HOTAS

[BuzzU]

If you wanted to buy a specific Hornet HOTAS. Would you buy a Winwing?

[rob10]

Yes.

The more complete answer is that I have the original Orion throttle which I love but I use a Virpil WarBRD base with a TM F-18 grip on it.  I had a WinWing stick/base that came with the throttle (you could only buy it as a combo at first) and I didn't really like the feel of the stick, but that's personal preference.  Not sure if I like the new Orion throttle because I'm used to/like the push through detents in the original.  But the buttons/switches on it (type/quantity/layout) are IMHO more useful than you'll get on other throttles.  I have them remapped totally different to what it suggests, but it works really well.

[MustangSally]

No other Manufacture comes close imho

[BuzzU]

Thanks guys.

1..........No, but said yes.

1........ Yes, for sure.

[Brother_Leb]

I would and did (Orion 2 throttle, Orion 1 stick base + hornet grip). Had mine 1.5 years and I'm still very happy with it. Only problem I've had is a spring that broke about 1 year in.

I think they are great and good value for money, IMO. I have heard of occasional QA problems (like my spring), but not more than other manufacturers. WW has focused on Hornet replica gear, so I can't think of a better option if the Hornet is specifically what you want your sim pit to be. It's quite a bit better than the warthog stick with hornet grip upgrade (and about the same $$) and it's much cheaper than other Hornet replica gear.

[BuzzU]

2 yes and 1 no.

Thanks.

[Airtrainpat]

Yes

I use the Orion 2 throttle, Virpil CM2 + TM F/A-18 grip. I'm still jealous, though, of everyone who owns the Super Taurus base and the MFDs (and basically all the Winwing stuff for the Hornet). But that's not always WAG compatible   

[Dos]

Yes.

 

[BuzzU]

Yes, a good investment.

Positives are beating up the negatives.

[YSIAD_RIP]

Springs:

I decided to experiment with even heavier springs than what comes with the base, extension, and $50 accessory damper kit for the Orion 2 base. 

There is a plethora of Springs on AliExpress (an example): 1pcs Open Hook Tension Spring Pullback Spring Coil Extension Spring

It all comes down to personal choice and your mounting options... there is no correct answer.

I tried:

30mm, 1.4mm, 9mm x2 (Difficult to apply using fishing line and a key ring to pull spring into place, but what I am using now with NC-ARC Cams) 

30mm, 1.4mm, 10mm x2 (Not recommended - impossible to install without special tools to pull springs into place) 

[BuzzU]

How does it feel with no extension and default springs?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RJLee]

Yes.  But I do think you do need to ask yourself how much risk tolerance you have for this upgrade.  If you are unlucky and get a bad unit, fixing it will at a minimum require some mild DIY tinkering (e.g., opening things up with the included allen wrench, plugging/re-plugging cables, etc.), and possibly might involve substantial cost and delay which could make it cheaper to write off the whole thing.  You might end up with none of these problems, but there isn't any way to know whether you're going to get a lemon -- if you do, the safety net is small.

For me, the tradeoff is worth it.  I like their design innovation, their iterative improvements, and the fact that they are committed to exactly my niche of interest.  Their price point is certainly not cheap, but is competitive -- and even with the QA question mark, really is not so expensive that it represents a huge risk based on my overall investment in the hobby.  Most of all, I like that they are continuing to release new improved products and seem committed to building stuff that I've only dreamed of.  Though the analogy isn't perfect, I think that my view is similar to that of any early adopter -- there are going to be bugs and you may end up eating some costs as a result, but I will pay the price because I like the overall direction that they're taking things and I'm willing to gamble on not getting a bad unit.  Even while I was suffering stick disconnects (and who knows, may still in the future), I still would consider spending more money with Winwing.

This is obviously not going to be true for everyone, and you have to decide on what you want.  Frankly, if you fly DCS every day, this would be your only HOTAS option, and having a plug-and-play unit with zero downtime is a very important priority, then I'd advise against buying Winwing.  But if you have more patience, maybe have been doing this for a long time and are used to "cockpit maintenance simulator" as an unofficial mini-game, and have an old Warthog or X52 in the closet that you can use as a temporary backup, then I think you should give it a look.  I've bought quite a lot of their stuff in the last 18 months, had some ups and downs (not perfect, not terrible), and don't regret anything.

[BuzzU]

I'm not sure i'm ready for their CS. Especially, being in China. After reading this thread i'm thinking another brand. I've had 6 warthogs because I tend to buy and sell things. I've never had one small problem with a Warthog but I know lots of guys have. It's all how lucky we are. I could buy a WW and have no problems at all but my odds of that with Virpil are much higher.

So, I need to think about this some more.

[Colonel Akir Nakesh]

On 7/6/2023 at 1:31 PM, BuzzU said:

I'm not sure i'm ready for their CS. Especially, being in China. After reading this thread i'm thinking another brand. I've had 6 warthogs because I tend to buy and sell things. I've never had one small problem with a Warthog but I know lots of guys have. It's all how lucky we are. I could buy a WW and have no problems at all but my odds of that with Virpil are much higher.

So, I need to think about this some more.

I saw your reply in another post, but to chime in on this one: I have the full F-16 HOTAS plus the Hornet combat panel. The throttle and combat panel are brilliant and only complaint was the tiny little nuts/washers arriving with packaging broken and I had to track them down to make sure I had enough pieces to assemble/mount it.

The stick base/grip has been a constant headache for 14 months and I have my Thrustmaster Warthog stick I use as my primary as I constantly get the runaround and try to fix my Winwing stick/base. I really wanted it to work out, because I love how their buttonology is totally NATO airframe agnostic and works across the Viper, Hornet, Hog, and Harrier vs the Thrustmaster being Hog specific and the Virpil being more Soviet-inspired...while I love my Hind, Hip and MiG-15, everything else I have is Western and the Winwing Orion base is much more sensible.

At my last job I did export for 13 years to all over Asia and China was consistently in the top three customers, so I know how tech support, shipping, customs, and all that work, as well as being able to pre-empt questions to save a day of back and forth emails. My Chinese customers did the same in order to not waste time = their money. So I'm not going to be one of those guys that hate on them because THeYrE FroM ChiNa pLuS WuHaN/CoViD. Besides, I'm Chinese  When I was ordering my stick I'd joke to my friends it was the second coolest thing to come out of China since my dad. 

Edited: a couple others on HOTAS off the top of my head with the random disconnect problem:

 

 

83% of people who play Russian Roulette are totally fine, and my grandmother smoked and lived to 97. If you're a gambling man, go for it. Also, buy a hot glue gun.

Edited July 8, 2023 by Colonel Akir Nakesh

[BuzzU]

I'm considering taking a chance. Lots of people who bought the Warthog had problems and I never did. Not even stiction. Maybe i'll be lucky with WW too.

If I did have a problem I might just buy another brand of base/stick instead of trying to get it fixed. I don't see anybody who has a problem getting it fixed. All they get is frustration.

Is the throttle ok, or does it have problems too?

I wish another company made a specific Hornet HOTAS too. I'm picky about realism as much as possible. That's why I bought so many Warthogs. It just seems the HOTAS to use for the A-10. 

[too-cool]

On 7/3/2023 at 4:26 PM, MustangSally said:

No other Manufacture comes close imho

What are the cut out measurements you use for mounting your throttle? Thanks TC

[MustangSally]

6 hours ago, too-cool said:

What are the cut out measurements you use for mounting your throttle? Thanks TC

Sorry mate, have no idea and I'm not lifting it out to check. Just grab a tape measure and measure your own?

You can also download the Taurus manual on Winwings website. Measurements are in there

Edited July 11, 2023 by MustangSally

[Brother_Leb]

I personally think the throttle unit is probably where the real value is (can't speak to the Taurus, only have the Orion) between WW throttle and stick. I may at some point upgrade my joystick as there are a lot of other manufacturers out there that do replica hornet sticks (or Tomcat sticks, or Viper stick, or...) less so with the throttle quadrant and at the price point its pretty good. The QA problems with the throttle seem to relate to the cheapness (i.e., plastic) of the fingerlifts on the orion 2, the buttons on the Viper grip extension thingy, and rotary nobs. I've personally had no problems with mine, but I know others have. Genuine DoAs and parts failures do happen, but those seems like outlier (but of course someone who paid good $$ is going to be mad about it, rightly so, and you'll see those reviews on the internet).

[BuzzU]

You look just like Alonso.

[washout65]

I got bought the orion 2 at release and the libra stick about 8 months before, not 1 single issue. picked up the WH throttle to fly the A10 but sold that to get the EX handles, the WH throttle felt cheap andn its lack of buttons kind of sucked