I saw somewhere recently where a racing sim E-brake lever controller was recommended for use as a helicopter collective. I found a cheap one on Amazon, removed the spring from it, and made a bracket to attach it to my office chair. There is no twist throttle obviously, but it works well as a collective. It really improves the helicopter experience in MSFS!
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You have my attention, sir. I need prices and a URLs to check.
I thought these devices were mere buttons with only two values (on/off)
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Here is the Amazon link to the device I purchased:
It uses a hall effect sensor for the brake axis and it also has a single button that presses at one end of the axis stroke. The screenshot shows how I have it configured in Spad.next for the Calibri helicopter.
with hal sensor?! holy axis, Batman. This options is becoming more and more interesting. Also, from the photos on Amazon, I see that it includes a clamp that makes it easy to install on the chair.
I didn’t utilize the clamp for mine. I fabricated a new bracket for it that uses the left armrest attachment point. It fastens with three Allen head bolts. I am an engineer working from home so my sim setup needs to be able to break down and store easily as I don’t have a dedicated sim computer.
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Exactly the same happens to me, it must be easy to set up and remove (and store!). For that reason a relative a cheap solution like this one is very interesting.
I should also add that though it works pretty well, the hall effect axis is pretty twitchy. I am going to make some trial adjustments to the location of the magnet to see if I can get rid of some or all of the noise.
The price in my country is no so great, almost half of the price of pro version like the basic one of Virpil (now in sale). But, as the market of car simulation is huge, I’m seeing several offers in the 2nd hand market.
Also, if you’re finding that the sensor is only okay, I’d prefer to test before with one of the cheaper 2nd hand options I’m seeing.
On reddit I’ve found a similar case:
https://www.reddit.com/r/simracing/comments/10a68b6/trouble_calibrating_this_handbrake/
He was using this brake as collective but he suffered a lot jittering. Sadly didn’t metion if finally he found a solution.
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The jittering is a little annoying but didn’t prevent it from functioning adequately as a collective. I completed three successful flights in the Cabri with it last night. Currently the magnet is just barely over the sensor when the lever is in the full “up” position (when the spring would be in full compression were it installed) but moves further away from the sensor when the lever is moved down.
I looked through that Reddit thread and didn’t see that there was a concrete solution. I will post back here after further investigation and trial and error with the magnet.
I figured out last night that moving the magnet doesn’t decrease the jitters in the axis and also that the button press occurs when the magnet is directly over the sensor (max magnetic field strength detected by the sensor). One thing I do wonder is if a slightly stronger magnet would decrease the jitters and increase the range distance. As is, the axis does not use the full travel of the lever, so maybe a stronger magnet would be picked up further away from the sensor. I am no electrical engineer though so it is only speculation on my part. Further research required!
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I’ve just bought a 2nd hand unit for 50€. Let’s see what I find when I receive it 
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Hope it works! The jittering on mine is minor, and only noticeable when it is in the full down position and I hear the collective “rattling” against the stops. In flight it is not noticeable.
I am going to move forward with building mine out, adding mechanical stops to limit the lever travel to the axis range, and making a new bolt-on lever extension which will accept a future twist throttle to replace the provided lever. I already have the twist throttle but need to acquire another Thrustmaster T1600M joystick to cannibalize for the throttle project.
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You could mount an E-bike throttle over the end if you want a throttle. Most birds have a governor but I usually turn it of and fly manually. It’s amazing how much fine control it gives you once you figure out how to use it instinctively.
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I fabricated the extension and mounted the mini-bike throttle tonight. The throttle isn’t functional yet but one of these days I will get the rest of the parts get it hooked up.
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Nice. I recommend a cheap Arduino Uno clone and Mobiflight. Cheap, simple to hookup, and programming is stupid simple. It’s not really even programming, just selecting options from drop-down boxes.
Cheap and easy heli control setup. Went to my local Guitar Center and grabbed a cheap foldable music stand and a portable guitar stand. The music stand supports my keyboard on either side, and I made a base for the Thrustmaster throttle out of an old Pergo flooring remnant and secured it to the stand with small copper pipe clamps ( the foam block cushions it from tearing up my leg). The 5 lb. weight keeps it from wandering while in use. Obviously not a true collective, but the orientation gives me the feeling of up/down movement and unplugs for storage instantly.
Use what you got, right!?
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I have never used an Arduino type of device. Would this one work?
I also use Spad.next already. Could that be used in place of Mobiflight?
Yep. I know both the MEGA2560 and UNO boards are supported so that one will do the trick.
I’m not familiar with spad.next. The board has to be programmed. Mobiflight does this on the fly with one click. I don’t think spad does that but I’m not sure.
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