JetPad - JetSeat review

[Kenan]

I recently purchased a Jetpad - Jetseat from Andre's Shop and thought of sharing my thoughts on the product:

https://andres.shop/jetpad-jetseat/24-80-vibrating-pad-simshaker-jetpad-fse.html#/11-color-black_chern/31-additional_software_included-simshaker_wings

 

Ordering:

 

I used DHL Express, it arrived in Croatia (from Russia, with love) in about 5-7 days, so, the delivery was top notch.

 

Product/Packaging:

 

The package was safely secured with multiple layers of tape (took me a while to remove it). The seat itself is really light, makes you wonder how light are those vibrating motors??

 

Setup:

 

Setup was easy. I installed the software, plugged in the seat into USB and that was it. No hassle. You will, though, probably take some time to set the shaking levels and types of vibrations to suit your needs (for the specific aircraft).

 

Is it worth the purchase?

 

After several days of using it, I'd say yes.

 

At first, I honestly thought it was just a gimmick but as I started using it in DCS, I realised it really adds another

dimension to your flying. In an effort to keep the stress on the motors as low as possible (i.e. to make them last longer) I disabled certain vibrations, for example constant engine vibrations and afterburner (and to be honest, those don't really do much for me in terms of being actually useful).

 

Where the Jetpad really shines is the vibrations for G-Forces, actually telling you when you're hitting higher G's without having to rely visually on the HUD information.

 

It is even more useful in letting you know when your aircraft is about to stall. During the most recent landing on the carrier, in my F-18C, I was about to stall i.e. bleed too much energy on the approach.

 

Now, without the Jetseat, I would usually get alarmed of the fact by hearing the warning tone (at that time the jet is usually already 'dropping' noticably). With Jetseat, I could actually FEEL the vibrations before the Betty starts bit**ing at me, which is really cool and which allows me to do the corrections on time, or at least, buy myself more time to get out of the stall and rebuild some of that lost energy without switcing to submarine mode.

 

Not to mention it's kinda cool when you're landing and you feel the vibrations on the tourchdowns (or taxing down the runway) or when you're getting cat-launched from the carrier OR when your hook catches the wire.

 

In all seriousness, I can't really pick "cons" for this product. It's affordable and it helps your flying in terms of giving you additional (physical) feedback. Of course, there are "better" alternatives but those are way more expensive (and I am not entirely sure they completely justify the price - unless you have a spare garage and room for a spinning centrifuge).

 

If app. 200 Euros (and possible additional shipping expenses) are not too much for you to spend, and if you're a die-hard DCS simmer, I would recommend giving the Jetseat a try.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 12 by Kenan

[AlpineGTA]

A useful review, thanks.

[Lt_Jaeger]

I'm totally with you. If the seat is off, I'm suddenly not any more in an airplane (I fly in vr only) but playing a lifeless game. If you once get used to that seat, you will never fly without again. 

 

Seems to be petty durable too, got already a couple hundred hours on the motors and I sit all day on it because it's on my office chair. 

One has to be careful with the cable and the plugs though, they are definitely the weak spot. 

 

 

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

Great bang for your money, being using one for two years already and I find I fly more finesse due to the feedback it provides. 

[sirrah]

Fwiw: I totally agree with the OP

 

Bought a used JetPad several months ago from a community member here (with a slight feeling of guilt not directly supporting André) and it truly is an excellent product. All together I think it only took me an hour or two to get it all to work and never had any problems with it since.

 

Just that bit of extra when flying in VR. Especially the vibration in choppers is awesome. The instant haptic feedback you get when losing lift also makes it much more easy to adequately react to it.

[Talisman_VR]

I have the JetPad (with SimShaker for Aviators and SimShaker for Wings software) and it is great!  Fantastic immersion and brilliant with VR.  Also great with force feedback joystick and haptic feedback headphones.  Highly recommend the JetPad and associated USB mode software.

 

Happy landings,

 

Talisman