Which HOTAS??

Hi Newbee here , i am new to DCS and was wondering which HOTAS and Rudder pedals should i buy? Any advice would greatly be appreciated

You‘re asking in the A-10 forum, so the answer is Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS, of course. Rudder pedals MFG Crosswind. If you have even more money to spend get a better base for the Warthog stick from Virpil.

If you're on a tight budget, the t-flight HOTAS X

If you're on a budget, but have some room to play, the t-16000m fcs.

If money is no object, the Warthog is about as good as it gets for flying A-10s. The new TPR pedals look pretty nice; MFG Crosswinds are also an excellent choice.

Warthog is as good as it gets button mapping/layout wise. The stick base and gimbal is however pretty so-so compared to other brands, so if you have a large budget I would by a TM WH HOTAS-set, unscrew the A-10-grip, throw the base out (or go through some hoops buying only the throttle and grip) and then go for a Virpil T-50 base. A-10 grip fits without any adapters and is miles and miles and miles ahead of the TM base.

VKB has a few bases as an option too if you live in a region where they are available (which in reality means not Europe) but needs an adapter to fit the A-10 grip.

I have four flight rigs at my place including a full vr cockpit (hey we are a flying family for decades). I dont know your budget but will cover a few rigs superficially.

I agree with others, Warthog is the way to go, esp for the A10c. I have two of them and they are great. (We have four full blown flight setups at my place)

I have three sets of rudder pedals. I prefer the Saitek pro Pedals. Comfortable, adjustable, sturdy and a good width apart. I also have a set of Crosswind pedals, which are more expensive, but other than being able to say you have a pair of them, (they look cool, are way more expense etc) offer no serious functional difference over the Saiteks.) We also have some CH pro pedals around here which are reliable (and a little cheaper) but dont have adjustable tension, to suit the flyers taste as the others above. They are also are somewhat narrowly spaced

We have two VKB sticks, the MCG Pro. They are two very nice sticks, if you are only doing WW2 flying the KGB is fine, modern flying with all the additional hotas controls requirements is best suited to the MCG Pro. They have a lighter throw to them but feel very precise.

We have a number of Saitek throttle quadrants which are good esp for general aviation or WW2 stuff. I the past I had a full CH pro fighter set up which served me well for many years. My kids used the Thrustmaster HOTAS X which is a good introductory price HOTAS but ultimately, they all moved on from there The Thrustmaster T1000 with the hall sensors is an accurate reliable and good stick as well, but with less switches and hats, has limited utility to modern AC like the A10.

Our rigs are kitted out as such:

Main VR Rig: Thrustmaster Warthog set up, Saitek por pedals. Thrustmaster MFDs (with displays behind them), Custom made cockpit panel and powered by Arduino, and HTC VIVE. (And TIR for non VR)

Secondary flight rig (Guest/ backup/ travel): Thrustmaster Warthog throttle, VKB MCG Pro stick, crosswind pedals, VR insights panel, TIR, another set of TM MFDs with a box set up for travel with working displays. (I replaced my warthog stck here w the MCG Pro and am trying it out for a year)

Youngest sons rig: VKB KGB stick, Saitek quadrant, Komodo helicopter collective, CH Pro pedals, TiR, some various GoFlight panels.

Other sons rig we put together as needed but bolted to his area are: Saitek throttle quadrant. Then we have a Saitek General aviation yoke or a thrustmaster t.1000 as needed, TIR, and Saitek pro pedals.

Piled up in a box for use as needed: a couple TM Hotas X, more CH Pro pedals, fighter stick and fighter throttle, more Saitek Quadrants, TM F16 Viper Quadrant and stick, More MFDs,more Go Pro stuff, Saitek control gauges. It’s a flight sim jungle over here.

With lots of experience with all this stuff, and your query re A10c, I recommend the Warthog, HOTAS if you can afford it.

However at the end of the day the Set up that is best for you is the one you get used to and are comfortable with. Cheers.

I've never had anything other the CH Products gear. My first set lasted 12 years at which point one of the breaks on the pedals stop working. I passed on my whole set up to a buddy who was just getting into DCS and then replaced my old stick, throttle, and pedals with the same. Their throttles require regular software calibration but they work great and have been extremely reliable. Entire set up (CH Pro Throttle, Fighterstick, and Pedals) should run about $400 if you buy from Amazon. The 'fighterstick' is a replica of the F-16 / A-10C stick.

Saitek/Logitech X52 and X52 pro are popular budget options that many folks have created A10c profiles for here. You will also get pretty good support in the forums if you run into issues setting it up. I have not had any problems with mine. This is not the same level of fidelity that the TM Warthog has.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

I'll just add re: the Saitek pedals the build quality is exceedingly poor for the price point in my opinion. Both toebrakes on my own set failed within 2 years (the left pedal died after only three months) and almost everyone I know has had the same experience with them. I'd advise against those.

I've had a set of Saitek pedals for at least 8 years now. No problems here at all.

I'll add my vote for the HOTAS Warthog for the stick and throttle. Solid construction, and the DCS A-10C manual is geared toward it, so its the easiest to integrate.

To be honest as the A-10C is the most modern aircraft (upgrade) in DCS, it does have the best HOTAS layout and intuitive systems.

So that would mean, that its HOTAS would be the most versatile one you can get. The only thing it is missing is the afterburner detentes, but I heard there are mods for it.

For the a-10c the best hotas possible is the Thrustmaster hotas warthog, obviously.

But, as someone have said, its base is good but not the possible existent, they suggest to change it with a virpil one.

If you want to have the best value for money (maybe to get one or two dcs modules instead of putting all your cash on hardware), I suggest you the Thrustmaster t.16000m flight pack, the one I have.

It is not specific for the a-10c, but maybe you'll fly other modules too, and with more or less 200 € you'll have a lot of stuff: its base is quite good (it is exactly the same hardware according to internal gears and circuitries of the hotas warthog); it has enough buttons and hat switches to easily set all of the a-10c hotas functions (with just one modifier); it includes a set of rudder pedals (maybe not the best possible, but pedals in general are not so much useful with fixed wings aircraft and these ones are good enough to be ok for flying helicopters). Its major drawback is its single engine throttle. For twin jet aircraft like the a-10c the double throttle could be useful is specific situations (single engine failure, crosswind landings maybe?).

The only thing it is missing is the afterburner detentes, but I heard there are mods for it.

It actually ships with afterburner detents as well. There's a piece at the front of the throttle you just need to unscrew and flip over.

I wouldn't worry about the Virpil base at the beginning. The stock TMWH is fantastic, if you go that route. After a few years of heavy use you might want to look into a replacement at which point it makes sense to grab the Virpil base but until that time I doubt you'll feel there are any issues, especially as a person new to flight sims.

I have to agree with the pro-Warthog recommendations. I upgraded from a TM Cougar to the Warthog and am happy with my purchase. Although it is a Warthog specific in layout, you can program the switches to suit your jet of choice (just ignore the labels). I've flown the Harrier, Hornet, Eagle and even the Viper with it (I keep my key binds similar when possible).

It is a near perfect fit with the Hornet. I know some people have experienced issues with theirs but I haven't had any problems with mine. The throttle base is rather hefty but I avoid usign the AB detent because you have to lift the throttles to engage them and my base is not permanently mounted.

That said, I'm pro-Warthog but everyone's experiences and preferences differ.

--T

I bought the WH as i wanted to commit to the A10c module, and don't regret that, it's much easier to learn when the controls match the real thing.

i have my warthog for almost 7-8 years and never have any issue with them it rock solid and hell i was one of the first 4000 pieces that i got :lol:

I had 2 cheap saitek sticks Cyborg and another one with integrated throttle, some of their buttons just broke and at a later point some pots died. After that i went for a x52 which served me like 4-5 years before some internal parts broke and pots went crazy on almost all axis. As soon as the throttle died on my x52 i needed a replacement and went for the thrustmaster 16000 set and i love it. The stick sensors are great and everything feels a bit more solid compared to the x52. You can also add the 3 buttons from the throttle to your modifiers list in the dcs controls section and triple the amount of buttons on your stick or double the amount of hat switches on the throttle itself. But if you have lots of money left i would go for a virpil or vkb stick with mfg crosswinds or the vkb pedals depending if you have a flight rig setup or if you just mount your hotas to a desk. The next stick i am going to buy is for sure something in vkb/virpil range if my gear doesn't break in a timeframe where i don't have any reserves left and i have to go for a cheap one again :)

Thank you all for the usefull advise , i have just ordered the warthog hotas Can anyone recommend a good headset with a good clear mic for multiplayer mode

Thank you all for the usefull advise , i have just ordered the warthog hotas Can anyone recommend a good headset with a good clear mic for multiplayer mode

Get an Oculus Rift. Built in mic and VR awesomeness.

I use a turtle beach, great n clear with good sound

Can anyone recommend a good headset with a good clear mic for multiplayer mode

It's hard to recommend headsets because they really are a matter of preference. Still, I'll try to give you some options.

I have a Sound Blaster Tactic3D (wired), which is a lower-end headset with good sound and mic. I prefer over-the-ear cups and this set works for me. It is also comfortable with extended use and does a good job of drowning out external noise (ask my wife. :music_whistling:). I also like the flat design which allows me to velcro mount my wireless head tracker.

I've checked out the SteelSeries Arctis 7 and am quite impressed with it. It is a wireless over-the-ear cup design with great sound. A bit more expensive than my Tactic3D but you get what you pay for. It is on my watch list for my next upgrade. I believe it also comes with a wired option. I can't remember if it is 7.1 sound.

My son swears by his Razer ManO'War wireless headset. It is 7.1 over-ther-ear cup design with a sound and mic that is amazing. I had the opportunity to play with it a couple times and it has all the features I mentioned. Very immersive headset with excellent sound, mic, and fit. The ear pads are massive and comfortable.

Price is my limitation. I have a hard time justifying purchasing headsets over $100. Still, the latter two headsets have been on multiple Top 10 lists. If price is not a factor for you, I would consider one of the two. While my SoundBlaster works for me, I will admit I experience headset envy whenever my son is in town.

Good luck,

--T

On 6/17/2018 at 3:16 AM, feefifofum said:

If you're on a tight budget, the t-flight HOTAS X

 

If you're on a budget, but have some room to play, the t-16000m fcs.

 

If money is no object, the Warthog is about as good as it gets for flying A-10s. The new TPR pedals look pretty nice; MFG Crosswinds are also an excellent choice.

I bought the t-flight hotas X and have instant buyers remorse. I have used almost all of the throttles buttons to act as switches so I can use the only hat on the joystick for DMS TMS COOLIE CMS CHINA BOAT SLEW so I have to use the keyboard for things like gear and flaps. Also no two stage trigger so another button on the throttle for single stage and trigger for second stage. Now I am trying to commit that to muscle memory. I think for my birthday I am going to get a better hotas and then relearn it all again.

Yep. It's a $50 stick and throttle that feels like a $50 stick and throttle. That said, nothing else out there offers you a stick, real throttle, and rudder rockers at that price point. You will be doing a lot of work with the mouse and keyboard, even with shift states.

The T-16000M FCS package (with stick and throttle) will still leave you short a couple of hats and with a single stage trigger, but you should be able to compensate with shift states and exist mostly free of the keyboard and mouse. You're in for over twice the price of the HOTAS X though which is why that was first on the list.

If you need a 1:1 simulation, you already know the answer you just don't want to spend the $$