Thrustmaster launches Airbus licensed flight sim controls

[HEXUS]

TCA Airbus Edition designed for use in X-Plane 11 and Microsoft Flight Simulator.

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[Ttaskmaster]

Wicked!
Always good to see new flight sim kit, and at quite reasonable prices.

I especially love the idea of those flying clamps. I wonder if they'd work with the Warthot or maybe the CH Products stuff, too?

[kalniel]

They look incredibly cheap, hopefully stronger than they look.

[CustardInc]

They look incredibly cheap, hopefully stronger than they look.

Thankfully the use of a sidestick and fly by wire in the A320 mean that pilots don't need to lean on controls to maneuver the aircraft.


I assume the same goes for this USB version.

[lumireleon]

incredibly affordable ahem Saitek!

[Ttaskmaster]

They look incredibly cheap, hopefully stronger than they look.

So do the real Airbus ones...

TBF, Thrustmaster's stuff is usually pretty decent, even the low-end T16000M HOTAS.
CH Products kit also seems and feels very cheap, yet does actually last for decades even with heavy use.

incredibly affordable ahem Saitek!

Not worth spit since MadCatz took over them and seemingly unchanged under Logitech. However, I am still expecting/hoping Logi will use them as a springboard to launch some new kit, as good as or better than the old G940.

[QuorTek]

They look incredibly cheap, hopefully stronger than they look.

So do the real Airbus ones...

TBF, Thrustmaster's stuff is usually pretty decent, even the low-end T16000M HOTAS.
CH Products kit also seems and feels very cheap, yet does actually last for decades even with heavy use.

incredibly affordable ahem Saitek!

Not worth spit since MadCatz took over them and seemingly unchanged under Logitech. However, I am still expecting/hoping Logi will use them as a springboard to launch some new kit, as good as or better than the old G940.

CH Products is top Range, so is Thrustmaster.... CH may be made of plastic, but the quality product you buy will last you a life time, also you can buy springs and parts and whatever if something breaks or needs replacement.... most other brands do not offer that... I hope some of those industrial brands still keep making game stuff like this...

[Skorne]

The problem with TM is they are totally lazy. This is the 3rd reskinning of the same joystick they have been selling for over a decade. They give it a new coat of paint and up the price a little. What's worse the design is archaic, boasting a few usable buttons and 1 digital hat which makes it almost useless for anything other than basic arcade shooters. It's a shame we have to shell out over £300 to actually get a decent one and there's nothing in the midrange (Ex Saitek/Madcatz Logitech products are all dog rubbishrubbishrubbishrubbishe).

[Ttaskmaster]

CH Products may be made of plastic, but the quality product you buy will last you a life time, also you can buy springs and parts and whatever if something breaks or needs replacement.... most other brands do not offer that... I hope some of those industrial brands still keep making game stuff like this...

Oh, believe me, I know. That's why I bought a set!
It still feels cheap though and very lightweight. It's only in use that the quality starts to show through.

The problem with TM is they are totally lazy. This is the 3rd reskinning of the same joystick they have been selling for over a decade. They give it a new coat of paint and up the price a little. What's worse the design is archaic, boasting a few usable buttons and 1 digital hat which makes it almost useless for anything other than basic arcade shooters.

This is not a stick for gaming, it's quite specific to Flight Sims.

It's a shame we have to shell out over £300 to actually get a decent one and there's nothing in the midrange (Ex Saitek/Madcatz Logitech products are all dog rubbishrubbishrubbishrubbishe).

I actually had a personal tour of APEM Solutions, once. They make all the switches, joysticks, buttons and things for companies like Caterpillar, Aston Martin, Volvo and a lot of teh military contractors who make things like fighter aircraft.
They also own CH Products, which they bought solely because they wanted the machinery and tooling. They still produce the existing CH kit range, but it's a very niche market. Unless you're ordering stock in the quantities that Caterpillar do (ie 10,000+ of each switch type, per month) it's not financially viable for them to produce new, high quality kit at affordable prices... and there just aren't that many gamers out there using HOTAS or even just joystick setups.

Low end is anyone's game. MadCatz/Saitek cornered the midrange. Thrustmaster have the high end.
Beyond that, most flight simmers go to dedicated producers, who will happily furnish you with precise replicas of an F35 HOTAS with USB connection, but it will cost many times what a Warthog will.
There just isn't the market for what you want, at the price you want... the only hope is Logitech releasing something new, really.

[DanceswithUnix]

Thrustmaster have the high end.

From my Hotas-X I thought their target game it was "Race to the bottom"

I kill one of these every few years, and last I looked you can't buy them from Argos for £35 so no idea what I would get next. I had wondered if I could 3D print something and retro fit the electronics from the Hotas-X as so far it has been the switches and wires that fail. But at £35 it just wasn't worth the effort.

[Ttaskmaster]

From my Hotas-X I thought their target game it was "Race to the bottom"

That's their token entry to the low end.
You'd be better off with their T16000M, which is their mid-level model.
But the Warthog, their high end model, still has no real competitor without going for custom kit.

[maxmememax]

Looks like another reskin of the hotas x, although if it didn't look like a childs toy I'd definitely want one just for the sake of it.