Virpil vs VKB

[streakeagle]

The afterburner detent is only useful for a limited group of customers: those flying jets with afterburners. People flying helos, WW2 planes, civillian flight sims, and space sims don't want or need a detent. WW2 flight simmers by far outnumber fighter jet simmers and civil flight simmers are an orders of magnitude larger than either of those.

 

I like the Warthog detent solution: optional and via third parties there are many custom detents available.

 

I don't have a Virpil stick. But I can't imagine how it could be any smoother than my VKB and the spring tension can be varied widely to suit your taste. I can't stand the cams with any kind of detent around the center. But the "aviation" cam is so mild that only if you put double #40 springs on it do you start to feel the transition at the center.

[Cake]

I have extensive experience with TM, Virpil and VKB. If you want the absolute best in terms of precision, engineering, and usability, I would say the winner is VKB by a small margin over Virpil. Back in November, I wrote a review on the VKB MCG Pro and compared it's engineering and construction to the Warthog and Virpil products:

 

http://jaytheskepticalengineer.com/fathering-and-hobbies/flight-simming/flight-sim-gear-reviews/vkb-gunfighter-mcg-pro-mk-ii/

 

One of the main reasons I remain leery of Warthog grips is due to the shitty zamak metal insert they continue to use in its base. On my second unit, the grip broke off at the seventh month mark. For so long before Virpil or VKB came on the scene, the Warthog was the only high-end option, and many were stuck with it for years. If that is what you are used to, then yes, it is easier to transfer your old grips to Virpil bases. If you are not tied to that, I would suggest giving VKB a try.

 

Wow Jeff, that was an amazing review. Thanks for that. I bookmarked your page. I'm sold on VKB now, I just wish they had a F-16 style grip because I'm so used to it. Maybe I'll grab the F14 version, and add one of the other grips for the other sims... Just not sure which one would best substitute for the F-16 / A-10 style grip without losing functionality....

[BMGZ06]

The afterburner detent is only useful for a limited group of customers: those flying jets with afterburners. People flying helos, WW2 planes, civillian flight sims, and space sims don't want or need a detent. WW2 flight simmers by far outnumber fighter jet simmers and civil flight simmers are an orders of magnitude larger than either of those.

 

I like the Warthog detent solution: optional and via third parties there are many custom detents available.

 

I don't have a Virpil stick. But I can't imagine how it could be any smoother than my VKB and the spring tension can be varied widely to suit your taste. I can't stand the cams with any kind of detent around the center. But the "aviation" cam is so mild that only if you put double #40 springs on it do you start to feel the transition at the center.

 

Are you using the Avia-H cams? I left those in mine and with #40 springs I do feel a little detent or notch here and there through the throw range. It is not perfectly smooth but better than warthogs feel. I may change to the S cams.

[Cake]

Glad it was useful and my name, not that it matters much, is Jay :) I am hopeful that down the road, all high-end manufacturers will make the stick that simmers actually need and not one modeled on some real world aircraft, which is not that useful for us sitting at our desk at 1 G.

 

Haha, sorry Jay! I was on the phone today for an hour with a friend named Jeff. just overflow error I guess. I agree 100%. I just want the stick to do the functions needed for the sim and don't care at all what it looks like. No issues whatsoever using a A10 stick for Spitfire, as long as it's smooth. My warthog stick is just frustrating me for refueling and close formation because it's hard not to over control with it. It's hard to "unstick" it without moving it more than desired.

[Lange_666]

[streakeagle]

I am hopeful that down the road, all high-end manufacturers will make the stick that simmers actually need and not one modeled on some real world aircraft, which is not that useful for us sitting at our desk at 1 G.

 

Except that ones modeled on real world aircraft are exactly what I want because I don't want to feel like I am sitting at a desk, I want to feel like I am holding on to the same hardware that I see on the screen. TM's products originally started out with the B-8 style grip which was the universal one used in so many aircraft from the P-80 and F-86 all the way to the F-15A. They followed up with F-16 replicas for their high end stick and throttles. Now they have the A-10C/F-16 and F/A-18C sticks. These were all nice replicas and great sticks for flying.

 

With VKB, the MCG Pro is close to being a replica of a real Russian grip AND has about as much as any "gamer" with no interest in replicas would want.

 

With all this great, high-end replica hardware available, what exactly is it that you need for 1g desk flying that isn't covered by Virpil, VKB, Winwing, and Thrustmaster?