Wow - This is complicated - All to play a flight sim !!! - Probably best to go slow with this one! - Please bear in mind that I’ve never used a flight sim EVER - So, it would be best to go through the options and narrow them down as much as possible to get to the best options.
Just been watching a video for Yokes and throttles - Apparently Honeycomb is a very good choice for this.
On another video someone mentioned that Virpil produce very good amazing controllers as well and are super-super-sturdy but I don’t know anything about them.
Some people even use foot pedals for rudders ??? - Any info. and please share your use scenarios - Thanks
EDIT - The reviewer here mentioned expandability - And even placed an item on top of the throttle - Info please ?
Naturally, I don’t wish to add too many hardware items - So to work out best scenario for ALL uses of this title would be amazing - Thanks
Good hardware is essential to enjoy any type of simulator. That being said, if you only want to fly aircraft having a yoke, the Honeycomb Alpha yoke and Bravo throttles are quite good. I use them myself.
However if you also want to fly helicopters and gliders or fast military aircraft, then I would consider getting a joystick first. A joystick is just more versatile. It can be a simple type like the Logitech 3d Extreme, which I have enjoyed in the past, or a more sophisticated HOTAS, like the Thrustmaster Warthog, which I use now.
And do not forget to obtain rudder pedals, especially if you consider flying helicopters. Rudder pedals give a much more accurate control of your aircraft on the ground as well as in the air. All real aircraft (airplanes, gliders helicopters, fast jets and passenger transports) have them. Personally I use the MFG Crosswind pedals and I can highly recommend them. They are by no means cheap, but extremely versatile and reliable. Logitech sells much cheaper rudder pedals, which would suffice at the beginning.
So at the beginning, I would choose a joystick and rudder pedals. Yoke and throttles later, if you decide the flight simulation is for you.
OK I take your point about a joystick which I’ll look at later.
Honeycomb do the pedals as well - Are they any good?
I’ve checked out the link you gave MFG - Crosswind and they are more expensive than Honeycomb - But maybe they are more sturdy? - Another reviewer mentioned Honeycomb are better than Logitech - Not that Logitech are bad !!!
Do pedals do brakes as well - You can tell I’m not simmed-up yet -
Thanks for the links - I’ve found a link on Youtube for the Saitek pedals and they have a variable control for the tension - Is this model the one you have?
EDIT - Is it OK to mix and match the controls so if so for example the Honeycomb Yoke was opted for - The Saitek pedals could be used?
EDIT - Just read that Saitek have been aquired by Logitech - Don’t know if this would impact on quality and be different from the video?
The price of the pedals Saitek is around 100 where as the Honeycomb are over 300 whether this is $ or £
I have a both a V2 set, and a V3 set with the hydraulic damper. They are built like tanks, and very nice to use. They have hall effect sensors for both the rudder axis, and both two brake axes, so no pots to get noisy over time. I have had the V2’s since 2015, and they still look as good as the day I bought them.
For yoke, I highly recommend the Fulcrum One. If cost is an issue, I would pick the CH Eclipse over the Honeycomb Alpha. The latter has comparatively less resistance in the roll axis,l bs pitch, which isn’t realistic at all, whereas the Eclipse has resistance in both pitch and roll. The Fulcrum One is all metal, feels far better and is more precise than either the Eclipse or the Honeycomb. I can’t imagine that there is a yoke out there that feels better or more realistic than the Fulcrum One. It is well worth the money.
I have the Honeycomb throttles for their versatility. You can set up for non-complex single, complex single, twin, or two and four engine airliners. It is a very nice throttle system.
I concur with @hobanagerik on the MFG Crosswinds. I have V3 with the hydraulic dampener and the Cessna pedals and I find them to have a very realistic feel. They are metal and indestructable. I’d say they are a better deal than the new Thrustmaster pendular pedals.
HC Alpha - no resistance in roll axis?? Of course it does, via bungees, The further the roll, the greater the resistance to 180 degrees in each direction.
Hello - I’ve made a note of the Fulcrum edition - And it is £400 GBP + VAT = 480 just for the Yoke - It does look good but I’ve heard the Honeycomb Yoke & Honeycomb Bravo throttle are very good - Far from the worst choices - As I’ve never done any SIM before these will be great because if they can keep picky enthusiasts happy enough they will be fine.
For the pedals I’m going with the Saitek Pro Flight Rudder Pedals - Again I’m sure they’ll be more than good enough for quite a while - There maybe better options available for a lot more money.
If the SIM goes well enough they can be upgraded - But I’d like to keep the hardware purchases to a minimum as it’s more items to find storage for if not in use!!!
That’s what I’ve got (Honeycomb yoke and throttle and Saitek pedals). I’m pretty happy with them as an interface to the aircraft that I fly most (C152, C172 and Twin Otter).
Supposedly Honeycomb is coming out with rudder pedals that will probably be better than the Saitek pedals, but they’re just vapour ware at this point (they’re already almost a year past their initial delivery estimates).
Hi - Honeycomb have released the Charlie Rudder Pedals - Which look super sturdy but cost £200 GBP more than the Saitek (Logitech) pedals - I saw a review on Youtube and they have a variable tension for the pedals which looks useful - And they cost under £100 - So for a 1st time SIM - They gotta be good !!!
All-MTCs worth.
There are a number of different controls devices on the market which are good. I personally believe buying the best built equipment in the long run saves me money. I have to balance that out with my budget. I owned HC-BTQ, and found it cheaply made, plus made in China and down on them for long time. So, I replaced it with Virpil TM-3 Throttle. I keep that on the left side, since it mimics the F-14 layout. I had a Logitech 3D Pro joystick, but it was getting long in the tooth, and sloppy, so I replaced it with a Virpil VFX JS and the mongoose base. That JS mimics the F-14 as well down to the colors of buttons. I keep in on the right. I kept my physical layout of devices since I have a big U-shaped desk and have limited space in the middle. VKB as I understand it makes excellent stuff as well. Yoko the yoke is the absolute tops in the yoke department, but it’s also the most expensive sans the real cockpit experience.
There are pros and cons on JS versus Yokes, and separate throttle units, I have used JS for 30 years of so, so stayed with that since it actually makes no difference in the game unless you just got to have total realism. If that is your goal, then X-Plane is way more real than MSFS, and it works better as well. MSFS has one shining light, the graphics are Steller, that comes with a huge performance ticket which needs to be punched.
Where do you see Honeycomb Charlie rudder pedals shipping already? All I see are companies offering pre-orders with notes about their being available to ship starting in late 2022.
I guess it doesn’t matter because I am not buying them anyway… But I’m curious if I missed something or if my Google-Fu is failing me.
Hi - Actually it was on Amazon UK - They seem to be shipping on October 27 2022 - Sorry for the inaccuracy but they are advertising them for October 27th 2022. As it is I saw they cost £339 on Amazon but the Saitek variant is under £100 so these are best at this stage.
The more premium pedals (most from VKB T-Rudder up) tend to have largely metal construction with contactless sensors for all functions, and hence are not subject to much wear and tear. Compared to plastic potentiometer based pedals like Saitek’s they’ll last longer and lose resale value far slower. This means that even though they might have higher purchase price you can end up paying less for more with them.
For yoke and throttle, it’s worth considering that Honeycomb Alpha and Bravo are actually quite expensive together. For instance, at roughly the same price point you could get the Thrusmaster Boeing yoke bundled with the throttle unit, essentially a tradeoff of the yoke to a better one and throttle to a more basic one. Heck, at the time of writing you could even get VKB Gunfighter (with the old model discounted WW2 grip), an extension to it, a TWCS throttle and even throw a cheap center mount for the Gunfighter for similar price as Alpha + Bravo (and the stuff I said about pedals while ago applies about as much to the metal Gunfighter base). Do you really need all the functions on the Bravo, or are you just overinvesting on a throttle when you could be buying top of the line primary flight controller instead?
I use all the functionality of the Bravo in the Twin Otter. And I use all but 4 of the throttle axes (e.g. all the switches and knobs and two of the six throttle axes) in the steam gauge C172.
Edit: I should add that the trim wheel on the Bravo is what sold me on it.
@Roland101
Don’t forget Honeycomb have a new version of yoke coming soon with new features - mainly more bit precision and flat top of box to accommodated the Logitech panels, called the Alpha Flight Controls XPC.
Hi - So, version 2 is flat top and version 1 is not? - If more panels were added - would would they be put when using with version 1? - I think the one ordered is the version 1 then - with the throttle - and there was some money off so £484 for both.
If the version 2 is $349 USD then that will be £349 GBP just for the Yoke - Plus the thruster which is £235 - So maybe I got an OK deal on this?
