HunchyTheHuncher Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Having recently upgraded to the VKB Gunfighter Mk. III from the Mk. II, here is a brief rundown of the new base and gimbal. Although not a massive improvement over the previous version (which was excellent anyway!) it does have some welcome refinements. The the upgraded electronics in combination with the new aluminium alloy cams feel even more smooth and precise. Changing cams and springs is also less hassle as the gimbal is now much easier to remove. Overall I highly recommend it, but don't rush to get one if you already have the Mk. II, buy the upgrade kit instead!:thumbup: System: Intel Core i7 6700K @ 4.7GHz | Asus Sabertooth Z170 S Motherboard | Gigabyte RTX2080Ti GAMING OC 11GB | Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) @ 3200 MHz | Corsair RMi Series RM650i | DCS Installation Drive: 1TB WD Blue M.2 SSD | HP Reverb Pro Sim Controls: VKB Gunfighter MkIII MCG Pro | LH VKB Kosmosima | Pro Flight Trainer Helicopter Collective | VPC Mongoos MT-50 Throttle | MFG Crosswind Pedals | 2 X Thrustmaster Cougar MFDs | 2 X Elgato Stream Decks (15 Keys) [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungo13 Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 The Mark III base is a step forward in all areas except the cams. Aluminum, no matter what metallurgical process is used to treat or strengthen it, is not as durable and strong as high grade steel. Any high base and gimbal system should always use steel cams riding on high end steel cartridge bearings. On a high end Shimano XTR derailleur, a carbon fiber insert can easily be used instead of stainless steel from 25 years ago bc the torque is low. With center mounted joysticks using two #40 springs or greater, the torque can be more than 90 N m, ... more than enough to bend aluminum cams. Neither I do understand that choice. You have hardened steel of the ball bearing rolling over the surface of the aluminium against pressure of the spring - is even the surface resistant enough? I do not know much about precise machining of the metal parts but I just ask myself as when now companies offer laser / plasma / water jet cutting of the metal sheets with fair (for my lack of knowledge :) ) precision whether it is not better to make yourself a steel copy if you can properly take the shape. And it is not that expensive. Of course you would need also make that mounting pin for the spring. But if it is doable - it seems to be a nuisance avoidable by VKB if they did not swap metal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callsign.Vega Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 I was curious about the aluminum vs steel too. In what world is aluminum stronger/more resistant than steel? Trying to decide if I should upgrade my late model (Kosmosima) MK.II with the MK.III upgrade kit or not... GPU: RTX 4090 - 3,000 MHz core / 12,000 MHz VRAM. CPU: 7950X3d - 5.2 GHz X3d, 5.8 GHz secondary / MB: ASUS Crosshair X670E Gene / RAM: G.Skill 48GB 6400 MHz SSD: Intel Optane P5800X - 800GB VR: Pimax Crystal CONTROLS: VPC MongoosT-50CM3 Base / VPC Constellation ALPHA Prime Grip / VPC MongoosT-50CM3 Throttle / TM Pendular Rudders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XAiracobraX Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) Where did they claim the Mk I/II was steel? From pictures it looked like a cast material from surface roughness ( I might be getting the pics confused with the competition, I don't have either but starting to look into these). Edited March 31, 2020 by XAiracobraX Intel i7-10700k, 32GB DDR4, GTX 1080 8GB, 1TB NVMe SSD, LG32GK850G 2560x1440 Monitor, Noctua u12a cooler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AeroGator Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 yes previous cams were made of steel. copper- and chromium-plated. > Best Regards from VKB Lair, AeroGator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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