the Virpil shipment: it's out of Europe and in Tennessee, notionally delivering on Monday. Progress. I was worried that the geopolitical situation was complicating getting shipments from Virpil, but it seems this was just garden-variety delays.

I use a Wheelstand Pro Super Warthog configuration, and I had a similar issue going from my Warthog stick to a Virpil base. Drilling the existing mounting plate wasn't really going to work because of the dimensions, so I createad a "go-between" plate out of MDF. I drilled countersunk holes from the bottom up for the machine screws that go into the bottom of the Vipril base, and then I used wood screws up through the holes of the Wheelstand Pro's Warthog mounting plate into the MDF. It adds about half an inch between the mounting plate and the base, but in my setup that was no problem. With the MDF (or any sort of wood) painted black, it doesn't even look as cheap as it sounds. It was a relatively easy fix using materials and tools I had handy, though I'm sure there are more elegant solutions for those with access to tooling, 3D printing, etc.

Thanks man! As for the CM2 grip, I'll test drive the Alpha grip for awhile just to make sure it's really an improvement on the CM2, and then I'll probably try to find it a good home. So if you're interested, drop me a DM and let's keep in touch.

Hi all. I've got a CM3 Throttle on the way to replace my Warthog, and an Alpha grip to replace my CM2 grip. I'm just curious how folks use the analog thumbsticks on either/both of these devices across various modules. In AH-64, I plan to use them as cursor control and thumb force controller for the TEDAC, and also to create virtual buttons in the Virpil software at the ends of thumbstick axes to assign to button functions for pilot mode. What I haven't figured out yet is what to use them for in modules like UH-1 and P-51, or in something like IL-2. Does anyone use them as mouse pointer controllers? Or for other axes? Or do you just use them like four-way hats? Thanks as always for the inputs!

@Dscross I saw your warning about Virpil and FedEx just after I ordered my CM3 Throttle and an Alpha stick grip to replace my CM2 grip. My shipment was scheduled to arrive today, but FedEx just marked it "Operational Delay" and "No delivery date available." It is sitting in Grace-Hollogne, Belgium. Sigh. I'll reach out to Virpil today. Did you just reach them via the "support@virpil" email address?

@Dscross This may be in the category of unhelpful suggestions you'd already be doing if it was actually a good idea, but... have you considered adding velcro straps to your pedals, or at least your right pedal, to go over your foot? The idea would be that pulling your right leg back would then produce the equivalent movement of pushing your left leg forward, easing the load on your left. Oh, and if nobody has said it to you lately, thank you for your service. I've worked for and with the military for much of my career, but never had to do the hard stuff like, you know, getting shot at. So from those of us who owe our comfortable existence to the men and women in uniform whose sacrifices make it possible: thank you. If you're ever in the DC area, drinks (in irresponsible quantities) are on me.

Thanks for taking the time to check. I'm reassured about the Brunner performance and now just need to convince myself to spend the money.

Thanks Calabrone. I misunderstood and thought you were using a force feedback stick like the MS FFB2 or the Brunner, which is what I was asking about regarding imprecision or lack of smoothness moving through center. With my current non-FFB stick, I'm very happy with the feel. I'm just worried about losing that if I switch to the Brunner.

Thanks Calabrone. I generally only use force trim for extended periods of forward flight, unless trying to hover over a moving ship or something. When hovering with your FFB stick (which one, btw?), do you find it to be smooth when moving around/through center? Do you find any slop or imprecision in it?

Hi all, I'm considering making the leap to Force feedback, specifically with the Brunner CLS-E stick base so I can keep using my Virpil grip. As I fly helos 70% of the time, I'm wondering if any of you have any feedback on how hovering feels with the Brunner (or even the Microsoft FFB sticks). My worry, based on some things I've read, is that there will be excess play in the "center" (or whatever stick position is trimmed to be the new center), and therefore the constant micro-adjustments made with the cyclic during hovering might be more difficult to make smoothly. Even if the positional sensors read the tiny inputs perfectly, I worry that it will feel off, e.g. a mechanical "deadzone" and then an abrupt point where the motors/belts kick in and begin to provide resistance. If anyone has any experience to share with the Brunner or otherwise, many thanks!

In a way that might be fine, as exact center or "neutral" stick position isn't really that relevant anyway in hovering. In my limited experience flying fixed wing aircraft with mechanical linkages IRL, the same was also true... even trimmed for straight and level flight, there were constant minor stick inputs to really hold heading and stay in coordinated flight, and the stick's tendency to return to "center" was within a relatively wide range. Granted, that was going 90-150 knots, not 350 knots, so I guess it's probably different in a P-51. Thanks again for the info. I may start a thread specific to hovering with the Brunner in one of the helo forums to see if any of the rotor-heads have much experience with it.

Ah, that seems to answer my question about hovering. Is the issue that it doesn't read inputs well in the center (sensor resolution) or that the mechanical nature of the stick introduces slop? Thanks again for your thoughts.

Thanks very much @Lynchsl62 for the detailed reply. Your point is a good one about other buttons available off the stick (I just ordered the CM3 throttle myself). And then there is always VoiceAttack. Does anyone have experience hovering helicopters with the Brunner? On thing I worry about is whether the mechanics of the Brunner base will lead to imprecision with the very minute, rapid inputs you're making continuously while hovering.

Many thanks Chuls! Would you say my other assumptions/understandings are basically correct? And I'm curious... do you ever choose to go back and fly with a normal stick base? Any regrets about making the move to the Brunner?

Hi all, This weekend I had my first lesson flying gliders, and it totally broke my brain for simming with a normal stick. Feeling the air resistance translate through the control surfaces into the stick in my hand as I loaded up the aircraft, or doing stalls and recoveries... sim flying now with a spring-centered stick feels very lifeless. That's all a long-winded way of saying i'm considering taking the Brunner leap. I just want to first check if some of my assumptions are correct: 1) To use this in DCS, i will need to implement Chuls' excellent Arduino/Brunner DX solution. While Brunner is notionally supposed to implement DirectX support or even some kind of DCS plugin, both ideas have been talked about for years but haven't actually happened yet? 2) Even doing the above, the FFB implementation will vary by module... but should allow true force trim in most helicopter modules (i.e., holding the trimmed stick position), and will at a minimum provide resistance forces commensurate with aerodynamic pressure in non-FBW fixed-wing aircraft? For context, I'm usually flying UH-1, P-51, P-47, occasionally F/A/-18, and soon the AH-64. 3) The Brunner stick base + Arduino/Brunner DX combo works in IL-2, arguably better than with many DCS modules. 4) By using my Virpil grip on the Brunner base, I will still be able to map most buttons in DCS and other sims, but I won't be able to use the Virpil software. I should still be able to do things like using modifiers in the DCS control mapping interface (e.g., use a button on the throttle as a "shift" to get a second or third function from each button on the Virpil grip). 5) I read about some users having issues with the stick overheating and ceasing to provide resistance after less than a minute of use, but since then I've seen people saying they haven't had those issues. Problem solved, and/or isolated incidents? Many thanks as always for the great community support!

Thank you both! It likewise looks like using the analog thumb stick as a four-way hat is fairly simple via the Virpil software, without losing the axis functionality. I went ahead and took the leap... ordered a CM3 throttle to replace my venerable Warthog, and the Alpha grip to replace my MongoosT-50CM2. Aaaaand now I can go remap all my controls for every module. (I find I am perversely looking forward to it, which worries me...)

Hi all. I fly a mix of pancake/TrackIR and VR, and I use one of the hats on my T-50CM2 grips for zooming my view. For example, in DCS I've mapped updward push to Zoom In Slow and downward to Zoom Out Slow. I'm considering replacing the T-50CMs with the Alpha, and one reason is that using the thumb rotary wheel on the Alpha seems like a better way to zoom in/out. I'm wondering if anyone has had any experiences (good or bad) using it for that purpose. Also, how is the analog thumb stick when used as a hat? I like the idea of using it for stuff like the thumb controller on the AH-64 TEDAC, but not at the expense of losing a usable four-way hat in modules where an analog axis there really would have little use. Does it have to be configured as either/or in the Virpil software, or can it be mapped in DCS as an axis in some modules and as buttons in others? Many thanks as always for taking the time to read this/reply!

I know I'm seeing this thread a week late, but I just wanted to say to all three of you: THANK YOU! Mukai92, I was about to make a post just like yours as I'm basically in the exact same boat (well, with a 3080, but still...). Firefox and Delta Mike, thanks for taking the time to spell it out so clearly. I had pages of notes gleaned from various threads here (some with years-old info that is now largely defunct), as well as various other sources, and it was such a rat's nest of inter-tangled ideas that it's been keeping me away from trying VR in DCS for a very long time. This hobby of ours can be intensely frustrating, just getting things working right. Sometimes I think what DCS simulates best is a combat aircraft's 20:1 ratio of maintenance man hours to actual flight hours. Anyway, this community makes it all worth it. Thanks again.

Thanks both!

Hi all. I'm trying to puzzle out the best way to bring DCS from my current PC to a new one. Ideally I'd keep saved game files from campaigns and -- especially -- my controller bindings. I currently have DCS installed on an SSD in the old machine (separate from the operating system SSD). The options that occur to my unsophisticated brain are: - Deactivate DCS on old computer, stick old SSD into new computer, reactivate DCS and everything magically works... except I assume it won't, without some additional steps. I also assume controller bindings will be jacked up because of new Windows device IDs. - Deactivate DCS on old computer, do a clean install on the new machine including all my aircraft and maps (ugh), reactivate, then copy over the saved game files and controller bindings... though again, new Windows controller IDs may make that pointless). Anyone have any tips/advice, or can point me toward a "how to" guide that I may have missed in my searching for one? And once DCS is installed one way or the other, can I copy over old controller bindings and just change file names or refrerences in the files to reflect the new Windows device IDs? Many thanks!

Cool, and thanks for the correction. On the web store (at least the English/USD$ one), I still only see the V2 pedals listed, so I wasn't sure.

You can disconnect the spring on the (excellent) MFG Crosswind pedals, and you can also add a damper that gives them a very good feel and allows them to hold position. If you search the forum for MFG damper mod, you'll find several discussion threads about it. In fact apparently the next version of the MFG Crosswind pedals will come ready-made to accept a damper mod more easily. Additionally, a couple different forum members have developed heel-on-floor style pedals for the MFG Crosswind to replace the stock footrests that have your feet off the floor. This is a much easier configuration for helicopter flight, and consistent with the majority of real-life fixed-wing aircraft rudder pedals anyway. Again, just search the forum for MFG pedals (or combat pedals) and you should find info on both offerings. Hope that helps!

This is a long shot, but do you have any wireless game controllers, like a gamepad? I've sometimes had a PS4 controller (connecting via Bluetooth) that I had deleted from the DCS controls profile reappear and take over some controls. I didn't notice at first because the PS4 controller appeared all the way to the right in the DCS control configuration screen, so I had to scroll over to see what was going on. Like I said, a long shot, but...

Most excellent. How/when do you sell (or plan to sell) your other products?