I have had my Warthog for many years and only had one problem that required a repair: trigger button first stage stopped registering, so I had to replace the green multiplexer board in the stick grip that sends the button inputs in a serial chain down to the base. $40 to fix a stick/throttle that cost me $350 was better than any other alternative I had.
I don't like the feel of the Warthog, but you can't beat the precision. Fortunately my Warthog has yet to fail in any major way compared to some of the nightmares posted on the internet. But I also had good luck with all of my Saitek sticks: X-36 USB, X-45, and X-52 Pro. None of them ever failed other than minor problems with a switch or two that I could easily fix... Though the X-52 Pro twist rudder pot got noisy after years of no use and I am too lazy to open it up and see if I can clean or replace it.
I got a nice aluminum stick extension so that the Warthog stick's pitch-axis linear displacement at the top of the stick would match the distance of travel of my real F-4 Phantom stick and then mounted it so that the top of the stick is at the same height of the F-4 Phantom stick. This extension not only gave me a range of motion that matched my preferred real-life stick, but allowed me to truly leverage the 14-bit precision of the Warthog and almost eliminates the clunky/friction feel of the stick around the center.
However, there is still one drawback: a weak/constant centering force. The weak centering force is great for helo sims, but when I adapted my F-4 stick into a PC compatible USB stick using a BU0836X card, I had used some springs to give it self-centering: soft near the center, but hard when you pulled all the way back, with a linear change along the way. You could literally feel how far/hard you were pulling back on the stick. The Warthog stick keeps pretty much the same force no matter how far away I am from the center. I can't tell how far away the center is until I get there. When I get there, I know it all too well, because I can still feel the clunky transition in the spring mechanism as I cross the center. The extension reduced that effect, but it is still clearly there.
My home-made F-4/B-8 grip stick was truly smooth no matter which direction I moved, but I had the spring force high enough at full back extension that air combat maneuvering would eventually cause fatigue -- extremely realistic, though annoying. But the industrial linear pot I used to exactly match the motion range of the F-4 stick pitch axis would get dirty/noisy and I got tired of having to clean it every other day with a q-tip and alcohol. I also needed the more complex buttons/switches of the Warthog stick to many of the aircraft in DCS World. So I made the Warthog fit where my F-4 stick used to be in my home-made F-4 seat/console.
This new stick announced in this post looks great. The idea that it can be attached to a Warthog base is very attractive to me, since I am mostly happy with my Warthog install. If I could attach my Warthog grip to this stick's base, I might be interested in getting the new base, too. The analog brake lever on the stick grip is the appealing part. In DCS World, many of the flyable aircraft have their brakes applied by a lever on the stick. However, the Warthog grip still has a better button layout for many of the US jets I fly. So the ability to easily change between the Warthog grip and the new stick would be great for me. I also have an extra B-8 grip I would like to adapt to the Warthog style connector/multiplexer so that I could still have the true grip and feel of just about every USAF fighter from the P-80 to the F-15A (and many other aircraft and helicopters). But as long as my Warthog continues to work flawlessly, there is no pressure for me to get new hardware. So I can wait to see how others react to the new stick.
Baur's products have always fascinated me and his KG-13 grip that will fit on my Warthog stick is a very attractive product, not to mention his stick base and high quality pedals. But you basically have to deal with him using email / translators. There is no formal website providing clear information on what he currently is making/selling. I would be much more likely to buy his products if he had a formal website/web store for his products.
My rudder pedals are still the original Saitek Pro Rudder Pedals that I got when I bought the X-52 Pro. They still work as well as the day I got them. While some people recommend mods to eliminate the center detent and have a smoother more precise feel, I would rather not fix something that isn't broken. Since Saitek has had business problems and hasn't manufactured any new rudder pedals, my options for replacing them are limited. I don't like narrow width pedals like the CH Products or even the new Thrustmaster pedals, especially the way my stick is center mounted on a big box cover replicating the F-4 installation. So the Baur BRD and MFG Crosswind products are the most appealing to me. But again, Baur's presentation is less than optimal, so I am more likely to go with the Crosswind pedals. VKB Pedals with no toe brakes is a deal breaker for me. The random nature of their production schedule is a real turn off on their otherwise very attractive stick products, too.
It is sad the CH Products never released anything newer/better and have slowly gone downhill on the quality and support of their historically great sticks. But I never bought one because I just didn't like their sticks or throttles. The Saitek sticks were the best price/performance ratio for me for years. I only bought the Warthog when I saw it selling for $350 online one year. I am glad I bought it now, because Saitek went downhill, too.
But it is nice to how so many high end options these days, even if you have to ship most of them from Russia, or build them yourself.
