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How bad is the Warthog stick and throttle?


parxuk

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I know reviews on the internet are very subjective, but every time I think I am just about to pull the trigger on a warthog combo to replace my ageing X52 pro, I see another review that says how bad the warthog gimbal is, that's it's plastic and not very precise, that the slew switch is rubbish and needs replacing with a mod that's going to cost me £60, that the internals of the throttle are plastic and cheap, and that I will need to grease the stick to make it useable. I then think to myself am I better off going for a virpil? but obviously these are more expensive and not so easy to come by. A warthog setup could be had for approx £350, a virpil maybe £600 to buy throttle, base and stick, however if the warthog is really that bad it sounds like I should invest a bit more now for less hassle in the future? (credit cards are wonderful things, and Christmas is coming!).

 

Is the warthog really that bad? Is the fact that I'm coming from an X52 going to make it feel like a massive upgrade anyway?

 

I'm so confused, and appreciate any advice. Thanks.

Intel i7 8700K @ 5Ghz, Aorus Z370 Gaming5, 32GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 3000MHz, Nvidia 3080Ti FE, Samsung 970 NVME, Samsung 512GB EVO SSD x 2, Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS, Saitek Rudder Pedals, HP Reverb G2, Windows 11 x64, DCS Modules = FC3, A10c Warthog, F14 Tomcat, F18 Hornet, F16 Viper, Persian Gulf, Syria.

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... a virpil maybe £600 to buy throttle, base and stick, ...

 

 

You forgot to add VAT and shipping.

 

 

Buy the Warthog from amazon and if you don't like it, send it back. If you like it, get the slew mod for the throttle.

Windows 10 64bit, Intel i9-9900@5Ghz, 32 Gig RAM, MSI RTX 3080 TI, 2 TB SSD, 43" 2160p@1440p monitor.

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I have had the WH hotas for a number of years I find it very good, The MODS I have done are.. the throttle designator mod you mention easy to do and what a difference, I have an Extension about 750 mm makes it so much smoother and the fine moves like for AAR are a breeze, I have seen the reports of Sticktion as they call it all I can say is I have not seen or felt it, the only other thing I have is a leather car gearstick boot to keep crap out of the gimble. Whatever you decide enjoy your flying.

AMD A8-5600K @ 4GHz, Radeon 7970 6Gig, 16 Gig Ram, Win 10 , 250 gig SSD, 40" Screen + 22 inch below, Track Ir, TMWH, Saitek combat pedals & a loose nut behind the stick :thumbup:

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Coming from X52 the Warthog is a massive update anyway. Although you loose the rotaries on the throttle.

The stick requires greasing from time to time to keep it in shape, though my throttle works fine after 10 years without any servicing. The slew is rubbish but not worse really than the one on X52. Precision is also better than X52, the problem with Warthog is not really precision, but how it feels around the centre point (detent), and that without greasing it becomes sticky after some time.

VPC is better, but I already had to disassemble the stick base because it was clunky from the factory and the stick build quality is nowhere near Thrustmaster. The new VPC throttle is nice but lacks afterburner detents, so there's a caveat in everything.

Hardware: VPForce Rhino, FSSB R3 Ultra, Virpil T-50CM, Hotas Warthog, Winwing F15EX, Slaw Rudder, GVL224 Trio Throttle, Thrustmaster MFDs, Saitek Trim wheel, Trackir 5, Quest Pro

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Thanks for your feedback. Seems like going for the warthog will be a good compromise between cost, quality and functionality and a big improvement over the x52.

 

Can I confirm the warthog has afterburner detents so that you know you are going in to burner?

 

I have quite small hands? Is the lack of a moveable rest likely to cause me a problem?

 

Thanks again

Intel i7 8700K @ 5Ghz, Aorus Z370 Gaming5, 32GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 3000MHz, Nvidia 3080Ti FE, Samsung 970 NVME, Samsung 512GB EVO SSD x 2, Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS, Saitek Rudder Pedals, HP Reverb G2, Windows 11 x64, DCS Modules = FC3, A10c Warthog, F14 Tomcat, F18 Hornet, F16 Viper, Persian Gulf, Syria.

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Yes, it has detents that can be disabled in 5 seconds if you switch to another airplane. Also easily moddable to your preference, as the factory pull-up type is rather hard to use without screwing the throttle in place.

Hardware: VPForce Rhino, FSSB R3 Ultra, Virpil T-50CM, Hotas Warthog, Winwing F15EX, Slaw Rudder, GVL224 Trio Throttle, Thrustmaster MFDs, Saitek Trim wheel, Trackir 5, Quest Pro

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Warthog throttle is good, even better with radar cursor mod.

Stick is good.

The base and link between stick and base are the weakest points.

i5 8400 | 32 Gb RAM | RTX 2080Ti | Virpil Mongoose T-50 base w/ Warthog & Hornet sticks | Warthog throttle | Cougar throttle USB | DIY Collective | Virpil desk mount | VKB T-Rudder Mk IV | Oculus Rift S | Buddy-Fox A-10 UFC | 3x TM MFDs | 2x bass shakers pedal plate| SIMple SIMpit chair | WinWing TakeOff panel | PointCTRL v2 | Andre JetSeat | Winwing Hornet UFC | Winwing Viper ICP

FC3 - Warthog - F-5E - Harrier - NTTR - Hornet - Tomcat - Huey - Viper - C-101 - PG - Hip - SuperCarrier - Syria - Warthog II - Hind - South Atlantic - Sinai - Strike Eagle

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Throttle is excellent but requires analogue cursor control upgrade.

 

Stick grip is excellent.

 

But . . . . . . gimbal unit is (IMHO) bad compared with other mounts. (Virpil, VKB)

 

 

I use my WH Throttle with my WH Stick on a VKB Gunfighter base. Best thing I've done sor far for simming.

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I personally don't really like it. I mean, the quality of the stick is okay, but if you come from a X52, at first it is really stiff out of the box. Also the center of the stick is really weird at first.

 

The Throttle is another story for me. The quality does not really correspond to the high price. Some attachments to the switches are jiggling, the throttle itself also has a lot of play.

 

And then there's also the fact, that you need to buy pedals seperatly...

 

In the end, I would go back to something else, where the quality is reflected in the price. I found the X52 that I had was okay. Got most functions covered, quality is okay and you got a lot of buttons and switches too.

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I think the Warthog combo sits well in its price band. For most people £350 is a chunk of change for a joystick and throttle and it is decent quality compared to more entry level devices.

 

I went from a CH Flightstick Pro and the Warthog feels dead posh. The only thing I added was an extension as I like the WW2 aircraft. Can't praise it enough but...

 

...like with many things there are even better things available at a price.

 

IMHO the Warthog is a significant upgrade but if you want to skip a step and go for the ultimate there is some even more top end stuff. To be honest I doubt I would truly appreciate at this stage in my flight sim experience and am more than happy with my Warthog which I still feel is quite posh :)

AMD 5800X3D · MSI 4080 · Asus ROG Strix B550 Gaming  · HP Reverb Pro · 1Tb M.2 NVMe, 32Gb Corsair Vengence 3600MHz DDR4 · Windows 11 · Thrustmaster TPR Pedals · VIRPIL T-50CM3 Base, Alpha Prime R. VIRPIL VPC Rotor TCS Base. JetSeat

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The combo is fine. If VKB and Virpil didn't exist it would be the top dog for DCS.

 

With a couple of tweaks you can make the throttle even better than what you get out of the box.

 

You can use TARGET or vJoy+Joystick Gremlin to assign button presses to the analog slew (basically use the keyboard commands instead of the wonky axis when you hit 90% Up/Down/Left/Right) if you don't want to pay for the slew upgrade.

 

You can also get a 3D printed AB push through detent:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/9JAPAE26V/warthog-throttle-part-afterburner-detent-80?optionId=82333125

https://www.shapeways.com/product/3MJPNE2SV/warthog-throttle-part-afterburner-detent?optionId=63799442

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That is a dead-on review. It is a great HOTAS, especially for the money when you can get it for $350 or less. It has some flaws, but you have to spend a lot more money to get a better stick, and even then, all you get for that money is a stick.

 

I love the VKB Gunfighter Mk.II gimbal with the 200mm extension, but I damaged a bearing from using too much spring force and had to switch back to my Warthog stick until I repaired it. I was already primarily flying with either the TM Warthog or TM F/A-18C grip on the VKB while flying the F-16 and F/A-18, so going back to the Warthog stick/gimbal with a 150mm extension didn't cost me any functionality of the grips. It didn't really affect my flying at all beyond the feel as the VKB is nowhere near as stiff. Between the benefits of the extension and years of flying with the Warthog, I didn't have any problems due to the "stiction" or the "bump" when crossing the center. If I didn't love the VKB and the variety of grips I can use with it, I would be perfectly happy to continue flying with the Warthog stick.

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

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Thanks once again.

 

My biggest concern is stiction. The X52 suffers really badly with it, and trying to master air refueling has been a difficult task (even with curves and dead zones). I have to move the stick with quite a lot of force away from center to get it to move, and then all of a sudden it moves lots, this doesn't help with pilot induced oscillation and trying to make minor corrections is very difficult. It is for this reason that I worry about the Warthog, but its obviously subjective as some people don't complain about it at all.

 

As suggested I think my best option is to purchase the Warthog from Amazon, try it and if I dont like it I can send it back.

 

Virpil looks great and I could stretch to it, but im not sure I can really justify it. On top of that it just seems so difficult to get hold of.

 

Thanks again

Intel i7 8700K @ 5Ghz, Aorus Z370 Gaming5, 32GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 3000MHz, Nvidia 3080Ti FE, Samsung 970 NVME, Samsung 512GB EVO SSD x 2, Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS, Saitek Rudder Pedals, HP Reverb G2, Windows 11 x64, DCS Modules = FC3, A10c Warthog, F14 Tomcat, F18 Hornet, F16 Viper, Persian Gulf, Syria.

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Coming from X-52 it will most probably be a great upgrade for you anyway. The most obvious exceptions being MUCH stiffer centering spring compared to limpy X-52, lack of twist axis and rotaries.

 

Stiction is subjective matter partially because of production batches quality being all over the place at Thrustmasters', which makes comparisons with other users' experiences difficult. It might be an issue for you, it might not. Still, everyone regreases their Warthog sooner or later, or at least considers it :D.

 

I'm kind of pleased with mine... after regreasing it, fixing infamous broken O-ring and eventually crafting a 30 cm extension. All the weak points you've read about are true indeed, but mine has served me reasonably well for 5 years - got my money's worth out of it I guess.

i7 9700K @ stock speed, single GTX1070, 32 gigs of RAM, TH Warthog, MFG Crosswind, Win10.

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I've only had my WH for a couple of months, and coming from a CH Fighterstick and throttle (which honestly was pretty good, just felt like an upgrade trying learn AAR) I have found it worth the money. Can't speak to the longevity yet. As others have said, the spring it REALLY stiff. I replaced it with the green spring from http://www.warthog-extensions-by-sahaj.com that centres it nicely, but doesn't leave my shoulder aching after practicing refueling. An extension would likely also solve the problem. It's literally a 5 min job (maybe less if you don't have to manually remove the 8 screws ;-)). Haven't done it, but regreasing should be as quick and easy. The slew works, sorta, but it's SOOOO worth the mod on it too. Yes it adds to the cost, but increases the enjoyment (which is why you're buying it in first place).

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Warthog is not a controller like any other joystick, is a replica of a real thing. Unfortunately only from out side, not from in side. That's a controller from a different level, it aim at simers who like to customise controller to make those more equal to real controllers from plane they fly. Not to make thing easy to play. Controllers from A10, F18 and F16 look similar, all work in completely different way. If you want to step in on that level, you have to further modify your controller. So, once you buy it, you have something that looks like a real thing but to make it work as a real thing you have to pay more.

 

TH Warthog is designed to be modified by the user, so the factory mounted gimbal is working and that's it. If you want more - a cam system with extension for your F/A18 or force sensor like in F16 - pay more and those are same price like TH Warthog.

 

TH would never succeed with Warthog, if the price would go duble. With a cheap gimbal, when the price is lower, the spectrum of customers much wider.

 

If you are ready to step on that level - buy it, mod it to you needs, learn coding in C to write scripts for it and do not trash your present controller, especially If you want to use Warthog with original gimbal.

 

TARGET is very powerful soft and underestimated. Look at CTS (first topic in this forum) to get the idea about complexity. Exp: It give you ability to program one button push in button to work as: short push, long push, duble tap, plus 3-4 layers switchable (even more), you can set a script playing .wav sound in background to any function for this one button and throttle LEDs can go on/off.

There is no way you can handle TARGET in one evning witout help from some expirience user. If you want to test it and send it back, make sure you have a scripts ready for your planes -> CTS.

 

Throttle is very universal design, I like it more than stick but it miss auto switches. I wish to have at last one.

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How bad is the Warthog stick and throttle?

 

Thanks once again.

 

 

 

My biggest concern is stiction. The X52 suffers really badly with it, and trying to master air refueling has been a difficult task (even with curves and dead zones). I have to move the stick with quite a lot of force away from center to get it to move, and then all of a sudden it moves lots, this doesn't help with pilot induced oscillation and trying to make minor corrections is very difficult. It is for this reason that I worry about the Warthog, but its obviously subjective as some people don't complain about it at all.

 

 

 

As suggested I think my best option is to purchase the Warthog from Amazon, try it and if I dont like it I can send it back.

 

 

 

Virpil looks great and I could stretch to it, but im not sure I can really justify it. On top of that it just seems so difficult to get hold of.

 

 

 

Thanks again

 

 

 

I still fly the Hornet with my Warthog base and Hornet grip. I modded the lower springs compartment by adding extra springs to each column and that gets rid of stiffness.

 

It can easily hang with other bases after mods. The only downside is that mine doesn’t like lighter grip. There is some stiction when I use it with Virpil CM2 grip but I have no issue with TM’s Warthog or F/A-18 grips.

 

Each base has its own pros and cons. Virpil WarBRD while precise is springy and doesn’t click to center with heavy grips with increased oscillations but has wide compatibility with other brands that use TM socket. VKB GF2 is as precise and clicks to center but this might turn off some, plus you can’t use grips from other brands.


Edited by Supmua

PC: 5800X3D/4090, 11700K/3090, 9900K/2080Ti.

Joystick bases: TMW, VPC WarBRD, MT50CM2, VKB GFII, FSSB R3L

Joystick grips: TM (Warthog, F/A-18C), Realsimulator (F-16SGRH, F-18CGRH), VKB (Kosmosima LH, MCG, MCG Pro), VPC MongoosT50-CM2

Throttles: TMW, Winwing Super Taurus, Logitech Throttle Quadrant, Realsimulator Throttle (soon)

VR: HTC Vive/Pro, Oculus Rift/Quest 2, Valve Index, Varjo Aero, https://forum.dcs.world/topic/300065-varjo-aero-general-guide-for-new-owners/

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I was just solving the same problem as you. Until now I had a Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas X. Yesterday I brought home a warthog. I read various reviews, and knew what to expect. Dearer Virpil now I can not afford (hipotheque, Child). Still, I'm very excited now, and it's a game changer for me.

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Long story short. The thrust master warthog setup is great. Especially it’s sensors. I hated my X52 because the sensors degraded pretty significantly after a year.

 

My warthog is butter smooth.

 

For the “plastic part of the warthog... the plastic gimbal doesn’t cause any problems with smoothness or sensitivity, it is just a weak point where the stick can break. After 5 or so years of heavy use, mine finally broke. You can easily print a 3D part replacement. I did just that, and the replacement gimbal worked just fine. I bought a Virpil base anyway (At the time, I didn’t think the replacement would work, and Virpil was having a sale.). I use the Virpil base with the thrust master grip mounted on it. Use the TM throttle and still love it.

 

For my throttle, I have had to replace the circuit board twice. Once because it shorted out and again because my puppy got ahold of The USB cable. I also bought a replacement slew from https://deltasimelectronics.com/products/thumbstick-slew-sensor-adapter for a better analog input (love it)

 

Virpil and VKB weren’t really options when I was upgrading. They are more pricey but they are all metal construction and it looks like they sell replacement parts. I’m the end it’s dow to how much you fly and want to spend.

 

But be wary that anything is prone to break. Screws can get stripped. Cables get pulled. Electrical parts can fail. Virpil (and I think VKB will sell most easily fixed components. TM allows you to buy some, but it takes some back and forth with customer support. (Like the circuit board.)

 

The only other product worth plugging is CH. Plastic components but very, very sturdy plastic with good sensors, and far cheaper than the afore mentioned products.


Edited by NakedSquirrel

Modules: A10C, AV8, M2000C, AJS-37, MiG-21, MiG-19, MiG-15, F86F, F5E, F14A/B, F16C, F18C, P51, P47, Spitfire IX, Bf109K, Fw190-D, UH-1, Ka-50, SA342 Gazelle, Mi8, Christian Eagle II, CA, FC3

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  • 3 weeks later...

So I just literally took delivery of my Warthog stick and throttle - wow this thing is a beast, and seems like great build quality.

 

Have had a very quick flight, and think I am going to have to re-learn everything and build some muscles up, the spring is so strong (especially compared to my x52 which you can blow on and it moves!)

 

I consider that i got quite a good deal. They usually retail on Amazon uk for £350, I managed to get one from the Amazon Warehouse for £250 which was classed as "acceptable" condition. I was a tad worried, but knew I could send it back if I wasnt happy. As luck would have it, I dont think its ever been out of the box, so happy days.

 

Now im off to the gym to build my biceps up some.

Intel i7 8700K @ 5Ghz, Aorus Z370 Gaming5, 32GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 3000MHz, Nvidia 3080Ti FE, Samsung 970 NVME, Samsung 512GB EVO SSD x 2, Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS, Saitek Rudder Pedals, HP Reverb G2, Windows 11 x64, DCS Modules = FC3, A10c Warthog, F14 Tomcat, F18 Hornet, F16 Viper, Persian Gulf, Syria.

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I have mine from the release with SN:~620 and still Love it

 

The TM FA/18 Stick is great also.

 

Gesendet von meinem SM-G973F mit Tapatalk

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

Thrustmaster Warthog SLM - F/A-18 , MFG Crosswind V2 , Cougar MFD`s , HP Reverb , PointCtrl , i9@5,1Ghz/2080Ti,



:joystick: DIY 2DOF Motionsimulator with 4Ch Simshaker :joystick:



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Edited by parxuk

Intel i7 8700K @ 5Ghz, Aorus Z370 Gaming5, 32GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 3000MHz, Nvidia 3080Ti FE, Samsung 970 NVME, Samsung 512GB EVO SSD x 2, Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS, Saitek Rudder Pedals, HP Reverb G2, Windows 11 x64, DCS Modules = FC3, A10c Warthog, F14 Tomcat, F18 Hornet, F16 Viper, Persian Gulf, Syria.

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Intel i7 8700K @ 5Ghz, Aorus Z370 Gaming5, 32GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 3000MHz, Nvidia 3080Ti FE, Samsung 970 NVME, Samsung 512GB EVO SSD x 2, Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS, Saitek Rudder Pedals, HP Reverb G2, Windows 11 x64, DCS Modules = FC3, A10c Warthog, F14 Tomcat, F18 Hornet, F16 Viper, Persian Gulf, Syria.

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