Flight controller hardware?

  • This is good info -- thanks for sharing. I haven't had time to work on some kind of hybrid physical + VR controls thing, so whatever you are discovering will be useful to us. How are you getting around the desk-blocking throttle problem in the C172? By sitting way back before WMR Portal gets launched?

    Looks like your "cockpit" would be suitable for Airbus heavies also. My son is an aeronautical engineer for Boeing and told me they went with a yoke on the 787 and probably anything future because that's what the pilots have requested in their surveys.

    Later...

    Roy, I push my office chair back about a foot from the edge of my VR Cockpit floor to give arms length clearance with the VR controller in my right hand. I mapped the re-center VR view and the MENU to buttons on the base of the joystick. I plan to get Voice Attack up and running later tonight. Since the Odyssey has built-in mics I thought I'd give it a try for VR view centering and time adjust.

  • I've had the Saitek X52 for going on ten faultless years. As an old stick and rudder man, it feels comfortable and familiar with the separate throttle BUT it has weak areas. The X52 stick has a single spring for axis control - fairly wobbly and it induces a bit of overcontrol, especially in pitch but that can dampened easily with a bit of memory foam. The Pro version adds a 25 cent spring for an additional several dollars.

  • Each to his own so here goes - I like the following joystick/throttle for VR because the stick force is medium but with great centering and the POV hat plus two top/bottom buttons for elevator trim. The throttle is a separate device (but linked with a 2 foot cable) and I place the Xbox controller between them for more buttons and axes if needed.

    Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas 4 Flight Stick for PS4 & PC - $60 USD

    I also use some voice commands for dealing with the autopilot knobs and other aircraft mode input.

    I am an ex Boeing Flight Sim developer (yoke was standard) but there is a very good reason why Airbus chose a joystick - to free up some room in front of the pilot!

    Dave W.

  • Good idea ref the Xbox controller. I have one with my rift but have never used it. Can you tell me what assignments you have to it please?

    Well it seems theres a few bugs, some things you can't assign to certain buttons. I just use it more for game functions than flyings.

    Up/down on D-pad for time. Annoyingly you can't have an analogie stick for this, you can assign it but it doesn't work.

    Left thumbstick for rotating view around plane, for when I'm outside view. Sadly zoom doesn't seem to work when assigned to a stick.

    Bumper buttons to change view.

    Y for screen shot without overlay.

    Click right thumstick for lacations. Another weird one, it lets you assign but not use any of the X, Y, A, B buttons for this.

    So I have no aircraft controls assigned, which may be more useful if you fly the bigger birds and needs TO/GA etc.

  • Thanks for all the advice.

    Making a decision has proven harder than I had expected!

    Unless anyone can offer a reason not to, I'm inclined to opt for the Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS HOTAS which includes both the T.16000M FCS (Flight Control System) flight stick and the TWCS (Thrustmaster Weapon Control System) throttle.

    Amazon are selling the system for £109.99 (GBP) which certainly compares well to even buying via eBay, where it is consistently more expensive from all sellers, including, surprisingly, even in used condition.

    Obviously the item lacks the rudder pedals but, since they aren't strictly necessary, I'll go without them for now - I can always add them at a later stage if I decide they would help.

    I've yet to commit but, at last, I'm very close! :)

  • That's the kit I've ordered Roy.

    Delivery from Amazon, despite being a Prime subscriber isn't expected until Saturday or Sunday - they were out of stock when I placed my order.

    On balance it seemed to be the best option, representing both value for money and feature rich enough to deliver an adequate control solution.

    Please pass on the PDF. Inevitably, getting reasonable control mapping sorted out is the largest part of developing a level of comfort with the new hardware.

  • Please pass on the PDF. Inevitably, getting reasonable control mapping sorted out is the largest part of developing a level of comfort with the new hardware.

    I got your "Message From EGPF: Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS HOTAS setup" in my email. I don't know how you sent that or how to reply to it, so will respond here. I wasn't quite sure if you meant you would pass on the offer because you wanted to start from scratch, or I should pass it along. :)

    Attached are some files you might find useful - FS2 controller settings file, pdf file of my settings, blank pdf file for jotting down your settings. If you want to use my controller settings file as a starting point, got to \Documents\Aerofly FS 2\ and rename gc-map.mcf to xgc-map.mcf, then copy my file to that directory, and rename it from .txt to .mcf. When you start FS2 my settings should be there.

  • I got your "Message From EGPF: Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS HOTAS setup" in my email. I don't know how you sent that or how to reply to it, so will respond here. I wasn't quite sure if you meant you would pass on the offer because you wanted to start from scratch, or I should pass it along. :)

    Attached are some files you might find useful - FS2 controller settings file, pdf file of my settings, blank pdf file for jotting down your settings. If you want to use my controller settings file as a starting point, got to \Documents\Aerofly FS 2\ and rename gc-map.mcf to xgc-map.mcf, then copy my file to that directory, and rename it from .txt to .mcf. When you start FS2 my settings should be there.

    Many thanks for your help Roy,

    That's perfect, exactly what I was looking for!

    I thought I'd drop you a PM via the forum but I couldn't see an obvious way of doing that. I noticed that the option to send a message using email was present so opted for that - your email address isn't provided, only a form to complete and submit; the website software deals with it from there. I was relieved since I'm not keen on my email becoming widely available either! :)

    I'll get to work with the assignments. I'm very happy I opted for the Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS HOTAS system, it's clearly well designed and built while offering plenty of customisation, whether using the software specifically designed for it from Thrustmaster or via the more traditional route within games and sims.

  • We actually mapped all controllers we had (which are a lot) the way that was presented by the manufacturer on the packing or manual. So you should just be able to look at the joysticks manual to find out what the button does in Aerofly per default.

    Thanks Jan, a good point and worth pointing out but...

    The Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS HOTAS system is certainly recognised by AFS 2 and allows a reasonable level of control, however, given the significant number of buttons, mini-sticks etc. on the Joystick & Throttle combo, many functions remain unmapped.

    I'm keen to take best advantage of all that the hardware is capable of delivering and ,additional configuration is necessary to do that at the moment.

  • I'm very happy I opted for the Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS HOTAS system, it's clearly well designed and built while offering plenty of customisation.

    I came to the same conclusion -- best bang for the buck for my kind of flying. 46 programmable controls at high resolution for $100.

    Later...

    p.s. I don't use the TM TARGET software.

    Edited 2 times, last by RoyPettit (March 11, 2018 at 8:50 PM).

  • There are something like 18 slider options in the control settings menu not counting the multi engine combinations. What sort of controllers do the developers have in mind to make use of these options?

    The Arduino Leonardo appears to windows as a joystick and it can read 12 analog pots. Can it be used to provide many of the extra axes and can two Leonardos be connected to give control of 24 pots? The Leonardo joystick USB emulation is in hardware.

    In March this year Purus posted

    "I have several input devices (Saitek Yoke, Saitek Cyborg Evo Force, Saitek TPM, Saitek Flight Quadrant, ...) my problem is that in AFS 2 only one input device can be actively selected."

    Is this true in the current FS2? I had hoped to use a joystick and a multi pot Leonardo in combination.

    Edited once, last by Overloaded (June 21, 2018 at 2:45 AM).