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About the HOTA Thrustmaster Warthog

HumdrumPenguin

Hello all,

 

Star Wars Squadron is about to be released coming Oct 2, and I was thinking into getting a HOTA to play with it. Flight Simulator is also out and have received great feedback from the community, so I'd be playing that was well. By doing a quick search, the HOTA that seems to be the top choice is the Warthog from Thrustmaster. It's currently not available on amazon.ca, but I'll keep an eye out for a future restocking. If this thing emulates well the amount of pressure you have to exert into the joystick based on aircraft attitude, speed, and so on, I doubt the base will be heavy enough to hold the stick in place without the need to use my other hand holding it down. Is that the case? My question is mainly directed to those who already have it.

 

Note.: I got a private pilot license in the past (not valid nowadays, I'd need to retake the test), so I know exactly what to expect from planes (at least from the Tupi aircraft). I fuddled a bit with a simulator in the past, but that was a good 20 years ago, so I suppose it doesn't count.

Note 2.: My computer can handle the game, so no worries about that (specs on my profile).

 

Thanks,

Penguin

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On 9/26/2020 at 2:35 PM, HumdrumPenguin said:

I doubt the base will be heavy enough to hold the stick in place without the need to use my other hand holding it down. Is that the case?

It really depends on your placement and posture, but it will most likely move if you dont fixate it.

 

Unlike other sticks the base plate doesnt allow much tilting/lifting. It does sligthly lift on the sides when I do fast moves on the roll axis, since the base is slightly narrower on the sides, but most of the time you may end up sliding the stick over your desk instead, due to its strong spring.

 

I dont see a big issue with Flightsim 2020 but space combat can require a lot of fast inputs that will make you push the stick over your desk. Also, keep in mind that the Warthog is ~28cm tall and having it on your desk may be fatiguing for your arm/shoulder. Just for reference, a T.16000m is ~24cm tall and allows your arm to be way more level.

 

There are many ways to keep it in place, like velcro pads, tape and  screws ofcourse but i'd recommend some mounts that go lower than your desk. Even if it might seem tedeous to reattach it every time, its weight is already to high to just casually move it to the corners of your desk.

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On 9/26/2020 at 8:35 AM, HumdrumPenguin said:

If this thing emulates well the amount of pressure you have to exert into the joystick based on aircraft attitude, speed, and so on, I doubt the base will be heavy enough to hold the stick in place without the need to use my other hand holding it down. Is that the case? My question is mainly directed to those who already have it.

 

 

The Warthog Hotas weights about 4kg for the stick and a little bit less for the throttle.

The stick is full metal and pretty resilient to being moved around on your desk unless you are really being way too rough with it.

You could club someone to death with the stick, it's that heavy.

The triggers and buttons/switches mimic the real world pressure requires to activate them so you aren't going to quick tap them for rapid fire.

The base gimble is pretty stiff compared to other sticks on the market but the pressure is static and doesn't change based on speed, alt etc..

The base feels much better than cheaper sticks but not as nice as a roller and cam system in a base from Virpil or VKB.

The base also tends to suffer from "Sticktion" after awhile and benefits from disassembly and re-greasing of the base. Placing a cover over the top of the gimble will prevent dust getting in there and extend the time before maintenance is required.

 

The throttle has a metal base and switched but the throttle handles are plastic so it doesn't feel quite as nice.  The TDC slew is also just a little mouse nub like a old ibm laptops so many people replace it with an upgrade sold by deltasim electronics out of the UK that is a drop-in replacement using a xbox/ps4 style joystick with depress.

 

I'm not sure what your budget is but the Warthog rides the line between high end consumer and low end enthusiast.

If you want to get a HOTAS better than a Warthog your going to be looking at about $1000 CAD for a throttle and stick/base.

You also need to take into account that the Warthog and most high end sticks don't have a twist axis so you will need a set of rudder pedals for yaw.

 

I'm currently running the Warthog Throttle with the DeltaSim TDC upgrade, Warthog grip with 10cm extension on a Virpil WarBRD base, and Virpil Rudder pedals mostly for NATO jets in DCS World.

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