Gladiator K is fact of life now.

All set. :thumbup:

Here you go

Thank you! :thumbup:

My new Gladiator-K arrived today, three days sooner than expected, which was a nice surprise.

I've attached a few pictures next to the T16000 stick for comparison. They're both similar height and footprint so, just like the T16000, it makes a good desktop or chair mounted stick, which is how I'm using it.

First impressions, compared to my T16000, are the stick is much lighter to move and axis seem to have a much shorter throw. Not that I think one is necessarily better than the other, it just takes getting used to. It's also a joy to have more hats, switches and buttons on the stick itself that I can more usefully map to different functions, as well as retaining plenty of buttons on the base itself. So far I've only had time for quick free flight and instant action mission but already I can feel it increasing the immersion in VR having a bit more realistic feeling stick. So far I'm pretty happy. VKB even send you a nice little coaster that I'm using as beer mat! (#dontdrinkandfly!)

beer mat!

A beer mat it's meant to be!

:beer:

This stick looks great!

If the shipping costs will not burn my wallet, I am getting one. :thumbup:

I'm in the USA and shipping for me was $41 via DHL, on top of the $179 I paid for the stick. I was surprised how quickly it arrived to. I think I ordered on Thurs evening and it arrived Monday afternoon. :thumbup:

I just want that VKB TECS throttle now to pair it with that hopefully will be released one day! :smilewink:

Just placed my order at flightsimcontrols.com. :joystick: :thumbup:

This Gladiator K looks like great value for a mid price range stick. It really should get more publicity. The "China express airlift" option was cheaper than most shipment options to my country (Israel). I feel lucky that CH T.16000 hotas was all out of local stocks and shipment costs were insane, so I waited.

I will post a review once I get it.

Is there anything about the base that makes it unable to support the MCG, or is it just that the base wasn't designed explicitly to support the MCG and therefore VKB can't guarantee that it'll work properly.

MCG/MCG Pro are perfectly compatible with the Gladiator K base; there's even an updated firmware that would allow running the MCG grip on the Gladiator K base.

The problem is that the MCG and MCG Pro are too tall and their head is too heavy for the Gladiator K base, which runs on plastic gimbal and soft springs.

Combo is not advised, but also not forbidden :)

Forgive my clumsiness Difference between standard and premium?

I would like to know if the standard version includes Z axis.

Forgive my clumsiness Difference between standard and premium?

 

I would like to know if the standard version includes Z axis.

Both include Z Axis. You can find more here :

https://vkbcontrollers.com/?product=gladiator-k

Forgive my clumsiness Difference between standard and premium?

 

I would like to know if the standard version includes Z axis.

Premium version has an extra thumb hat (instead of a simple button on standard version), a ministick (instead of a hat) and a push/pull secondary trigger. It also comes with a spare hat that could replace the ministick, a button that could replace the thumb hat) and a cover for the secondary trigger, in case the user wants to remove it.

MCG/MCG Pro are perfectly compatible with the Gladiator K base; there's even an updated firmware that would allow running the MCG grip on the Gladiator K base.

The problem is that the MCG and MCG Pro are too tall and their head is too heavy for the Gladiator K base, which runs on plastic gimbal and soft springs.

Combo is not advised, but also not forbidden :)

Thanks for the info. :thumbup:

Both include Z Axis. You can find more here :

https://vkbcontrollers.com/?product=gladiator-k

:thumbup:

Premium version has an extra thumb hat (instead of a simple button on standard version), a ministick (instead of a hat) and a push/pull secondary trigger. It also comes with a spare hat that could replace the ministick, a button that could replace the thumb hat) and a cover for the secondary trigger, in case the user wants to remove it.

:thumbup::thumbup:

Hoping to order one of these (AU) however they have been delisted from VKB's AliExpress shop. I assume that's because they're out of stock. Hopefully they can get the factories moving again!

Hopefully they can get the factories moving again!

We're on vacations till September.

Gladiator K production is temporarily halted as we need to work with the first batch buyers' feedback before making next batch.

We're on vacations till September.

Gladiator K production is temporarily halted as we need to work with the first batch buyers' feedback before making next batch.

Are you still expecting a shipping container with a batch of products to the EU this month and are EU sales still working in July / August? (ie. factory shut, but not sales?)

shipping container with a batch of products to the EU this month and are EU sales still working in July / August?

We made sure the container got on the boat.

Unfortunately, everything from this point on is totally out of our control. I'm not good at guessing, so can only advise to sit back and wait.

EU sales is up and running, but the dealer is an independent business so he may have his own plan for holiday.

We made sure we produced enough goods for a few months ahead.

The only model that will be out of stock is Gladiator K (for a known reason), all the rest should be available globally.

Please ask local dealers for details!

:thumbup:

thank you

There is no stock for Europe. All products are out of stock.

Europe ... out of stock.

The dealer went on holiday till 3 Aug.

There is a big banner on the front page of his web site announcing this.

I promised to post a review of my Gladiator K. However with it out of stock and the NXT in stock this seems pointless.

I ordered the VKB Gladiator K on July 10. It arrived on September 6, so it took just about 2 months. OK these are not normal times so I understand. However, on August 10 Gladiator NXT has been announced on this board, so my “K” stick has become obsolete a month before it even arrived to me.

Well, one can’t but feel a little cheated.

Gladiator K is a good stick for its price. Its only advantage over the newer NXT is that it has more buttons on its base - this is very nice if you do not wish to use a separate throttle (I currently don’t) and for cold war era fighter or warbirds, this is usually enough.

However I would not have bought it had I knew NXT is going to come out so soon.

If you already have it, enjoy it. If you are looking for a new stick, look at NXT. This is my bitter-sweet summary.

I promised to post a review of my Gladiator K. However with it out of stock and the NXT in stock this seems pointless.

 

I ordered the VKB Gladiator K on July 10. It arrived on September 6, so it took just about 2 months. OK these are not normal times so I understand. However, on August 10 Gladiator NXT has been announced on this board, so my “K” stick has become obsolete a month before it even arrived to me.

Well, one can’t but feel a little cheated.

 

Gladiator K is a good stick for its price. Its only advantage over the newer NXT is that it has more buttons on its base - this is very nice if you do not wish to use a separate throttle (I currently don’t) and for cold war era fighter or warbirds, this is usually enough.

However I would not have bought it had I knew NXT is going to come out so soon.

 

If you already have it, enjoy it. If you are looking for a new stick, look at NXT. This is my bitter-sweet summary.

Yep, I just saw the info on the NXT and thought 'wtf was it a 3 month sales life for the K?'. But it looks like my K has more buttons than the NXT so I am satisfied even if a little surprised. The K is a REALLY nice stick for the $ and I expect the NXT is also. And the new GNX throttle quadrant looks like it will be a neat way to make a cockpit as a desktop unit.

I'm really glad I got the Gladiator K when I did. I'm sure the NXT is a good stick but I prefer the extra buttons on the base of my K. They make up for the lack of buttons and switches on my T16000M throttle. And when I do finally upgrade my throttle and reassign the controls I have currently mapped to my joystick base to the throttle base, it will free up those joystick base buttons to map them to some functions on the righthand side cockpit panel, adding even more to my VR immersion.