F-18 stick for AV8B

[Baz000]

Have you guys thought about approaching thrustmaster or ED while the f-18 stick grip is still in development about the end user being able to easily hot swap the castle hat and China hat so that we can have accurate representation of a AV8B stick too?

 

If not, do you think you guys from Razbam could get in touch with either ED or Thrustmaster and discuss the possibility of the addition of this feature to their future F-18 stick design?

 

 

Edited August 24, 2017 by Baz000

[Buckeye]

F-18 stick for AV8B

 

Not a bad idea but I doubt the Harrier will be popular enough to warrant Thrustmaster engaging on this.

 

I'm sure there is a better possibility for some aftermarket modding to be done to achieve this. Switching two caps shouldn't be too terribly difficult I wouldn't think? At least a lot less difficult for a user to do at home rather than asking a large company to alter their batch production line/process for such a small/immaterial change.

 

 

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[Baz000]

Could be as simple as making them screw on and off by hand... What evidence is there that the F-18 grip is in production already and not just still in prototype concept?

[Gierasimov]

If it wasn't a prototype...

 

Could be as simple as making them screw on and off by hand... What evidence is there that the F-18 grip is in production already and not just still in prototype concept?

 

...it would be on the TM site all over the place.

If it was me doing that stick I would have waited for the F-18C to happen first before engaging in manufacturing hardware.

Even if F-18C was to happen this year I would not expect TM to produce the stick at the same time, unless on a pre-order basis.

 

Other than that, it looks all plastic and I feel that keeping it in a display box clearly suggests touching it would leave a bad impression.

Edited August 28, 2017 by Gierasimov

[jojo]

...it would be on the TM site all over the place.

If it was me doing that stick I would have waited for the F-18C to happen first before engaging in manufacturing hardware.

Even if F-18C was to happen this year I would not expect TM to produce the stick at the same time, unless on a pre-order basis.

 

Other than that, it looks all plastic and I feel that keeping it in a display box clearly suggests touching it would leave a bad impression.

 

Anyway the real stick isn't metal but resin...

[MikeMikeJuliet]

While I do understand the idea, I don't feel Thrustmaster would be creating such a feature on their stick, namely because you can still very much use the grip for the Harrier with the proper feeling controls, just these two in the opposite positions. I wager as one flies and uses it one won't even realise the hats are mixed... unless you keep intensly staring the virtual stick while using the real one.

 

This is not the same as comparing the A-10 stick to the F-16 stick, where the CMS hat has a button in the A-10 stick whike the F-16 stick does not... the Hornet and Harrier sticks don't have such functional differences. Only ergonomic.

 

I will be perfectly happy flying both with the F-18 stick.

 

 

Regards,

MikeMikeJuliet

[JINX_1391]

... unless you keep intensly staring the virtual stick while using the real one.

 

[drPhibes]

unless you keep intensly staring the virtual stick while using the real one.

 

Don't underestimate the manic OCD of the rivet counters. I have seen people seriously complaining about things not looking right inside the wheel wells and other completely inaccessible (unless you're studying it in the model viewer) areas of DCS aircraft.

[Shadow_1stVFW]

Don't underestimate the manic OCD of the rivet counters. I have seen people seriously complaining about things not looking right inside the wheel wells and other completely inaccessible (unless you're studying it in the model viewer) areas of DCS aircraft.

This, 1 Million times this.

 

-Shadow

[MikeMikeJuliet]

Don't underestimate the manic OCD of the rivet counters. I have seen people seriously complaining about things not looking right inside the wheel wells and other completely inaccessible (unless you're studying it in the model viewer) areas of DCS aircraft.

 

Alright, alright, point taken.

 

But from Thrustmasters point of view, I would still imagine the vocal minority of the rivet counters does not warrant such... "cosmetic" features on their product.

 

 

Then again, I bet it will be a matter just taking the stick apart and switching the hats around. Someone will do it... people mod their controllers or make custom ones.

 

 

Regards,

MikeMikeJuliet

[Baz000]

Taking the stick apart would more than likely void the warranty

[drPhibes]

The Warthog grip has no tamperproofing (i.e. "warranty void if broken" stickers) anywhere, so there's no way they can tell that you've opened it unless you screw something up. And if you do screw something up you shouldn't be trying to get them to fix it for free anyway.

[MikeMikeJuliet]

Taking the stick apart would more than likely void the warranty

 

That has not stopped modders before

[Baz000]

Why can't their china hat and castle hat covers just screw on and off by hand so it could be replica of av8b,f-18,f-15c,f-15e? Seems like it should be a simple design modification on the hat posts and hat covers.

[MikeMikeJuliet]

Why can't their china hat and castle hat covers just screw on and off by hand so it could be replica of av8b,f-18,f-15c,f-15e? Seems like it should be a simple design modification on the hat posts and hat covers.

 

Depends if the control feel is different. One might be easier to move and the other might have more friction. or a detent before moving...

 

But I suppose that should be an easy "fix". Just that the feel may not be the same.

[DDSSTT]

I would love to be able to switch the hats around, but it also depends on how far along Thrustmaster is on their end and what the cost would be for TM do accomplish this. For all we know they are in the final stages for mass production and are only waiting on ED to finish their part for early access. Or being able to switch hats might require a different housing and its quite possible they already have them purchased from a vendor or built.

[Buckeye]

I still stand in the camp that it's "close enough for me" that I would never complain about it, or even think about it when flying in VR, and I will gladly use the current version for flying the Harrier, F-15C (which I will never fly again probably unless it's brought to DCS level in the future), F-15E (assuming RAZBAM resumes development), F/A-18C and Tornado (if it gets developed).

 

That said, if the ability to pop the buttons on/off and swap them was an easy add-on option for TM that wouldn't delay a release, maybe I would do it. But in all reality I still think after a while I'd just find a preferred position and leave them alone rather than swap them back and forth constantly.

 

From there I'd just need to buy a VKB F-14 stick for Tomcat flying, keep my Warthog for the A-10C and F-16 flying, and I'd be all set :thumbup:

[ButterCookie]

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.