HOTAS Detents/Finger Lifts

[nilpointer]

Wondering what others are doing to work around detents and finger lifts on throttles (if anything)?

I have a Virpil Mongoose CM3 which I have configured for the 18C using the finger lifts and a push through AB detent. Using the Virpil software I have the 0% of the axis starting after the drop off from the IDLE detent for the 18C. This works fine with the AH-64 except I loose a little throw at the base of the throttle where I would otherwise have to lift over the detent.

So far it's not caused me a problem but I am wondering what others do?

[loiphin]

I took off my detents for a smooth collective with my CM3. I cant have detents messing up the collective. It should be a nice continuous smooth motion.

[Yurgon]

I sometimes forget to pull the push-through AB detent from my Warthog throttle base, and I don't even notice until after landing the Apache. When I pull so much collective that I would otherwise light the AB in the Hornet or the Tomcat, I'm about to die anyway (*).

The Apache throttle seems pretty quartary to me. OFF, IDLE, FLY, LOCK OUT. I didn't bind any axis to it, there seems to be no reason to go anywhere between these. And if there is, I'm probably... about to die anyway (anyone notice a common theme here...?). 

(*) I know many players use the throttle axis inverted when they use it as collective axis. I don't.

[imacken]

On 3/23/2022 at 5:40 AM, nilpointer said:

Wondering what others are doing to work around detents and finger lifts on throttles (if anything)?

I have a Virpil Mongoose CM3 which I have configured for the 18C using the finger lifts and a push through AB detent. Using the Virpil software I have the 0% of the axis starting after the drop off from the IDLE detent for the 18C. This works fine with the AH-64 except I loose a little throw at the base of the throttle where I would otherwise have to lift over the detent.

So far it's not caused me a problem but I am wondering what others do?

What version of the VPC software are you using?  If the current one 20220304, then hopefully, you will have configured your idle detents the 'new' way so they are setup as 0% at idle, and coded for a hardware button past the idle for idle/shut off binding.

Re AH-64, my method doing the finger lifts is a little weird, but it works. I originally had the right throttle set as the collective and the right one set as 'both engine power lever'. Split throttle axes can be awkward in flight, and I then realised that we hardly ever need to touch the power lever. So, I re-bound that to the rZ axis (lever on the right) and kept the 2 throttles bound together in-flight for the collective.

I also have the finger lifts bound to the button beyond idle (as mentioned above), so to switch engines on/off, I pull the the 2 throttles past the idle detent and all is good.  Seems weird that they are not on the power lever, but you only do it once at startup and again to switch off after landing, so it's no big deal.

22 hours ago, loiphin said:

I took off my detents for a smooth collective with my CM3. I cant have detents messing up the collective. It should be a nice continuous smooth motion.

No real need to do that. Just set your 'Saturation X' value in 'Axis Tune' to a value that makes the throttle 100% at second detent, making sure it's set to Slider, of course.  Best way to do that is to look at the slider graphic in DCS controls to see which value gives you the 100% full at the second detent. Mine is set to 74%.  So, I have 0% to 100% between the 2 detents.

Edited March 24, 2022 by imacken