Preview of the F-16 throttle grip on the Orion base

[Godric]

On 1/18/2022 at 4:31 PM, agrasyuk said:

Let me know if you want to sell the grip 

I just ordered the WW Grip. My thrustmaster is set up with the kit to attach to the WW base. However the CMS left no longer works even though I've only had it for 9 months 

Edited January 21, 2022 by Godric

[SCPanda]

On 1/20/2022 at 8:22 PM, BuzzU said:

Thrustmaster started as an American company in Oregon. Later it was sold to Guillermot a French company and they still own it.

A lot of companies have products made in China because they work cheap. That doesn't make them a Chinese company. You can't see the difference?

I never said TM is a Chinese firm.. I don't know where you got that from...

 

On 1/20/2022 at 1:14 AM, BuzzU said:

Two more reasons I bought a Warthog from Thrustmaster direct.

Made in America.

You said the Warthog is made in the US, it's not, I corrected you by saying it's made in China. That's it, simple. Why are you accusing me of saying things I never said? 

Anyway, I'm done talking to you mate. Enjoy your life. 

[BuzzU]

7 minutes ago, SCPanda said:

I never said TM is a Chinese firm.. I don't know where you got that from...

 

You said the Warthog is made in the US, it's not, I corrected you by saying it's made in China. That's it, simple. Why are you accusing me of saying things I never said? 

Anyway, I'm done talking to you mate. Enjoy your life. 

I addressed what you said in my 2nd sentence. The first sentence is me admitting I was wrong. I thought it was still an American company. Assembled in China sure doesn't make it a Chinese company. I put no words in your mouth.

I do enjoy my life.

[Revvin]

I'm a little disappointed its not a 1:1 replica of the F-16C we have in DCS. Those extra hat switches on the stick look really ugly and I wish they hadn't messed with the throttle eeither after going to all the trouble of trying to make the throttle action realistic. Don't get me wrong its got me tempted to replace my USB converted HOTAS Cougar TQS but I just wished they had stayed true to the real HOTAS. It's great to see more options available though and kudos to WinWing for developing this.

As far as Chinese assembly goes, the last company I recall making flight controls in the US was CH but even they started moving production to Mexico. Most of what we buy these days is assembled in China. It would be interesting to see inside these WinWing devices, that would tell you the real story on quality, you can assemble anywhere but the design has to be good. Think back to the HOTAS Cougar, looked fantastic on the outside but as soon as you cracked it open it was cheap soft metal and a load of hot glue with a gimbal that destroyed itself and weak potentiometers. 

Does anyone know if there are plans to sell an F-16 kit to fit to the Super Taurus?

[Bwaze]

Insides are now well documented, a lot of people had to disassemble their sticks and throttles for repairs.

In some ways they are of course much better than anything produced by Thrustmaster. Throttle arms, joystick gimbals made out of solid aluminium, gimbals have steel shafts and proper ball bearings.

On the other side wiring in stick grips is kind of messy - Thrustmaster Warthog and Hornet grips are a bit better in this regard - it is similar to old Cougar one. All the buttons are stabilised by hot glue, but same is true for Thrustmaster, Winwing is just a bit more messy. There were some reports of failing 5-way buttons at the beginning of Orion sales, they have presumably changed their supplier of buttons to a more reliable one.

Aluminium that Winwing makes grips and bases of can also be problematic, you can strip the threads almost as easily as with pot metal from Thrustmaster, you have to be careful.

Lack of documentation for repairs is also a bit problematic. Their support allegedly sends you buttons to do the repairs with basically no information on how to do that, or with single sentence instructions (open the base, replace the button). Some things are quite straightforward, like replacing grip buttons, their wires have connectors, but for instance buttons on throttle base require you to unsolder the old button from PCB and solder the new one on. But again same is true for some Thrustmaster Warthog throttle base buttons, but usually if they fail, Thrustmaster replaces the whole unit (if you are within warranty), or just tells you that they don't provide this replacement part.

Buying replacement parts (like buttons) if you damage them yourself is also not very painless procedure - parts are cheap, but allegedly the only shipping option is FedEx which can be $50 for a single button...


 

[Revvin]

In fairness a lot of that hot glue is on connector's which is standard practice for any manufacturer, it looks like a lot of the circuit boards have fixing points tapped into the metalwork. I remember taking my HOTAS Cougar grip apart and being shocked at the amount of hot glue actually holding parts in place and also what looked like grease proof paper wrapped around the bases of the 4 way hats to provide electrical shielding from the metal body.

[MustangSally]

10 hours ago, Revvin said:

I'm a little disappointed its not a 1:1 replica of the F-16C we have in DCS. Those extra hat switches on the stick look really ugly and I wish they hadn't messed with the throttle eeither after going to all the trouble of trying to make the throttle action realistic. Don't get me wrong its got me tempted to replace my USB converted HOTAS Cougar TQS but I just wished they had stayed true to the real HOTAS. It's great to see more options available though and kudos to WinWing for developing this.

As far as Chinese assembly goes, the last company I recall making flight controls in the US was CH but even they started moving production to Mexico. Most of what we buy these days is assembled in China. It would be interesting to see inside these WinWing devices, that would tell you the real story on quality, you can assemble anywhere but the design has to be good. Think back to the HOTAS Cougar, looked fantastic on the outside but as soon as you cracked it open it was cheap soft metal and a load of hot glue with a gimbal that destroyed itself and weak potentiometers. 

Does anyone know if there are plans to sell an F-16 kit to fit to the Super Taurus?

The extra buttons can be removed and yes, there are plans for a Taurus kit.

[Revvin]

Good to know thanks, its not widely advertised about the removable buttons. 

[Waxer]

On 1/23/2022 at 9:49 PM, MustangSally said:

...there are plans for a Taurus kit.

Ah that's good news.

(You're one of the best public relations guys, Sally. I think Winwing should put you on a retainer, or sales commission or something). 

[Willdass]

Is it me or is the angle of the winwing throttle handle wrong when in cutoff position? From the videos and pictures I have seen the winwing throttle is angled backwards and up when in cutoff, while the real one seems just to be angled upwards. 

[Bwaze]

First short part of a review by Grim Reapers. It only covers unboxing:
 

 

[Bwaze]

Short review of Winwing Orion F-16EX throttle by RedKite:
 

 

[rob10]

8 hours ago, Bwaze said:

Short review of Winwing Orion F-16EX throttle by RedKite:
 

I'd just like to point out that it EXPLICITLY says in the manual that you WILL need to pull the cables out of the base a bit more for the F-16 handles vs the F-18.  Easy enough to do and removes the strain when you have it at extremes.

[Krez]

On 1/26/2022 at 11:09 AM, Revvin said:

Good to know thanks, its not widely advertised about the removable buttons. 

[Bwaze]

 

Short RedKite WinWing F-16 EX Stick Review.

[cavalier889]

"...and yes, there are plans for a Taurus kit"

That is a plus, but to be honest, I would rather have a new high fidelity single throttle (with F16 start up panel) than a kit to turn the Taurus into a single throttle. Any possibility of that in the near future?

[Bwaze]

Grim Reapers Product Review: Winwing Orion F-16EX Throttle (vid 2 of 3):
 

 

[Dudikoff]

On 2/8/2022 at 6:51 PM, cavalier889 said:

"...and yes, there are plans for a Taurus kit"

That is a plus, but to be honest, I would rather have a new high fidelity single throttle (with F16 start up panel) than a kit to turn the Taurus into a single throttle. Any possibility of that in the near future?

Since the startup panel itself is an add-on to the throttle box, they could make different startup panels (like for e.g. F-16) if there's enough demand for it.

In that case you wouldn't need another throttle box, just another panel and a throttle grip, plus some extra 15 minutes or so to swap those parts out.

I think some Soviet style panel plus stick and throttle grips would be a good idea when MiG-29 comes out.

Edited February 11, 2022 by Dudikoff

[cavalier889]

"Since the startup panel itself is an add-on to the throttle box, they could make different startup panels (like for e.g. F-16)"

This is quite true, and they could probably get it to work, but if you look at the throttle in the F-16, you'll notice that the grip is connected to the armature by a long curved arm, and some of the controls are directly under the throttle. To do this with the Taurus (I'd get another anyway, as my setup is designed so that I can just drop a new box into it), they would have to put the grip on a bit of an extension, and I wonder if the torque on the dual throttles might cause some mechanical stress.

Anyway, with or without a dedicated single axis throttle I'll have it.

Cheers

[AlphaG]

Can anyone who ordered lately comment on the wait or delivery time they experienced so far? Many thanks.