HOTAS Warthog $359.99 + tax

[[TWB]Pand]

For those that want a warthog but don't want to pay $500.00, Amazon has it for $359.99 + tax where applicable.  Available at this price for the next 15 hours.  Enjoy.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Thrustmaster-Hotas-Warthog-Joystick-2960720/dp/B00371R8P4/

 

Such a great price I bought a backup!  Thanks to Dillon for finding the deal.

 

 

[SCG_Tzigy]

getting a backup, 2

 

amazing price, thx!

[LLv44_Mprhead]

This was really cool.

[Bearcat]

I will most likely never switch from my current set up but a squaddie of mine has one of these. He loves it. That is a great price!  I am a diehard MSFFB2 guy and until mine breaks I will be using it. I use that and a modified Saitek X-52 as a throttle. I am thinking of getting an X-55 though and modding that.

[MiG21bisFishbedL]

God, so tempting. But, alas, real world responsibilities.

[II./JG53Lutzow_z06z33]

What a deal I paid $299 for just the stick!!!

[Scott_Steiner]

I just randomly found that sale on my own.. And just ordered it. Was going to post about the sale that is remaining for a few more hours but glad someone else did. Now let me tell you my story...

 

Recently I just re-hooked up my X52 after many months of not flying. Since Mad Catz has taken over, the qualify of their profiling software and drivers has reached an all time low. The stick no longer works correctly on newer computers with newer types of USB Host controllers. The stick being plugged in at the windows desktop literally just froze my computer because it was just sitting there plugged in. I try to run advanced macro commands in the saitek profiler sofware (commands you can't do in game) and it will bug out / freeze / not respond. The sticks light will flicker out and be dead.. Or worse give a BSOD in mid flight.

 

So yesterday I made up my mind that I am done with the X52, it has given me a good run.. Well over 10 years.. Still would work okay.. but the drivers are butchered. I even tried running older drivers and I still had problems.. Just wasting to much time with it, I need to get back up in the air. So what were my options?

 

Saitek besides the regular X-52 has the X52 Pro, the X-65 (no thanks) and now the X-55.. I don't trust anything from Mad Catz / Saitek.. I am not pressing my luck with any of those.

 

Logitech G940 still looks good to me, it has always caught my eye.. Even with the minor problems people have had with it. Logitech has an impeccable record in the sim racing community, their force feedback wheels are bulletproof, I would think after the initial hickups with the throttle wires not being long enough it would probably have decent longevity.. But they don't make it anymore and they go for $300 used if you can even find one! New is like double the price.. I thought that I should probably not go that route unless I found one extremely cheap.

 

Then there is the Warthog.. I thought the Warthog looks real nice.. It's expensive but looks great.. I asked myself, do I need something that close to one particular real life planes controls? I would be happy with something more generic that is all encompassing, I thought the X52 buttons placement filled out this role fantastically. I also heard that maybe the Warthog isn't as good at WWII and WWI prop sims but excels at the modern jet sims? Is this true? Or do you think it needs some aftermarket grease and other tricks to bring it to that level?

 

So at the sale price, I picked it up.. Hope it's a good investment!

 

On a side note, I kind of want a VKB Black Mamba.. It's a pity there aren't any good solo Throttles out there (I bought a CH Pro Throttle off of ebay and I think its awful, so I am not counting that). There are a lot of nice high-end sticks out there for sale (you can even get the Warthog stick by itself but not the other way around) but yeah, not really any throttles.. A pity.

 

Here is a question... If I want to get a Black Mamba in the future, would it pay to just use my Warthog throttle stand-alone with a stop-gap joystick and leave the stick as-new condition and try to recoup the money as an used item on ebay later? Or do you think not worry about it and just go ahead and dive in with the stick and throttle?

 

I was thinking if I could get close to $200 for the stick not used, that might be a great offset to getting a Mamba or something else later?

 

Do you need the stick to use the throttle? Obviously you don't need the throttle to use the stick.

 

Let me know what you guys think.

[Matt]

I also heard that maybe the Warthog isn't as good at WWII and WWI prop sims but excels at the modern jet sims? Is this true? Or do you think it needs some aftermarket grease and other tricks to bring it to that level?

I use the Warthog for RoF, BoS, CloD, '46, DCS (prop, heli, jets), Elite Dangerous, ...

 

It works fine for everything.

 

As for mods/tricks:

 

I did not replace the grease on mine. What i did do at first, was using a stick extension. This increased control a bit and countered the very stiff spring.

 

But now i went back to no stick extension and got rid of the big center spring and use the four smaller springs instead (i think you can find that mod on youtube). Now it's pretty limp, but i like that especially for ED and BoS. Reason being, is that i think the very strong and compressed main spring is the cause for two problems which can happen.

 

One of them is stiction, which you can probably counter with different grease and sanding all parts to make them super smooth. Without the spring force, there seems to be less force on the gimbal and for me, even using the old grease (it's 4 years old now), it's very smooth.

 

The other is center play. That will eventually happen, but with a very weak spring like i have it now, it's almost unnoticable and apart from completely reworking the spring system, like using springs on the outer part of the joystick (which i'm still planning to do, but i'm very happy for now), there's no way to avoid it. I think this center play gets mainly caused by the stiff spring wearing the parts down and with a stick extension it becomes more noticable. The combination of the two is the worst for this center play issue.

 

So to sum it up, i personally would not use the Warthog in stock condition. I would replace the main spring or at least use a stick extension.

 

Strong points for me is the throttle (though some people still seem to have issues with it), the software (the script editor needs some time to learn, but you can practically do everything with it) and the exterior of the stick (buttons, hats, ergonomics, feel), the huge downside is the gimbal system of the stick.

Edited November 21, 2014 by Matt

[[TWB]Pand]

There is only one flaw that I've seen with the warthog which is easily addressable.   There is a rubber O-ring that sits between the base and the rotating dome, which for me (after two years of heavy-heavy use), started to deteriorate.   I Googled and found this had happened to others, and there is a guy who makes PTFE O-rings to replace the rubber ones.  $7 later I had one sitting on my doorstep.  

 

Not sure if he's still making them but I would go ahead and reach out and see if he is as stick feels even better with the PTFE O-ring in. I've been using this over a year and it's absolutely perfect.

 

I also keep my warthog greased regularly.   After time and excessive use, the stock grease will eventually start to gum up a bit, making movement not as smooth as it used to be.  I'm probably overdoing it, but I grease my rig every 3-6 months, but it gets a lot of heavy usage and keeps my aim true.  Others use many different kinds of grease... I've included below what I use with a link.

 

Contact for PTFE O-ring:  jonah.tsai@gmail.com  

Synthetic Polyolefin (PAO) Lubricant / Grease | M-kote EM-30L | NLGI #1 | Dist. by PP&S

 

I haven't had any issues with aiming, but I think I'm going to look at extensions next to make my aim even more precise

 

Maintain your equipment and it will last you a lifetime!  Salute and see you in the skies.

[dburne]

That is an excellent price on the Warthog, well worth the money.

Been using mine about 2.5 years now and still love it, so far have not done any customization to it.
Not sure I see the need to pick one up as a backup at this time, even at this great price, but for anyone that has been wanting one, price don't get any better than this.

[[TWB]Pand]

FYI --- the deal is now expired .. price back up to $419.99 - which still ain't bad

[Scott_Steiner]

Thank you all for your informative responses, can't wait to try it out!

[andyw248]

But now i went back to no stick extension and got rid of the big center spring and use the four smaller springs instead (i think you can find that mod on youtube). Now it's pretty limp, but i like that especially for ED and BoS. Reason being, is that i think the very strong and compressed main spring is the cause for two problems which can happen.

 

 [Disclaimer: I use a 15cm stick extension on my Warthog]

 

Interesting perspective. I went the opposite way. I first removed the big center spring as suggested by that youtube video. But I found that was just too wobbly. Maybe it's good for flying choppers - one of these days I'll try it with the 206 on x-plane. For flying planes there needs to be some force to be applied. So I went ahead and put the big center spring back in, but replaced the four small springs with slightly stiffer ones that I got from a spring set that I purchased from the Home Depot. That did it for me, still some centering force in the center, but otherwise it feels like a good compromise, and no greasing required.

 

Just my 2c.

Edited November 25, 2014 by andyw248

[MarcAnton]

I really like the strong Euro - i germany you get the whole package for 299 € 

[GP*]

Undoubtedly the best stick I've owned/used.

 

MS FFB is outstanding as well, but this replaced it. This stick is great if FFB is a must for you, but the Warthog is fantastic.

 

Note: I prefer stronger stick forces.

[VBF-12_Stick-95]

Does anyone know if they were dumping inventory because Thrustmaster may be coming out with an updated version?

[[TWB]Pand]

They seem to release something awesome like this every 10 years historically speaking.

[[TWB]Pand]

If you thought this was sweet---- check this deal -> http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/13184-thrustmaster-hotas-warthog-pro-flight-combat-pedals-38398-fs/

[deleted@31403]

Does anyone know if they were dumping inventory because Thrustmaster may be coming out with an updated version?

Maybe F-18 version. Drool.