Thrustmaster Warthog or something else?

[DevPreach]

Hi All,

    I'm looking at upgrading my HOTAS from the Logitech X56 which is starting to fail to the Thrustmaster Warthog as I have found them in stock or should I purchase something else?   Looking at my options I can get the Thrustmaster Warthog or WinWing Orion setup(if it ever comes off of backorder).    Should I get the Warthog or wait?    What do you guys like about the Warthog?   Is it truly plug and play with DCS or will there be some customization and tweaking needed on my part?    Any advice and assistance you all can provide is greatly appreciated.

 

DevPreach

[Lange_666]

Warthog throttle is OK, stick gimbals are not (coming from a frictionless modded TM Cougar).

I replaced the gimbal main spring first, then did some other modding and sanding + re-greasing. Still a no go for my taste.

Replaced the TM Warthog stick base with a Virpil WarBRD one and placed the TM stick on that one, i'm a happy camper.

[GPatricks]

The Warthog HOTAS is "plug and play" but as Lange_666 has stated, it can be improved upon. Hardware-wise you will likely not think highly of the micro-stick (nipple) on the throttle and want the Deltasims mod to replace it. The stick movement is an objective issue, if you come from an easy to move stick (like a CH Fighterstick in my case) it can be a bit of a workout to use. The main friction spring can easily be replaced with the Green Spring mod to lighten it up if you don't like the OEM feel. I did the Deltasims mod right off the bat and for me it's 100% better. I weighed the pros and cons of putting the Green Spring mod in (€42) and decided to put those €€ toward a new VirPil WarBrd base instead. It is head and shoulders above the stock TM base in feel and build quality, just look at the videos on greasing the TM that show its construction and then the VirPil. The TM stick just screws right on, and with a couple quick setting changes your system will see it as a standard TM Warthog stick. Having said that the Warthog is an excellent choice and certainly can be used as-is. If you don't want to mess with LUA files there is a basic TARGET script that gives the throttle a DX# assignment for every switch\hat\button so all you do is assign each position in DCS settings.. 

[VpR81]

Honestly, the Warthog served me very well for numerous years without any sticktion, buttons failing or anything braking. Yes, there are better (and more expensive) solutions out there and the Warthog has it's flaws (slew control and gimbal, both design and material) but it is a solid entry HOTAS, coming with a decent throttle and good grip. I still use the grip on my WarBRD base and the throttle is still working like new for one of my friends. If you can afford it, i would recommend to go with the Warthog HOTAS and switch the slew control for the already mentioned Deltasim mod as well as replace the Joystick base with tha Virpil WarBRD base ASAP. This way you get a decent throttle and a realy good grip with a superb joystick base for a reasonable amount of cash.

[Lange_666]

If you never used a HOTAS then the Warthog gimbal might do the job because you don't know any better (but honestly, even a cheap joystick moves a lot better then Warthog gimbal imo). Coming from a Uber modded TM Cougar the Warthog gimbal just sucked, even when it felt a lot better the the original Cougar gimbal.

Once you go the decent gimbal road (Virpil, VKB...) there is now way you will return to the original Warthog gimbal.

As mentioned above, same can be said about the slew control. I changed mine with a Deltasim one. No return there either.

 

[Burt]

I’m going 2 years with the Warthog and I must of got lucky and got a good one / good QA because I actually love it for the Hornet and Tomcat. If you like the Viper you may want to put RealSimulator on your list it’s a force sensing stick with a very good program. The R3L base and the F16 stick I have setup as a side stick for the Viper kinda like the real deal. Just check it out he’s the link

https://realsimulator.com/

 

other than that I have no experience with any other brand but I’m glad I got the TM warthog as my very first Hotas. It really is a good product.

 

but honestly I have been looking at the Virpil design and I can see how everyone likes it. The cams and the springs look amazing. I’m sure it’s a great product too.

 

Edited September 2, 2021 by Burt