After purchasing and trying over the years many controllers for the throttle/flaps such as the Saitek etc. I just abandoned them all for their plastic cheap feel…
Then I was lucky to have found a refurbished Hotas Warthog (A10) Throttle quadrant some 10 years ago and since, I never switched from it to any other plastic throttle controller… The material quality, solid built and especially the smooth motion / feel and the precision of the throttle is too good even if dedicated to a fighter experience…
Now since the Honeycomb Bravo Quadrant was released I am tempted to get it as it is a more versatile multi type and customizable quadrant… However its plastic look made me hesitant…
Now my question is for those who have the A10 Hotas and the Bravo one, how does the Honeycomb levers motion feels in comparison?
I have both, the Honeycomb Bravo and the Watrthog throttles. When flying an aircraft with a yoke, I use the Honeycomb Alpha and Bravo and when flying an aircraft with a stick, I use the Warthog HOTAS.
There is no question that the Warthog feels much more solid and lifelike. The Alpha yoke feels okay, but the Bravo throttles feel like a child’s toy. Especially with the commercial jet throttle knobs attached. The speed brake handle is tiny compared to the ones on real Boeing aircaft and the throttle knobs seem to be made for the hand of a ten year old. I have tried commercially available 737 throttle knobs, but they turned out to be a vey wobbly affair. So I removed them again.
Having flown 727s and 737s IRL as well as having worked on 707s , 747s and L-1011s in maintenance, I know what size the throttles should be.
I do like the switches and the autopilot controls o the Bravo though. They come in very handy when flying in VR.
Still looking for life sized commercial jet style throttles.
Thank you so much for the review. This is exactly what I was worried about. I think I will wait for perhaps a newer edition or another solution. I love the Warthog quadrant but obviously for civilian jets the versatile system with flaps and spoiler lever as well as gears etc was tempting. But not if it feels like the Saitek did
I love the value of my Bravo Quadrant. But then, plastic feel doesn’t bother me. All I ask is that the buttons, switches and levers do their job precisely and repeatably. Having six levers I can program for different axes is a good thing.
I got the bravo. I can find myself in the critics with the default knobs. They feel very plasticy and childlike due to their size. Luckily there are a lot of 3rd party addons available. I’ve been using stuff from FlightSimFactory for a while now and those are amazing. Snug fit into the levers, good size, gated flaps and levers where applicable. These combinations I really recommend
I love the bravo. For most setups, I get the various attachments from Etsy. It’s nice to have realistic sized quadrant for the Kodiak, PC-6 Porter, DC-6 etc
Then I got the GoFlight TQ6, that is the closest in versatility to the Honeycomb Bravo. One of the levers broke inside of it so I gave it to a friend… It was clunky, wobbly and not so solid and also small in the hand…
And then I got the Saiteks as gifts along with the Yoke and Pedals and it was probably the cheapest in quality and precision… Also the version / years I had were affected by cheap potentiometers that made them quickly develop spikes in the motion… So I also donated the yoke and quadrants along with the CH ones…
Hopefully a versatile solid one from Thrustmaster will see the light. Unfortunately Their Airbus and Boeing offerings are very specific and limited vs Honeycomb bravo…
I was reluctant to post it because I don’t know if the Warthog works differently, but what annoys me the most is that the Bravo has no reverse axis. Each axis has “reverse” which is a button (when you lower the handle, you pass a point which activates a button which is configured for “reverse” in MSFS). Saitek’s throttle quadrant works the very same way. It’s impossible too put a compatible turboprop in Beta Mode with that.
It’s fine 99% of the time though, I think no one goes foro “half reverse” anyway. If you had a reverse axis on the throttle and not a button-disguised-as-an-axis, you may miss that
I’ve been learning SPAD, which has scripting, and wondered whether I could use that ‘button’ to trigger the throttle axis to invert. Voila, a true variable reverser. Then, when the ‘button’ is pressed again, it reverts the throttle axis back to normal. Still much to learn in SPAD before I start learning scripts.
Yep, did that once (although I’m using Axis ad Ohs ^^). Life’s strange, it was easy for me to program this, but making my arm learn the gymnastics of pull-pushing the handle was kind of impossible
I use my Hotas throttle as a right handed quandrant, the Off position of the Thrust levers became the reversers and it is also a button or a switch. I do not remember if the TQ6 quadrant I had with the Boeing style reverser levers were a button or had a range
www.virpil.com = you cannot go wrong, 95% metal construction. Setup config is stored inside device and that is then put into sim. So you calibrate it on your PC and it then talks to MSFS. I had Logitech 3D Pro and MS Joystick with vibrations, MS was best quality, they quit making them. Logitech is plastic mostly, and gets loose. Had virpil for over two years, and it’s as good today as the day it was delivered. DO NOT SETUP MORE THAN ONE DEVICE AT A TIME. You then disconnect first thing, hookup second thing, configure and blah, blah. Once all configured using Virpil Software, all can be hooked up to PC or powered hub. I cannot speak for Yoko the yoke, but owned honeycomb TQ, and it was too big for my office and was flimsy feeling. Sold it, got the virpil and never looked back. I also got the Monster Tech Flight Chair, and that is good. Some wobble, but not too bad. It’s been year and no change on it either. I try to fly 10+ hours week if can.
Virpil seem awesome (especially if one day I will invest in Helicopter controllers) but the throttle system is also military aircraft and in this respect my Hotas Warthog is excellent after all these years…
If they build a civilian quadrant then this will be a different story and I will be certainly tempted… But I also see their rudder pedals being from another league than the plastic ones on the market today for sure
Their ace rudder pedals are top of the line, use my set every flight. The TM-3 Throttle unit also is excellent, unit levers can be bound to 4 engine jet, and helicopters, or one for collective and one for the other thing maybe. Don’t fly H’s. Best flight devices ever, ever owned period. Manuals are good, customer support is excellent, although time lag from where I live to company.
You can also do the same with FSUIPC to trigger an inverted Throttle axis.
But other than backing out of a gate without a tug I have never really needed it.
