drspankle Posted December 26, 2023 Posted December 26, 2023 (edited) I recently replaced my trusty CH Products Pro Throttle with the TM Viper TQS Mission Pack and I thought I’d share a few thoughts. There are a ton of reviews on YouTube but I’m always sceptical of anyone’s impartiality when they effectively make a living saying nice things about the free stuff they get sent. So, first off, it’s very well made. As an ex-engineer before I starting flying it’s a pleasing piece of manufacturing to get one’s hands on (apart from the Gear Handle – eugh). Secondly DCS recognises it straight away and has the buttons on the throttle already bound. As for the ergonomics and design, well I’ll pass no comment on something that’s a replica – GD knew what they were doing way back when this was designed, and I have no place to criticise (but I love it). What I can say is that I have encountered a few issues switching onto this throttle, all of which are on me by the way, and not the design. The first is that, because the CH Throttle was linear in its motion (i.e. it slid flat along its base), the axis of the 4-way hats never changed in relation to up/down etc. Because the Viper has a beautiful arc motion, the 4-ways’ direction of travel in relation to the base plate change significantly from idle to max reheat, which has made manipulating the RDR Cursor hat, for example, a little challenging. Of course, the hat still moves logically in relation to the throttle body, but that itself has rotated. It’ll come I’m sure, but it caught me out. It doesn’t help that being in VR denies you the visual cues which would subconsciously compensate. The second thing is the range of motion. This thing has so much more travel than my previous throttle that I’m at full reach at max AB. This means that a greater degree of precision is available, so it’s a plus really, but I will need to redesign my set-up as I can barely reach the switches. Lastly, I shouldn’t have bothered with the Mission Pack. I use Voice Attack and there isn’t a single thing on the switchgear I really need. I thought I’d love the Hdg Bug for the HSI as I use Hdg Select in A/P quite a bit, but the thing adjusts the bug so slowly you’re better off with the mouse. Ah well – it looks cool. So there you go. Definitely a massive improvement and I’m loving it. Lots of practice required though before I reach my hitherto lofty heights of almost competent. Dr Spankle Edited December 26, 2023 by drspankle 2
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