It appears there is quite a small choice when it comes to flight control hardware. I mean yokes, throttles etc
Apart from the low end Saitek/Logitech pro flight line there doesn’t seem to be much choice for enthusiast/semi pro level flight controls. For example Thrustmaster released their TCA line of Airbus A320 replica sidestick and throttle quadrant. While this is good in terms of being a replica, it’s very consumer grade quality and probably won’t last a long time.
Virtual Fly is a perfect example of flight controls I’m talking about but there doesn’t seem to be much competition for them. This could partly be the reason why they are so expensive because there isn’t any other companies to compete with.
Don’t forget about honeycomb. These guys started with quality in mind and quickly built themselves a strong reputation. As a result, it means it won’t be the cheapest, but is now well established in the quality yokes and throttles.
I agree with the OP. But as was pointed out this is a very small “niche” market and there is no “mass production” going on. On my desktop I keep a folder that says “Flight Sim Gear” and is populated when I find a new piece of FS gear and note the web address. I think at present there are about 15 entries.
Honeycomb has the right idea - good quality at a reasonable price point BUT they cannot seem to keep up with demand. I have had my BRAVO throttles on order since they came out an still nothing. The WWW chip shortage and transportation problems are hurting them just as they are hurting every other manufacture who uses “chips”. FWIW
Brand recognition and distribution channels have allowed the 2 major players to basically push shoddy kit on the consumer for years. (and to also not need to revisit their designs or improve QA)
There are smaller companies out there but flight/space simulation has been such a small market for years that these companies remain small with little scope to scale their business.
VKB, Virpil and WinWing seem to have scaled up their businesses over the last couple of years with VKB taking a definitive lead in this trend, however all 3 remain small…
MFG and Slaw remain essentially 1 enthusiast building kit to order.
(For the record I’m surprised that some people have said their Honeycomb units are still on order from the time that they originally were released – I ordered both the Alpha and the Bravo direct from Honeycomb some time after they came out – not on the first production run but on later runs – and received each unit with an order-to-delivery time in the 4-8 week range. I waited until they were listed as in stock from a new production run, made my orders – at different times for the two units – and the orders were confirmed, then shipped after a few weeks.)
When it comes not to civil machines, there is enough choice for military models. VKB, Virpil, Winwing, Milan Flight Gear. just to name the “affordable” ones.
When it comes to value I would rank the Honeycomb on top as well. I use the Yoke with the Saitek panels. Unfortunately Honeycomb is not always easy to get. Short supply. Especially the Bravo Throttle
One company which does have the scale and manufacturing resources are Thrustmaster. They have already made a successful all metal build design with their Warthog range and also in their TPR pedals. It would be nice to see this level of build quality put into Yokes and Throttles aimed at more GA as opposed to Military which the Warthog range is aimed at. It might be a small market but there is obviously quite a high demand for these products, just look at the Honeycomb range.
When originally launched it was a good product. It had no competition.
But, it no longer really cuts it and it’s simply not worth the asking price.
The grip is metal yes (but they have cheaped out on it and it’s quite brittle)
The gimbal that this metal grip sits on is plastic and the design is dated. It’s basically just the T16000 gimbal in a pretty dress.
The buttons are pretty mushy.
It’s really just a bunch of cheap components masquerading as a premium product at a premium price and protected by brand recognition and distro channels.
If you are looking for a grip at the tier which the warthog pretends to be then VKB, Virpil and WinWing all offer full metal gimbal’s and use high quality components.
These metal gimbals also feature interchangable cams and springs to give you a feeling of increased aerodynamic forces on control surfaces as you move the stick away from centre.
The standard grips from VKB and Virpil may be plastic but on the whole they have chosen good grade plastics and these balance nicely on the gimbals.
VKB also have the metal MCG Ultra if you really must have a metal grip. They at least have used the metal grip to increase pull forces on the levers.
The warthog throttle is not bad to be fair. If you can’t pick it up on its own for a good price and don’t mind performing a bit of surgery on it to modify it then it’s ok.
The usual recommended hustle on r/hotas is to pick up the warthog kit (if reasonably priced) sell the stick and keep the throttle then mod it.
I didn’t realise they cheaped out on the internal components. I would however say that as an owner of their TPR pedals, these are all metal and very good quality. It feels like it will last a long time and had excellent reviews throughout the flight sim community.
I guess there was a time when there was no real competition and even then the comp was using the same cheap components.
The boutique companies like Virpil and VKB had to set themselves apart (and compete with one another) and so they used better components.
The difference in approach might be described as Thrustmaster and Logitech’s design philosophy was “make toys for PC gamers” whereas VKB and Virpil grew out of a community of enthusiasts building their own thing to meet much higher standards.
Don’t get me wrong. At time of launch the Warthog was pretty special…it’s just that the landscape at the time wasn’t particularly inspiring.
But fear not. It feels like we have entered something of a new golden age for flight and space sim’s.
Sim’s themselves seem to have experienced a resurgence in popularity in recent years, the small boutique companies have grown in size and the advent of affordable and accessible components and 3d printing have given rise to an increasingly strong “self build” community. Just check Authentikit out!
There’s so little choice is simple, really. Companies are in the business of making money and will provide products that they can get economies of scale on. They need to be able to produce a product at low enough costs to them to be able to bring it to mass market at a price consumers will want to purchase it at while turning a good profit.
Up until the release of MSFS, civil aviation simulators have traditionally been a very niche market. Simmimg is not everyone’s cup of tea. It may sound like there are a lot of us, but compared to someone wanting a flight stick for DCS or Elite: Dangerous, this WAS a very small market. MSFS changed the landscape significantly, I think.
That’s why on the mass market until now, we’ve only ever had Saitek / Logitech and CH yokes as options - both ancient and very shoddy and cheaply made products at best. These companies had no competition and had zero incentive to update their product or increase quality. For nearly 2 decades, they were “it”. Unless you wanted to buy the really expensive high end boutique yokes and throttles that start at 4x the price and go up from there, they were it.
Honeycomb have since joined the market providing high quality, but reasonably affordable products that have all but pushed Logitech and CH out of the market as the “it” things. Now, they’re basically the “if you buy that you’re either really tight on cash or an idiot” models.
And with MSFS now on Xbox, we’re seen Xbox-compatible products announced. Honeycomb will likely be the king there without any real competition. Others will likely follow as well. The Turtle Beach yoke looks good on paper. Maybe it will be. But if their headsets are anything to go by, I’m not holding my breath expecting anything less than the most cheaply built product they can get away with.
