TM 16000 TWCS Owners Rejoice – My Impulse Slider mk.2 Experience

[Mistermann]

Note, I am not affiliated with the Etsy seller, CoreHawk3D.

 

Here’s the public quote I left the seller on Etsy: 

I am at a loss for words. If you own a T16000m Throttle, and don't have this, STOP reading and order it NOW. First off, this 3D print is a thing of beauty. I have both Filament and Resin 3D printers and don't know how CoreHawk3D produced such a beautiful print. Its a darn shame it is locked away inside the throttle. The only thing better than the quality is the way it works. Seriously, this turned my Throttle into a completely different animal. Before the Impulse, I fought the throttle, never able to actually achieve a smooth and consistent speed. This made formation flight, AAR and carrier landings (just to name a few) more difficult that they already were. Now that I know what a smooth throttle feels like, I am kicking myself for putting up with the poorly engineered T16000m for all these years. Thanks CoreHawk3D!

 

2 weeks later I feel the same way.  I only wish I had heard about this simple upgrade years ago.  I learned to accept the sticky TWCS feeling and candidly wasn’t really bothered by it.  As a ham-fisted pilot, I never really noticed the issue.  It wasn’t until I started getting a little more serious with the Hornet that I started getting frustrated with the imprecise engineering that went into the TM product. I was especially frustrated by my inability to perform AAR, Formation Flight, and Carrier Landings after countless hours of practice.  I’d learn after installing the Impulse Slider that most of my issues stemmed from my inability to make small throttle adjustments.  The sticky TM TWCS just didn’t offer the fidelity required to get good at these tasks.

 

Here’s where the Impulse Slider enters the picture.

 

You see, in order to keep costs low, TM opted for a friction fit slider on the TWCS. The slider itself is plastic and is screwed onto two metal rails.  Just by the nature of the design, the plastic isn’t going to slide smoothly on the metal rods.  Yes, you can lube up the assembly with whatever grease you choose and that might work, however the Impulse is a mechanical upgrade that eliminates the mess of grease and repeated applications.

 

   Original Slider - Screwed onto Rails

 

There are plenty of videos on how to perform this upgrade (the seller’s video on Etsy is great), so I won’t rehash here.  It is darn simple.  I purchased both the metal and poly bearings to see what each felt like and the polys are far superior IHMO.  The new slider now rides ON the rails as the metal rods pass through the bearings.  The difference pre and post upgrade is incredible.   

 

   Impulse Slider Upgrade - Poly Bearings

 

I’ve heard other folks describe the movement as “smooth as glass”, “buttery smooth” etc.  I agree.  Gone is the cheap “plastic-y” feel.  It has been replaced with what I can only describe as an “expensive” and precise feeling.  You know how you can tell the difference between a well engineered mechanical device and a cheap plastic knock-off?  Yeah, the TWCS now feels like that well engineered machine.

 

The proof is in the pudding, as they say.  I can now AAR, formation fly, and consistently get LSO “ok” grades.  And I didn’t have to spend $500+ on a Virpil or Warthog!

 

If you own a TM TWCS and take your flight sims seriously, I think you owe it to yourself to check out this upgrade.  Its currently $25 USD and is money well spent in my opinion.

 

Lastly, the seller is a great guy.  Highly responsive and happens to be a DCS pilot too!

 

Hopefully this thread helps someone become a better virtual pilot.

Edited May 30, 2021 by Mistermann
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[Mistermann]

One feature that the Etsy seller includes is a magnetic throttle detent.  He's got a 10mm press fit receptacle (circled in image below) printed on the slide and includes the magnets and double sided tape to set everything up.

 

 

If you watch his videos, you'll see he wanted to establish a center detent for the TWCS.  I have no use for a center detent (space sims), but his solution got me thinking.  How could I manufacture something like his solution that would allow me to establish the proper detent for DCS jets?  I liked the magnetic option and started thinking about a solution.

 

I own a 3D Printer, so I went out to Thingiverse to see if someone had already solved my problem and sure enough there are several solutions out there.  Here were my requirements:

 

1. Adjustable.  The detent needed to be adjustable because DCS Jets don't all share the same Afterburner Detent profiles.  The AB setting on the Hornet is different than the Viper or Tomcat.
2. Removable or non-invasive.  I didn't want to ruin my TWCS with this mod.  IF I ever sell this (highly doubtful), I wanted a way to remove the mod elegantly.
3. Accurate.  I wanted something adjustable, yet still accurate.  Something I could setup for different jets and work as designed.

 

I settled on this particular design over on Thingiverse

 

 

Adjustable?  Check

Removable?  Check

Accurate?  TBD (Edit Feb 10, 2022 - Yes.  I can slide up to the magnet at MIL power and it has worked for almost a year)

 

I didn't have the proper sized magnets for this design, so I modified it to accept 6mmx2mm sized Neodymium Rare Earth Magnets I had laying around.  A couple hours later I had my print done.  I even had Orange filament to match the TM color scheme!

 

There are essentially 3 parts to this mod

 

1.  Carriage that mounts to the base of the TWCS

2.  Adjustable magnet receiver

3.  Magnetic mount on the slider handle

 

If there's interest in how I set this up, I am happy to elaborate.

 

I used command strips to affix the carrier to the TWCS.  I hot glued the Magnetic mount to the slider handle (yeah, I probably violated my rule #2).  There are 2mm bolts that "squeeze" the carriage so the adjustable receiver doesn't freely move around.

 

I am a VR pilot, so I now "feel" the AB detent.  It isn't overly obtrusive and doesn't prevent precise throttle movement (even around the detent).  And, yes ... this is accurate.  I have this dialed in perfectly so when the magnet catches, I'm at 100% mil power.

 

Does it look awesome?  Not really.  Is it functional?  Absolutely.

 

Figured I'd post this nugget here for those interested in how to establish an adjustable TWCS detent.

Edited February 10, 2022 by Mistermann
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