Love it. That gunfighter looks amazing. It would be wonderful if they offered a thinner GA version (think Diamond or Cub). Then again, the gunfighter is out of my budget and wouldn’t fit easily into my home office environment. I’ll need a sim-room for that I think!
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The Gladiator you already have is a superb stick - I completely agree with your OP, in that it feels and performs much better than you would expect for the cost. As you’ve already found it is a very noticeable improvement when compared directly to the TM Airbus stick, which is essentially a re-badged T16000M.
The big difference with the VKB comes from the gimbal design, the adjustable spring weights and the damping - these make it much more like a high-end controller, and leave everything else in its price bracket feeling like cheap plastic toys - even the pricy ones like the X56 or the Warthog.
You get the same kind of feel from the Gunfighter, just a bit more of everything - a bit smoother, a bit more precise, nicer buttons etc. The big step up once again comes from the gimbal. The all-metal cam and bearing setup means you can use the extensions (mine has the 100mm for GA or 200mm for helicopters) with anything from heavier springs to no springs & it gets even more precise with no noticeable centre feeling, plus the longer throw is more lifelike and the dampers are improved too.
People have asked a few times on the VKB forum for a simple GA stick but there’s not been anything announced as yet. There is the relatively plain KG12 available should you decide to upgrade in the future, or you could transfer your SCG grip from your Gladiator.
I work and sim from the same desk too, and it’s not quite as easy as with the Gladiator hotas I had, but the Gunfighter can still be un-clamped & moved out of the way pretty quickly, important as I don’t really want it showing up in Teams calls!
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How do you find the rudder pedals? It looks like they’re VKB too. Do they have toe brakes? I have the honeycomb Charlie and they’re my first set of rudder pedals so I appreciate having them, but they are absolutely massive and I’m not a big fan of the feel/tension - but toe brakes would be a must for me
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Yes, they are the VKB t-rudder, Mk. V. Like the Gladiator, they are simple and very solid.
Construction is all steel apart from the back cover for the electronics, and you can adjust the cam profile and spring weight from delicate fine control to thumping solid. I fitted a damper to mine (motorcycle kit), which adds weight and takes out some of the springiness & so helps to make them feel a bit more realistic.
As you noted, the “thing” with these is the lack of toe brakes. It was a decision by VKB to make them more like the pedals in warbirds & helicopters (and some more modern Russian a/c too I believe). As a side benefit, it keeps them rugged & reliable yet cheap and simple. There is a virtual toe brake axis, which you operate via any other physical axis & then vary the braking balance with the pedals. I use the lever on the back of the MCGU grip for the brakes axis.
I got them a few years ago and they are my first set of rudders, chosen at the time mainly because they weren’t expensive & also fit in with the VKB aesthetic and software. If I was getting some new pedals today, I’d probably go with the MFG Crosswind - they have normal toe brakes and are all-metal again.
Thanks. Very informative! Maybe I’ll sell my Honeycomb pedals and try the MFG Crosswinds at some point down the road / runway 
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