Throttle and stick recommendation

[persius]

I would like to upgrade my controller to something more appropriate for F-16.     I understand that Thrustmaster is no longer in business so I need to look at a similar brand of controllers.   Any thoughts or suggestions on what will work suitably for the F-16?

Thanks

[MAXsenna]

Thrustmaster is very much alive and kicking, but the Cougar has been discontinued, except for the stick which is similar to the Warthog stick. 

WinWing seems to have made their own version of the F-16 setup. 

Edited May 5, 2022 by MAXsenna

[cordite]

Aim higher than TM, at least for HOTAS:

eg. Virpil, VKB, Winwing, Realsimulator.

[Tomcat388th]

I upgraded over Christmas to the Winwing Orion F18 been really happy with it

[CBStu]

I use a VKB stick.

Gladiator NXT EVO ‘Space Combat Edition’ – VKBcontrollers.com

Even though I fly FA-18 about 95% of the time I decided that I wouldn't go crazy trying to exactly match the stick to any one plane. This one has a lot of buttons, hats, switches. Also it comes w/ 1 or 2 extra buttons or hats that you could swap in if it worked better for you. I am very happy w/ this stick. I use a Warthog throttle which works fine. It has a long travel which works really well for the fine control needed for carrier traps.

[Dragon1-1]

Winwing is great, if you're going for high end, then it's probably the best current offer for the Viper. Virpil and VKB, while high quality, don't have switches that feel as nice as Winwing ones, and do not make Viper replica sticks and throttles. Plus, Orion is modular, so if you ever feel like you need a split throttle, just buy the Hornet grips. I have the Hornet set and I love it.

[Dscross]

I starting flying sims with (keyboard...many, many years ago) the Logitech 52. I've since owned Thrustmaster . The Winwing Orion, a VKB Gladiator, and now I have Virpil. The Winwing is very good. Virpil is twice as good easily. And the Winwing I have is twice as good at the VKB gladiator, which is twice (maybe more) as good as the thrustmaster. The only Thrustmaster product not I wouldn't throw into a dumpster fire is the Cougar MFD button boxes. They are very handy. But anything from them with a spring I'd be hesitant to use as a boat anchor. But I'll admit to being more than a bit disappointed with Thrustmaster as a company and 90% of the products they offer. 

Basically, my take is that unless it has metal internal cams, it's a disposable toy. I know there are people who LOVE the Warthog. I don't personally know anyone who has flow a virpil, VKB, realsim, or Winwing that would choose a TM Warthog. Metal internals are simply in a different league. 

But what is really comes down to is how much money do you want to spend. If flight sims are a passing phase for you, don't spend the $ to buy Virpil. If you want a stick you won't need to replace far to soon, buy Winwing, VKB, Virpil, or Realsim. 

Oh, and don't think you've got to buy new. There are always people selling, trading, and upgrading their flight sim gear. There is an entire section on these forums dedicated to it. Check Ebay too. You'd be surprised what you can find for a very good deal. (or at the very least buying used saves you some time on a waiting list.) 

[Steve83aus]

I’ve just the Thrustmaster Hotas with the throttle and as a new user I’m really impressed with it. I did a lot of research and came to the conclusion that the Hotas was the right choice.

good luck amigo