Thtustmaster AVA joystick base

[rapid]

Not had time to look at my curves will be interesting how others adjust their curves.

[Chicki]

Hoss, where'd you got that trim wheel box?

[gpk]

On 5/23/2024 at 10:16 PM, MIDWAY said:

Received mine today.   Changed to aero cams and medium springs.  10 cm extension on a warthog. 

A little loose in the center this way.  Mostly due to the weight of the warthog.   

I bought the offset adapter but that didn't arrive today.   With that I'm probably going try the heavy springs for warbirds,  and I'll try lightening them with the adjustment for helecopters.

 

Huge improvement so far over the original bar.  Was using 30 for curves on x and y.  Now at 15, and might drop to 10.

Hey, can you comment on the dampers and how they affects the bounce/wobble?

This vid says they don't really do a good job.

 

[Lange_666]

Virpil base has the same issue (with heavy (metal) Warthog stick mounted on it). I guess that with a lighter (plastic) stick it balances out more quickly.
But, i never found this to be a problem. I never release the stick like in the video anyway so it's actually a non-issue.

[Hiob]

9 minutes ago, Lange_666 said:

Virpil base has the same issue (with heavy (metal) Warthog stick mounted on it). I guess that with a lighter (plastic) stick it balances out more quickly.
But, i never found this to be a problem. I never release the stick like in the video anyway so it's actually a non-issue.

Exactly, I use(d) the metal warthog grip with a 20 cm extension on a VKB base (basically the same as a virpil or AVA). It‘s a matter of leverage and inertia. Unless you increase the friction/stiction brake to an annoying level, it will swing like a pendulum.

But as Lange rightly said. It’s an absolute non-issue in practice. The real issue would be that the stick gets very soft, which was intended in my case, because it improves chopper flying a lot. For something like the F-16 it may not be everyone‘s cup of tea.

[MIDWAY]

4 hours ago, gpk said:

Hey, can you comment on the dampers and how they affects the bounce/wobble?

This vid says they don't really do a good job.

 

Yes.  Mine does this too.  

Not an issue at all with proper forearm support.  Which is my right leg in my case.  If you drive the stick, instead of letting momentum move it, it's not noticeable in flight.  

The Ava makes helo flying an absolute joy.   I can hover in the Huey with no issues, and land it EXACTLY where I want it to now.  Still at 15 for x and y curves.  

The only module which is touchy is the mosquito pitch axis, which is notoriously touchy by all accounts.  Trying a 20 on the pitch axis solved that.  

[rapid]

Agreed not an issue for me. Any way shouldn't that be your dead spot?

Anyway what configurations are you all using?

[Ssnake51]

One issue I encountered in attaching it to the Monstertech mount plate for the Warthog/AVA is that the two holes on the right side of the AVA that match the Warhog holes are partially blocked by some of the inside parts of the AVA.  Please see attached image.

A screw can only go in  about 3/16 of an inch before hitting the internal part.  That is much shorter than the screws Monstertech supplies with the mount plate.    

I've reached out to Monstertech to see if they are going to be providing shorter screws for the AVA or producing a new base plate for the AVA.

 

[rapid]

Question:

Mine seems to make a sound  (mechanical- grinding ) when using Pitch. Just want to know if this is normal.

I have raised this with ThrustMaster .

[_Hoss]

I found that out real quick, and put two more washers (one already installed)on the screws. That fixed the screws bottoming out. I did that before I ever screwed on the stick. Probably why I never heard the clunking.  

MT put out a plate specially for the AVA. I doubt its any thicker gauge than the WH base. I'm good with the extra washers. When I remember, I can pull one of them, maybe M5, and get some shorter ones. 

@Chicki I got it from a guy here on the forums, K51. He has numerous flight controls to order. I finished the console I made to house the extra stuff I came across. 

 Now to hook it up and get it all working, and re-do, everything. It's a good thing I'm bald! 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2024 by _Hoss

[Lange_666]

4 hours ago, rapid said:

Question:

Mine seems to make a sound  (mechanical- grinding ) when using Pitch. Just want to know if this is normal.

I have raised this with ThrustMaster .

From the bottom reply's on the above posted video:

The ava emphasized that my f18 grip had a something loose in the pitch axis that made some clunk (roll was ok. a10 grip was ok) ... Googled it... its common. I opened the grip and retightened and loctited all the screws and the clunk is gone. There is one obvious screw inside that was the culprit. Had nothing to do with AVA but was very noticeable with AVA.

[rapid]

Do you think its the stick? 

And here is an internal view.

[Lange_666]

I would at least try other cams.
On my Virpil I use cams with no center feel. The original cams had a feelable center point, I didn't like that.

[rapid]

4 hours ago, Lange_666 said:

I would at least try other cams.
On my Virpil I use cams with no center feel. The original cams had a feelable center point, I didn't like that.

I tried one of the other Cams same deal.

Reported to  Thrustmaster:

We thank you for contacting Thrustmaster Technical Support.

You are reaching us regarding your AVA BASE which is making a "click" sound while moving the joystick. 

In order to provide you a complete answer, we will contact our experts regarding your case and will get back to you as soon as possible. We thank you for your understanding and your patience. 

We wish you a nice day and remain at your disposal for any further questions.

Best regards,
Dilan, your Thrustmaster agent.

 

 

[rapid]

On 5/28/2024 at 6:57 AM, _Hoss said:

I found that out real quick, and put two more washers (one already installed)on the screws. That fixed the screws bottoming out. I did that before I ever screwed on the stick. Probably why I never heard the clunking.  

MT put out a plate specially for the AVA. I doubt its any thicker gauge than the WH base. I'm good with the extra washers. When I remember, I can pull one of them, maybe M5, and get some shorter ones. 

@Chicki I got it from a guy here on the forums, K51. He has numerous flight controls to order. I finished the console I made to house the extra stuff I came across. 

 Now to hook it up and get it all working, and re-do, everything. It's a good thing I'm bald! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 5/28/2024 at 6:57 AM, _Hoss said:

I found that out real quick, and put two more washers (one already installed)on the screws. That fixed the screws bottoming out. I did that before I ever screwed on the stick. Probably why I never heard the clunking.  

MT put out a plate specially for the AVA. I doubt its any thicker gauge than the WH base. I'm good with the extra washers. When I remember, I can pull one of them, maybe M5, and get some shorter ones. 

@Chicki I got it from a guy here on the forums, K51. He has numerous flight controls to order. I finished the console I made to house the extra stuff I came across. 

 Now to hook it up and get it all working, and re-do, everything. It's a good thing I'm bald! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 5/28/2024 at 7:12 AM, Lange_666 said:

From the bottom reply's on the above posted video:

The ava emphasized that my f18 grip had a something loose in the pitch axis that made some clunk (roll was ok. a10 grip was ok) ... Googled it... its common. I opened the grip and retightened and loctited all the screws and the clunk is gone. There is one obvious screw inside that was the culprit. Had nothing to do with AVA but was very noticeable with AVA.

Cheers that did the trick. No more "clunking sounds".

How to open Hotas Warthog stick handle.pdf

[_Hoss]

Get yourself one of these off ebay. And yes remove screws one at a time, put a small bit of loktite on them and re-install. Remember do not over tighten fastners with no torque value. 30-60⁰ past self rising torque, not Magilla Gorilla tight.

 

 

Edited May 30, 2024 by _Hoss

[rapid]

3 hours ago, _Hoss said:

Get yourself one of these off ebay. And yes remove screws one at a time, put a small bit of loktite on them and re-install. Remember do not over tighten fastners with no torque value. 30-60⁰ past self rising torque, not Magilla Gorilla tight.

 

 If you check out the first video you will see that I already have one.

 

 

 

[airdog]

On 5/27/2024 at 3:00 PM, Ssnake51 said:

One issue I encountered in attaching it to the Monstertech mount plate for the Warthog/AVA is that the two holes on the right side of the AVA that match the Warhog holes are partially blocked by some of the inside parts of the AVA.  Please see attached image.

A screw can only go in  about 3/16 of an inch before hitting the internal part.  That is much shorter than the screws Monstertech supplies with the mount plate.    

I've reached out to Monstertech to see if they are going to be providing shorter screws for the AVA or producing a new base plate for the AVA.

 

The manual explicitly states that mounting screws are to not exceed 8mm in length.

Edited June 2, 2024 by airdog

[PacFlyer23]

I got my new AVA a few days ago, and it feels great. To be honest I don't notice the springiness at all when using it. Probably as when I usually release my grip on it the stick is already pack at center neutral, and doesn't bounce around.

I have a SimFab Cockpit chair and had to buy the updated mounting plate for AVA Base from them - not a big deal or cost. The AVA Base plate from Thrustmaster will not mount on the SimFab L-Bracket. So it's probably worth checking with the manufacture of your own cockpit chair if its not SimFab.

[Drofseh]

On 5/23/2024 at 7:16 PM, MIDWAY said:

Received mine today.   Changed to aero cams and medium springs.  10 cm extension on a warthog. 

A little loose in the center this way.  Mostly due to the weight of the warthog.   

I bought the offset adapter but that didn't arrive today.   With that I'm probably going try the heavy springs for warbirds,  and I'll try lightening them with the adjustment for helecopters.

 

Huge improvement so far over the original bar.  Was using 30 for curves on x and y.  Now at 15, and might drop to 10.

Do you have the old warthog base by any chance?
I'm wondering if the offset adaptor is compatible with it.

[_Hoss]

I use a 10cm curved extension, with F/A-18 stick, and it went from the old WartHog base right onto the new AVA base with no problems. So, I imagine the new offset will work on the WH base too. 

[Nighthawk 117]

I bought the extension to use on the warthog base and was disappointed that I cant use it as they have changed the fitting slightly. I could file off a bit of the plastic to make it fit but plan on buying the AVA base instead.

Maybe that was their intention to sell more but I think It should have been made to fit either base as there are many warthog owners out there.

Edited June 11, 2024 by Nighthawk 117
Spelling

[Turd Ferguson]

I'm really interested in this base. Particularly for flying Helicopters.

My CM3 isn't smooth around the centre, even with the springs and Cams removed.

Nyogel improved it but it's still virtually impossible to go smoothly diagonal from the centre.

How is this base compared to the CM3? Do any of you that have it also have the CM3?

Can you give your thoughts on this please?

[kennyuk77]

Got one of these delivered to replace my old warthog base, I am really enjoying it. Its a really nice smooth stick overall 

[Drofseh]

On 6/10/2024 at 7:34 PM, Nighthawk 117 said:

I bought the extension to use on the warthog base and was disappointed that I cant use it as they have changed the fitting slightly. I could file off a bit of the plastic to make it fit but plan on buying the AVA base instead.

Any chance you'd be able to take a photo showing where/what would need to be removed?