Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: Gman on April 15, 2018, 10:58:25 AM
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Found this snooping about last night, I'm going to try one out and see how it stacks up to the newer 32bit VKB/Virpil controllers.
The stick looks much like the early VKB Mambas/etc, the throttle like the generic ones from a few Russian companies and of course earlier Saitek. They have Hall sensors, and the stick is a 32bit unit apparently. For $200 CAD, around $160 USD, this could be the best bang/buck hotas out there should it work decently. Should have it by next weekend, it's a Canadian company stocking them, so shipping to me will be very fast. They are available on Ebay as well through the Dix30 store there.
https://www.dix30simulation.com/store/p421/Cobra_V5_HOTAS_Flight_Simulation_Combo.html?lang=en
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Sy0AAOSw4NpaxMy8/s-l1600.jpg)
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Interesting.................. .....
Would be interested in your analysis of this kit.
:salute
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Flashfire has been around for quite a few years. I believe they're a Chinese company making low priced joysticks and game pads, with their market usually being outside of the US, which is why it can be difficult to find their products available in the US. One of the main complaints about Flashfire products is the quality of the build and lack of any real software support as they generally rely solely on the default Window game controller drivers that come with any Windows OS, which means the drivers are only updated when Microsoft decides to update the generic game controller drivers for Windows.
Hardware quality also has a less then stellar reputation, usually the build is used with cheap plastics that tend to break easily and the electronics sometimes aren't put together very well. It's an inexpensive joystick, so you typically get what you pay for with these types of low quality products.
I'd also be very interested in your thoughts on the Flashfire HOTAS after you've been able to test it out. It does look like Flashfire has at least tried to make a "modern" stick with what appears (at least visually) to be a decent build. At first glance, it is obvious Flashfire took most of its inspiration from Saitek's first gen HOTAS controllers. I wonder if with this HOTAS controller that Flashfire has developed software for the controllers and also won't rely on the default Windows drivers. However, for the price, having a 32-bit HOTAS controller system is a good deal, provided the quality is there to back it up and that has been the main failing of Flashfire products.