HOTAS WARTHOG

[Pand]

Anyone scored one of these yet?  I'm still rockin out my HOTAS Cougar for the last 8ish years it's the best stick I've ever used.   Would be great to never have to replace the pots!

http://www.thrustmaster.com/product.aspx?ProductID=221

[Ack-Ack]

Check out the hardware forums, there is a thread discussing the new Thrustmaster Warthog and has some posts from someone that has one. 

ack-ack

[guttboy]

Pand,

I have not.  I just came back into the game after retiring the account 3 years ago (the year prior I was hard pressed to fly).

I dusted off all the controllers but the MSFF2 would not work.  I already have a CH Pro Throttle and CH Pro Pedals so after reading a ton prior to signing back up last week, I was in a dilemma....what stick to get?

My wife said that I could get what I wanted (gotta love that woman!) but I had to be sure I wouldn't just want something else in a few months.  I decided to go with the CH Fighterstick as I have liked the other CH products I have had.

I couldn't justify getting that setup (or the g940 or the X65) as I have never tried them and my older gear is still good.

All of the newer setups are very expensive but look really cool.  The magnetic sensors instead of potentiometers looks really neat but the idea of being able to swap out a pot quite easily makes going the Warthog route potentially very expensive.

[kvuo75]

All of the newer setups are very expensive but look really cool.  The magnetic sensors instead of potentiometers looks really neat but the idea of being able to swap out a pot quite easily makes going the Warthog route potentially very expensive.

the saitek x52 has been using the magnetic hall effect sensors for many years..

[zack1234]

x52 requires magnet mod for reduction of deadband and nose bounce

[Yeager]

$499 ?

[Pand]

$499 ?

Paid $300 for the HOTAS Cougar about 8/9 years ago and still working like a champ.  Only issue I've seen is a little play in the stick due to wear on the metal.  The style of the Warhog looks like it may have addressed this--- if so, I'd pay it in a heartbeat!

[guttboy]

the saitek x52 has been using the magnetic hall effect sensors for many years..

Did not know that Kuvo....When I started flying WW2 sims (back in the Kesmai days on AOL) the sticks I have used were all the Microsoft kinds ( and some off brands that I still have somewhere in the garage...LOL)....I loved the MS sticks and still have em all (5 of em???) and they served me well.

I did not look into the Saitek stuff because I was happy with my setup.  Boy have things changed! 

[Nurminen]

 

Warthog

[Reschke]

Pand

I have a Warthog sitting here on my desk that I won in a contest over at SimHQ. I had a Cougar and have had every iteration of CH and Saitek stuff. I loved my Cougar but I sold it to a guy up in NY state about 4 months ago. I did have to replace the pots in the throttle and I think the guy I sold it to just replaced the pots in the stick as well.

Anyway on to the Warthog. IN Aces High...the stick setup in the controller portion of the clipboard is very easily done. AH will recognize the separate stick and throttle controls easily and allows for easy setup of switches, buttons, etc... IF you want to use the TARGET software for building your own profile AH will recognize the Warthog as a single controller and that works as well. I have only built a small profile for engine start and guns just to see if it works and it does; I don't use that for AH at all.

For the stick it is easy to move around and in my opinion is much better than the Cougar in initial force required to move away from center. I have not noticed any problems in maneuvers and have found that it is much easier to stay in level flight compared to a Saitek because you have a little weight to move instead of the plastic feel of that stick.

Overall its the best HOTAS that I have ever owned and as I said I have owned almost all of them over the years from TM, CH, Saitek but not Logitech...I just can't bring myself to buy that one.

[Pand]

Pand

I have a Warthog sitting here on my desk that I won in a contest over at SimHQ. I had a Cougar and have had every iteration of CH and Saitek stuff. I loved my Cougar but I sold it to a guy up in NY state about 4 months ago. I did have to replace the pots in the throttle and I think the guy I sold it to just replaced the pots in the stick as well.

Anyway on to the Warthog. IN Aces High...the stick setup in the controller portion of the clipboard is very easily done. AH will recognize the separate stick and throttle controls easily and allows for easy setup of switches, buttons, etc... IF you want to use the TARGET software for building your own profile AH will recognize the Warthog as a single controller and that works as well. I have only built a small profile for engine start and guns just to see if it works and it does; I don't use that for AH at all.

For the stick it is easy to move around and in my opinion is much better than the Cougar in initial force required to move away from center. I have not noticed any problems in maneuvers and have found that it is much easier to stay in level flight compared to a Saitek because you have a little weight to move instead of the plastic feel of that stick.

Overall its the best HOTAS that I have ever owned and as I said I have owned almost all of them over the years from TM, CH, Saitek but not Logitech...I just can't bring myself to buy that one.

Thanks for review Reschke.  How is the programming... similar to foxy?   I currently don't do any 'assignments' with my cougar within aces high (except for the different analog axis)... I did all the programming in foxy that mapped to the appropriate key in game.

[Reschke]

Thanks for review Reschke.  How is the programming... similar to foxy?   I currently don't do any 'assignments' with my cougar within aces high (except for the different analog axis)... I did all the programming in foxy that mapped to the appropriate key in game.

T.A.R.G.E.T = some of the hardest things I have ever tried to do; First off I am about as far away from a software/programmer that you will ever get. I have a hard time thinking about how something should work in a program much less writing something to tell it what to do. With that said I could understand and actually wrap my brain around Foxy.

However with TARGET I have a much harder time understanding the way it works. The GUI for TARGET is not the easiest for me to work with and I have only just started out in the advanced portion of the program which looks similar to Foxy in the way it works.

ON THE FLIP SIDE!!!! It is amazing what you can do with this. You can combine all a Cougar (with pedals attached) with a Warthog, Cougar MFD panels and the T16000 into one controller if you need to. It allows multiple layers of programming; in all likely hood more that anyone will ever need for have a desire for; while turning all of those controllers into a single virtual device in the event that the game you are playing only sees single controllers and limited axis'.

In short its a powerful tool and it works with the Cougar and is free to download and play with. Beware though that it is a ever changing animal and may be somewhat unstable.

[Pand]

Pand

I have a Warthog sitting here on my desk that I won in a contest over at SimHQ. I had a Cougar and have had every iteration of CH and Saitek stuff. I loved my Cougar but I sold it to a guy up in NY state about 4 months ago. I did have to replace the pots in the throttle and I think the guy I sold it to just replaced the pots in the stick as well.

Anyway on to the Warthog. IN Aces High...the stick setup in the controller portion of the clipboard is very easily done. AH will recognize the separate stick and throttle controls easily and allows for easy setup of switches, buttons, etc... IF you want to use the TARGET software for building your own profile AH will recognize the Warthog as a single controller and that works as well. I have only built a small profile for engine start and guns just to see if it works and it does; I don't use that for AH at all.

For the stick it is easy to move around and in my opinion is much better than the Cougar in initial force required to move away from center. I have not noticed any problems in maneuvers and have found that it is much easier to stay in level flight compared to a Saitek because you have a little weight to move instead of the plastic feel of that stick.

Overall its the best HOTAS that I have ever owned and as I said I have owned almost all of them over the years from TM, CH, Saitek but not Logitech...I just can't bring myself to buy that one.

Just scored one last week--- and absolutely amazing ---  thanks for all the previous detail!

[maddafinga]

Heya pand, how have ya been?

[Pand]

Madda!  What's shakin man! Hope you're well --- Just back into the game over the last month or so--- how about on your end?  <S>