Pedal damper kit

[Turd Ferguson]

After years of the Saitek Combat pedals I started saving last week for some Virpil ones along with the damper. Today my wife gave me the extra 200 quid so I could order them. I'm hoping my performance in the Apache will improve even more with the increased precision.

I'm really interested in the Damper, has anyone got their hands on it yet? What are your thoughts on it?

[Nightdare]

Don't have my hands on it yet

But I wouldn't mind getting rid of the oscillation of the pedals, especially when applying uneven braking

[Turd Ferguson]

Thanks for your reply @Nightdare. I messaged Virpil yesterday and they said in the UK at least the damper kit will be ready for shipping in early Feb... although that may have just been my particular order thinking about it. As a gesture of goodwill They are going to split my order and send the pedals this week though.

[aaronwhite]

I'm looking forward to hearing some reviews on it! For the price point, it seems like a pretty solid deal if it helps a lot with flying.

Honestly, one of the toughest parts with the Apache and Hind for me is getting the rudders right in my head after switching seats, especially when dropping into a hover. If I could just ignore the click-to-trim rudder and just have the pedals essentially hold themselves in place, that would be a huge addition for flying.

[Turd Ferguson]

That's definitely one of the things i'm looking forward to with these pedals and damper @aaronwhite.  Been using the Saitek Combat pedals for years, when flying Helicopters i'll trim then forget to take my feet off the pedals to lock in that position then wonder why my pedals stopped working ha.

[aaronwhite]

1 hour ago, Turd Ferguson said:

That's definitely one of the things i'm looking forward to with these pedals and damper @aaronwhite.  Been using the Saitek Combat pedals for years, when flying Helicopters i'll trim then forget to take my feet off the pedals to lock in that position then wonder why my pedals stopped working ha.

Haha, yeah. I'm going to have a hell of a time since my brain is just wired to pretty much let everything go as soon as I hit the trim switch. 

[Turd Ferguson]

Has anyone got one of these yet are have they still not been released?

[McVittees]

Ordered mine 3rd January, no sign of it yet.

[cow_art]

I ordered the VPC Ace Collection pedals + damper kit  on January 8,received them yesterday (March 1).

 

The pedals are good, but I am not quite happy with the damper. It's easy to install, fits the pedals well and does what it's supposed to do. But for my taste it sadly has too much stiction (even on the lightest damper setting). Unfortunately it does not work too well for me with helicopters. I found it quite hard to do tiny, precise pedal corrections with the damper

But YMMV. The damper does feel good in principle, just not for tiny movements. Everyone who bought the damper primarily for fixed wing will probably be very happy.

 

Edit: Virpil Support told me to use the damper a while longer. They say after running it through a few cycles it will improve. So take please take everything I said above with a grain of salt. I'll try their suggestion and see how it goes.

Edit2:

I used the damper another 4 hours yesterday and it did indeed get a bit better. Stiction is still noticable but got less.

But I discovered something else (that might be clear to everyone who has used this kind of dampers before). But it was new to me and might be interesting for other "damper newbs": a big part of my problem was, that I was using the damper on the minimal setting.

The minimal damper setting makes the stiction issue very prominent: Once the pedals are moving, they move very easily. But to overcome the initial resistance of the stiction I need to apply much more force. So once I have applied enough force to overcome the initial resistance, and the pedals are finally moving, I am applying too much force to be precise --> overshoot.

I have now selected a much stronger damper setting (about 50%) . Now the force required to overcome the initial stiction is more or less equal to the force that's required to move the  pedals. For me that fixes nearly everything. Pedals + Damper work very well now. I might still apply some lubricant and see if it improves the situation further, but all in all I am very happy with the damper now!

 

Edited March 4, 2024 by cow_art

[Turd Ferguson]

Thanks for the tips @cow_art. Great they've started to be shipped. Hopefully will land in the UK in a week or 2.

[McVittees]

Update from DPD, expecting my damper kit today.

@cow_art thank you for feedback, will follow your advice.

[Turd Ferguson]

Damper arrived today.

Overall very impressed with it.

I don't have my pedals mounted on the base, instead they're screwed through the carpet into the floorboards. Due to them being an inch or so lower than with the base attached installation was a bit tricky but only took 25-30 minutes.

 

I made a mistake with the placement of the bracket so could only move the right pedal about half way.

It was an easy fix but again tricky to get the 5mm hex key into such a tiny space to loosen it.

I'd recommend only tightening it finger tight until the whole damper is mounted, then back it off until it moves freely along the shaft of the damper when you move the pedals.

Push the right pedal to full deflection which will put the bracket in the correct location on the shaft then use the 5mm hex to tighten the bracket down keeping the right pedal fully deflected.

 

Have used it for an hour or 2 this evening with the F-14 and it works extremely well. Damper is very smooth and it has eliminated that bounce in the middle that Virpil pedals have... I do use both spings though.

 

Along with the counter balance kit Virpil's accessories so far this year are top notch.

[BigBANGtheory]

I'd agree with @Turd Ferguson comments above, I installed the damper kit myself yesterday replacing the K-51 DIY damper mod

 

[McVittees]

Installed this evening. Took ten minutes, very easy.  Tested with Apache and instantly made take off, hovering and general flight much much easier.  Aircraft felt much more stable without the pedals trying to constantly spring back and forth.  Then tried P51…same impression. Definitely a massive improvement. A really worth while upgrade.

Edited March 6, 2024 by McVittees

[Nightdare]

I'm somewhat underwhelmed

Even at the lowest setting, I consider the damping somewhat excessive

Not that I expected zero, but my Bike has less resistance ...and thats with the added friction of a tire on the ground

And to keep and find center, I had to install both springs

 

I'll see if it improves over time/higher temperatures

[zcaa0g]

I just got the Virpil Aces Collection pedals and I thought I was going to have to return it because I wasn't happy at all with the feel of the rudder axis (loose and sloppy regardless of spring and cam combo). 

I then installed the damper and my rating went from an F grade to an A grade.  I view the damper as a must, at least for me.  I'm glad it addressed my complaint because I hate having to return things.

With the damper in place, I like it better than my MFG Crosswinds.  I will continue to use both though just because.

[RealDCSpilot]

On 7/25/2024 at 10:54 PM, zcaa0g said:

I just got the Virpil Aces Collection pedals and I thought I was going to have to return it because I wasn't happy at all with the feel of the rudder axis (loose and sloppy regardless of spring and cam combo). 

I then installed the damper and my rating went from an F grade to an A grade.  I view the damper as a must, at least for me.  I'm glad it addressed my complaint because I hate having to return things.

With the damper in place, I like it better than my MFG Crosswinds.  I will continue to use both though just because.

Yep, got the damper when it released and it basically transforms the pedals into a new device. It's the perfect hardware upgrade.

[CaptPickguard]

Which springs does everyone use with the dampener installed? Low strength, high strength, or both?

[Nightdare]

On 11/12/2024 at 6:01 PM, CaptPickguard said:

Which springs does everyone use with the dampener installed? Low strength, high strength, or both?

I use both

But I can add that since my comment on March 8th, that A: I got more used to it / B: The damper became more smooth over time

Still a little iffy returning to center, but I just keep a DZ at 3%