Moza AB9 - A few questions…..

[bilbosmeggins]

Hi all. Before I splurge out on the AB9, I just wondered if anyone could iron out a few queries?  Firstly, although it is supposed to be compatible with Thrustmaster, is it without compromise? I have a Warthog stick, and would very much like to use it, at least temporarily, but don’t want to be hampered by game-ruining anomalies. 
 

Secondly, I watched a YouTube video where it showed the DCS presets, and the list of planes was minimal. In fact, there wasn’t a model listed that I either own, or intend to purchase, except for the A-10C II, which I never fly. Is the list growing at all, and does anybody have a complete, up to date list? And also, if a model is not catered for, can a good, workable profile be created from scratch?  I like to fly the Tiger, and the Huey mainly. 

Edit:  Ooh, I forgot to mention that I also use SimShaker and a Jetseat? Am I likely to have conflicts?

TIA

Edited April 7 by bilbosmeggins
Missed a bit…

[Mr_sukebe]

Sorry, can't comment on the TM grip, as I'm a Virpil Alpha user.

I've experienced no issues/conflicts between the Moza software and the Simshaker app.  Maybe I've just not noticed, but don't believe that I've had a problem.

As you say, there are roughly 7-8 presets, as supplied by Moza.  It appears that Moza tried to pickout a decent representation for each plane type, e.g. warbird (Spitfire), helicopter (Mi24), FBW (e.g. F18), Gen 2-3 jet (F4/F14), Force Sensing (F16).

Personally, I currently use the fairly generic preset for similar aircraft.  So for example, I use the F18 preset with the Mirage 2000.  The F4 preset with the Mirage F1, all helicopters with the Mi24 preset etc.  So far, seems to work fine.

There are additional presets that have been created by other users and are available to download from Moza's Discord channel.

Right now, I feel that we're at a really early stage, primarily because we're at a bit of loss for really understanding what "should" be felt through the grip.  People talk about the forces, but that's only part of the question.  Are actions like firing the guns, dropping ordinance, lowering the flaps something you'd really feel in a jet?  I've no idea.  There are settings available for them, which is a good thing, but to date, I've not seen a real pilot come in and say "yes, you can feel that, but not this".  That's what I'm hoping for.

For all that, I do find the current presets to be more immersive and preferable to just springs in a base, so I'm very happy to have one.

Edited April 7 by Mr_sukebe

[Kh4]

I can confirm that the Warthog stick is perfectly compatible with the Moza base. You can work up a profile for any aircraft although some aircraft seem to work better than others. We can only hope that over time it will improve in some regard.

[bilbosmeggins]

@Mr_sukebe Thank you. It’s reassuring to hear that I can use another preset as a jumping off point. I just wasn’t sure if the telemetry would be pulled across or not. Also, great news that the SimShaker software is playing nicely too. I’ll probably be buying the AB9 in the next week or so. It might even inspire me to buy something off the preset list. Just to see the base operating in all of it’s glory. 

@Kh4 Thank you. Music to my ears. I’ll probably go all in, and buy the Moza flight stick later on. I just can’t afford the hit all in one go, so am happy that my Warthog will suffice

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

Both Warthog/F-16 and F/A-18C sticks work with AB-9.

[bilbosmeggins]

47 minutes ago, VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants said:

Both Warthog/F-16 and F/A-18C sticks work with AB-9.

Much appreciated, although I only have the stock stick it’s still good to know

[Aapje]

11 hours ago, Mr_sukebe said:

Right now, I feel that we're at a really early stage, primarily because we're at a bit of loss for really understanding what "should" be felt through the grip.  People talk about the forces, but that's only part of the question.  Are actions like firing the guns, dropping ordinance, lowering the flaps something you'd really feel in a jet?  I've no idea.  There are settings available for them, which is a good thing, but to date, I've not seen a real pilot come in and say "yes, you can feel that, but not this".  That's what I'm hoping for.

I personally think that for your average simmer who will never fly a real aircraft, it is pretty useless to try to make the stick actually act realistic, versus seem realistic or even just feel good.

In many cases, the forces in a real plane would be higher than the base can handle, the pilot would get force feedback in ways that we don't or can't mimic (accurately), etc. AFAIK, every pilot who was put into a flight sim has at best said that it is quite good, but none have actually called it realistic. FFB or not. Motion rig or not. Etc.

[bilbosmeggins]

Thanks everyone for your input. I mulled over the possibility of pairing it with the Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS but, in the end, I decided against it. Instead, I’ve opted to try and keep things as simple as possible, and have gone all in with the Moza system. I’ve ordered the AB9 base, the MH16 stick and the Moza throttle panel. The base and stick should be with me in a couple of days, but I’ve got 3-4 weeks for the throttle as it’s coming direct from Moza, because I couldn’t find a UK seller. 
 

I like the idea of base, stick and throttle all being controlled under one software umbrella. And being able to plug throttle and stick directly into the base will make cable management easier, and also save me from a myriad of USB cables hogging the PC. I know I could get a USB hub, but I prefer the other option.  Next week should be a pretty busy time, as I have a new PC arriving hopefully. I aim to get everything set up nicely, after reinstalling DCS, MSFS and IL2 etc, and also VoiceAttack and the Jetseat. Once that lot is all installed and configured I can think about adding VR into the mix once I’ve decided which headset will replace the Quest 3. 

Edited April 8 by bilbosmeggins
Typos

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

It is suggested that the base should be connected to the PC directly. I use this approach with all FFB bases.

[bilbosmeggins]

Which is what I’ll be doing. I’ll then be hooking up the throttle and stick to the base

[v2tec]

On 4/8/2025 at 1:11 AM, Aapje said:

I personally think that for your average simmer who will never fly a real aircraft, it is pretty useless to try to make the stick actually act realistic, versus seem realistic or even just feel good.

In many cases, the forces in a real plane would be higher than the base can handle, the pilot would get force feedback in ways that we don't or can't mimic (accurately), etc. AFAIK, every pilot who was put into a flight sim has at best said that it is quite good, but none have actually called it realistic. FFB or not. Motion rig or not. Etc.

Well, I don't agree. I guess the most of us are playing dcs because it is the most realistic combat flight simulator currently available for an affordable price. Of course it is not real and it tries to be realistic as possible and therefor some of us invest in equipment, make this feeling as "realistic" or let us call it "immersive" as possible. It would be great, if real fighter pilots could confirm or support FFB devices to make them feel more "realistic", so that gamers could at least imagine how I would feel like.

I have a Warthog HOTAS and the MONZA sounds quite interesting to me. However, I was suprised to see some test videos with an F16, because the F16 is using a digital stick and you won't feel much FFB (I suppose). But it could be quite interesting for WWII planes or helicopters, feeling the wind drag, power of throttle, restrictions on the controls when the plane is damaged...

[Aapje]

13 hours ago, v2tec said:

It would be great, if real fighter pilots could confirm or support FFB devices to make them feel more "realistic", so that gamers could at least imagine how I would feel like.

We already know that 'weak' FFB devices like the Moza base cannot replicate real forces, which go to 40 pounds of force in the F/A-18C for max pulling to the rear. In non-fly by wire planes, the force can go way higher and overpower the pilot.

So you probably need the upcoming Winwing 60 Nm version to have a chance at some level of realism.

And I doubt that pilots could even tell you what is realistic, since the absence of major G-force will mean that the experience is totally different at the extremes. So it's not going to feel the same to them when sitting in an office chair, even if you would make the stick behave identically.

13 hours ago, v2tec said:

However, I was surprised to see some test videos with an F16, because the F16 is using a digital stick and you won't feel much FFB (I suppose).

The prototypes had a fixed stick, but this would result in pilots inputting roll when they only meant to pull, and vice versa. Also, pilots would not know when the limit was reached, so they would put maximum pressure on the stick, and would actually bend them.

So they changed them to have a dead zone, ¼ inch of stick movement, and a hard limit after pulling 25 Lbs.

You can actually buy dedicated force sensing sticks that mimic this, although that means an extra stick if you also want to fly non-force sensing planes. FFB devices allow you to have different behavior from the same device. The F-22 increased the travel of the stick by a lot, so FFB would allow you to mimic this. And the F-35 allows for the stick behavior to be programmed, so an FFB base is really the only way to mimic this (in theory even in the same way as on the real plane).

13 hours ago, v2tec said:

But it could be quite interesting for WWII planes or helicopters, feeling the wind drag, power of throttle, restrictions on the controls when the plane is damaged...

Yes, although the software implementations are rather bare bones right now.