VKB Gunfighter Pro w/MCG Pro Grip - Review

[dburne]

I received my Gunighter MK1 Pro with extension in the Spring of 2017 in anticipation of the new MCG Pro Grip release. I had also purchased and received a Monster Tech Extended desk mount with Gunfighter Plate.  Finally in July 2018 I was able to order the new MCG Pro Grip, and have now had it and flown with it for two weeks. 
VKB has since updated the Gunfighter base and named it the MKII. Main change being in the pin orientation, the male pins rather than in the gimbal base are in the grip base. I am assuming this may have been done to help reduce the chance of bending the pins upon assembly - my guess anyway. The other change was making the dry clutch adjustments easier to get to, with the Mk I one pretty much has to take the gimbal out, with the MK II can get to the adjustment screws by just removing the top plate and dust cover. Easier to adjust and test that way. I would like to have a MK II, but can't justify buying another with just those small differences.

So my review is with the MK I Gunfighter, which I have had quite some time but never used, and the brand new MCG Pro Grip. Below is a pic with it full assembled and mounted on my Monster Tech Extended desk mount. ( love their mounts).
Ok so let's get on with it. The Grip and Gunfighter both arrived in excellent packaging and very well protected. I pulled the KG12 grip that came stock on my Gunfighter, and replaced with the new MCG Pro grip. I then proceeded to their website, downloaded the necessary files to flash and also the VKB Devcfg software. Now there are two options on the software, the aforementioned VKB Devcfg or a simpler Wizzo program. Wizzo one can easily calibrate, set done zones, maybe some curves, just very basis stuff. Devcfg - well let me tell you, it can do probably a hell of a lot more than my aging mind may comprehend. It is  very, and I mean very powerful and extensive in what all it can do. I used it to calibrate of course, and also changed my Gate Hat ( the round hat on lower left), which was a relative axis, to reflect 4 button presses and using it as a POV hat for my exterior views.

 

The Base/Gimbal:

Top view with boot and collar off. 

I can't stress enough how easy it is to remove the gimbal to work with it and re-install. I remember the days of replacing the TM Cougar Gimbal with the NXT gimbal, and even just replacing springs was a very lengthy and hard process. VKB has obviously designed this gimbal for ease of removal and working with.

 

The heart of the gimbal. You can see my pairs of springs, #50 and #20 each axis. You can also see the dry clutches,

the white industrial strength nylon with the two brass fasteners on top there. Tightening or loosening those fasteners will give of course more or less tension on the axis movement.

I am running just a very slight amount of clutch for my WWII bird flying.

 

Wow, I will say I am very impressed. Gimbal is of course all metal, and smooth as a baby's butt - and I mean very smooth. And the options one has with it. First it comes with two sets of cams - #10 ( installed) soft center, and #30 Hard Center. Then the springs, you get several of the different spring tensions. I got a small bag of #10, #20, #30, and#40 springs with the Gunfighter. And with the Pro Kit with Extension I got a bag of #50 Springs. All individually bagged and labeled on bag - nice.

 

So I certainly have extra springs. 
Springs removal - once I came across the zip tie trick for removing and installing springs, piece of cake. Also one can use a pair of springs per axis to get even a more defined feel to what one wants. I have settled on #50 and #20 on each axis, feels about right for my tastes. VKB recommends no more than #80 combined in the pair of springs.

 

The Cams are very nice and highly polished.

The gimbal is very easy to pull out , and both spring replacement and cam replacement is very easy. Warning however - those cams are installed with specific washers and placement, very important the orientation along with washer and nut placement be done exactly as it was. I learned the hard way, thought something was wrong with my gimbal as I was not getting full left deflection, but have since correcting it and all is well again . Best to take a picture of the exact orientation prior to removing the cam.  I will say this, #10 cam is soft center ( feels very, very soft to me) and #30 is hard center ( I have read it is pretty hard). I wish they had a #20 as I think in between would be my ideal, but I understand is this is not likely.
So between the varying spring tensions and combinations, along with the cams and the dry clutches, there is quite a bit of adjustabilty in the gimbal one can do. I have taken that thing apart probably a dozen times by now, just tweaking and feeling to get the best feel for me. I can't say enough how easy it is to take out, change things out, and get back together. I can easily accomplish this in about a half hour.

The MCG Pro Grip:

An up close pic of the MCG Pro Grip: 24 buttons baby, some of which can be changed within the VKBDevcfg software. 
The fold up trigger and the brake lever paddle, are both made of metal. Yep, all metal and very solid and smooth. Very nice touch.
I do love me buttons. It can seem a little daunting at first getting into the meat of the software, but even I was able to figure out how to turn that previosly mentioned hat into a 4 way button press hat. The software also shows a POV2, pretty sure I could also change it to a full POV hat with 8 positions if I dig a little deeper.
The shell of the grip is made from ABS, and is very stout. I hear no groaning or creaking in the grip shell even when moving my 200 mm extended Gunfight to all extremes with #50 and #20 springs. Mounting to the stick extension or base is done with same mounting mechanism, fairly easy and locks it in tight.  And all those buttons, this is the shining star for me. The 4 ways plus push, the versatility of changing behavior of some of them. The Master Mode ( POV Hat by default upper middle) can serve a couple of functions. Press and Hold for three seconds, it turns into two relative axis. Press and Hold for three seconds again, it turns into POV hat again. Pretty dang swift. Plus one could with the software change it to just plain buttons, or regular axis, whatever. 

Speaking of software, check out the screen shot of the axis tab. This was after me moving the stick all around.

Axis returned to exact center each time. Very nice. 
The software also puts everything into the device memory, so no need to have software running. If you are a profile kind of guy, just set up a profile and load it, then shut the software down. I like that, I prefer as few programs running when I game as can.
And the black box is pretty neat ( though it is really not black lol).  I just leave the black box connected to my stick, and unplug the usb cable at the end of the day from the box. 
I have logged probably around 12 hours or so now flying with this new stick, and I am loving it. The versatility along with all the button options make this one a real winner in my book. I am sure I will be using it quite a bit going forward.

Now for a couple of very small negatives - I mean I have to find something to nit pick right?
The current VKBDevcfg software for the MCG grip has a little bug. If one spends some time during a session, phantom button presses can appear. These are like press and hold phantom presses.  They typically start way down in the higher numbers which are not really used currently, but gradually can work up into numbers that you happen to use. This has happened to me once so far where it affected my controls I had assigned in a several hour gaming session ( or just leaving stick plugged in for several hours). A restart of the device clears them out. I understand they are well aware of this bug and are working on a fix which will hopefully come before too much longer. Not a big deal, but if stick plugged in for a length of time best to check it in the software on occasion to see and clear out if they are showing. In the meantime I am making it a habit of viewing the buttons in VKBdevcfg to insure they are not happening and clear out if are.

The previously mentioned grip locking mechanism. It is basically two round pieces ( metal ), with a v cut out in the middle ( each piecs has half a V.  So one needs to line them up, have them vertical and facing grip, and then slide into the hole in the shaft. Sometimes for me they can be a little tough to slide in and have to work wtih it a bit. I have gotten now where I just loosened the screw a little to remove grip, then loosen slightly more to install grip and tighten. Not too bad really. But those pieces need to be lined up right in order for the grip to slide onto the shaft fully or it can get frustrating.

Lastly the extension - It is curved and offset to the rear to allow for mounting and having full throw forward. I believe the weight of the part of the extension that is behind the center point of the gimbal, gives a little pull on the Y axis. Not much, but just enough to appear to have a very small amount of slop right around center in that axis only. With no dry clutch dampening on that axis, it still centers perfectly. But I can feel just a little more free play area than in the X axis. This is not a problem at all for me, just an observation on my end. I thought it might be cam related, but I swapped x and y axis cams and it was still the same on the pitch axis.  And again, these soft center cams I would call very soft center. So I do believe it is the weight from the part of extension behind the gimbal center point contributing to this "feel". When I am flying, I don't even notice it. Again very small thing.

The VKB Pro setup with extension coupled with the  MCG Pro grip is outstanding and a fantastic piece of equipment.

 

I mean really fantastic! I know the delays can get long when one wants to get one on order, but they are certainly very well worth it. I would not hesitate in recommending this setup - especially with the MCG pro grip to anyone. Trust me, they are worth the wait.

 
And I want to tip my hat to VKB sales and support ( North America ). Dealing with rrhode has been a real pleasure, goodness knows I about wore him out with my questions I am sure, but he was always very fast to respond and answer and offer assistance even over weekends. That is top notch in my book! I hope VKB knows what a valuable asset they have with him.
If anyone has questions on any of my comments feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer. I hope this info is beneficial to anyone in the market for a stick or just curious about the Gunfighter and MCG Pro.

Edited July 25, 2018 by dburne

[=EXPEND=Tripwire]

Awesome in depth review. 

 

Black box is the same colour as the real life counterpart 

 

 

I have the same setup right now. Stick mount and pedals. It's a great combo. Just waiting ever so patiently for the throttle. 

[=EXPEND=Dendro]

Throttle looks great!

[dburne]

12 hours ago, =EXPEND=Tripwire said:

Awesome in depth review. 

 

Black box is the same colour as the real life counterpart 

 

 

I have the same setup right now. Stick mount and pedals. It's a great combo. Just waiting ever so patiently for the throttle. 

 

Thanks very much!

I did not know that about the "Black Box", good info to know.

[dburne]

Edited first post to include up close pics of the Gimbal, had it apart just a bit ago to do some adjusting.

It is truly a work of art.

[Soarfeat]

In looking at the picture of the gimbal, are those moving parts that are against the red, yellow and black wires that appear to be coming out of the center of the

gimbal ? It may be the angle of the picture---I was just curious ----- 

Thanks !!!

 

 

 

[dburne]

8 hours ago, soarfeat said:

In looking at the picture of the gimbal, are those moving parts that are against the red, yellow and black wires that appear to be coming out of the center of the

gimbal ? It may be the angle of the picture---I was just curious ----- 

Thanks !!!

 

 

 

 

May be the angle, I have had this gimbal apart probably around  a dozen times and I don't recall seeing anything with the wires that concerned me.

[Soarfeat]

Thanks dburne !!

[KpaxBos]

On 7/25/2018 at 7:41 PM, dburne said:

Edited first post to include up close pics of the Gimbal, had it apart just a bit ago to do some adjusting.

It is truly a work of art.

Hello,

 

I can't put springs #50. Not possible to bend them enough to attach them. How do you do to place those springs ?

 

Thanks for the info.

 

 

[dburne]

3 hours ago, KpaxBos said:

Hello,

 

I can't put springs #50. Not possible to bend them enough to attach them. How do you do to place those springs ?

 

Thanks for the info.

 

 

 

I use small zip ties.

Make a small loop around one end, and loop in the hook of one end of the spring. Hook other end on gimbal, and with a pair of needle nose pliers pull on the zip tie until it hooks over the other end. Then cut zip tie loop and slide out from underneath the spring. Makes it quick and easy.

 

Also use them for removal, I just thread through the attached spring hook, then make the loop  and pull off with the pliers.

 

I too had major problem and damaged spring trying to do it with just pliers, then someone had mentioned this method and gave it a try - so much easier and quite fast to do.

 

 

Edited July 28, 2018 by dburne

[KpaxBos]

Ok I succeed to put those ?#50 springs with your advice.Even with this trick it is not easy. I put the original spring (shipped with desktop version) with the #50.

Will try the joystick later.

Thanks again.

[dburne]

2 hours ago, KpaxBos said:

Ok I succeed to put those ?#50 springs with your advice.Even with this trick it is not easy. I put the original spring (shipped with desktop version) with the #50.

Will try the joystick later.

Thanks again.

 

You are most welcome, have fun!

[HunDread]

Great review. Thanks for sharing.

 

Are you by any chance planning a comparative review with the Virpil stick? It would be quite interesting as well.

[dburne]

1 minute ago, -[HRAF]Black_Sab said:

Great review. Thanks for sharing.

 

Are you by any chance planning a comparative review with the Virpil stick? It would be quite interesting as well.

 

Thanks much!

 

Yes actually I had originally planned on following up with a comparison review of both sticks, just have not taken the time to start it as of yet and frankly had about decided not to bother with it.

 

Perhaps I will go ahead and do so here in the next few days, thanks for the interest.

 

[busdriver]

Strange request...I know. I use Monster Tech mounts for my Warthog gear. With my desktop height, and with the mounting plates bottomed out, both stick and throttle are about one fist above the normal 90 degree elbow bend. Can you post a picture or two of your Monster Tech mount? I'm interested in the full forward stick limit. Trying to get a sense of 1) Would I risk smashing my knuckles into the edge of the desk attachment? 2) Or would the stick grip sit so high (chest level) as to cross the plane/edge of the desk when full forward?

 

Thanks

[dburne]

2 hours ago, busdriver said:

Strange request...I know. I use Monster Tech mounts for my Warthog gear. With my desktop height, and with the mounting plates bottomed out, both stick and throttle are about one fist above the normal 90 degree elbow bend. Can you post a picture or two of your Monster Tech mount? I'm interested in the full forward stick limit. Trying to get a sense of 1) Would I risk smashing my knuckles into the edge of the desk attachment? 2) Or would the stick grip sit so high (chest level) as to cross the plane/edge of the desk when full forward?

 

Thanks

 

VKB stick on Extended Monster Tech Mount.

Warthog Throttle on Standard Monster Tech Mount.

Arms about 90 degrees to my body.

 

 

 

 

I have the stick adjusted far enough back there is plenty of clearance for the grip and my knuckles. Stick is deflected fully forward here.

 

Edited August 9, 2018 by dburne

[GridiroN]

I own the VKB gunfighter and MCG non-pro. I have also done a video review of my first impressions about a day after I got it. 

 

I mean to do a second video now that I've owned it for almost 5-6mo but I've found that my stick or base (can't determine which) has a pretty serious defect in which button number 9 ( the thumb trigger) activates unintentionally with right roll. 

 

Obviously this is pretty annoying as in IL2 i use it for firing cannons only and it gives you away when you're trying to bounce people...

 

I've tried taking it apart and hardware modding/repairing it. Can't seem to fix it. My only gripe with VKB other than their software is written as if the author never expected anyone other than him to use it (which my video got a lot of heat for)

 

Edit: minor complaint but it's also made for people with very large hands. My hands are maybe 1-2cm above average and I cannot access the top buttons easily; my hand does not rest on the hand rest. 

Edited August 9, 2018 by GridiroN

[dburne]

1 hour ago, GridiroN said:

 

Edit: minor complaint but it's also made for people with very large hands. My hands are maybe 1-2cm above average and I cannot access the top buttons easily; my hand does not rest on the hand rest. 

 

Yeah my hands are fairly large and I adjusted the hand rest all the way up to get to where I could comfortably get to those buttons.

It is a large grip.

[dburne]

I should mention the latest firmware by VKB (1_94_B) so far seems to have fixed the phantom button press issue I was seeing. Have had it several days now and not had them again.

[Artunius]

Wish I could get my hands on a gunfighter right now. I'm stuck with a Vanilla Gladiator temporarily, but I was able to find the only set of new T-Rudder's in North America yesterday. Starting to really regret selling off all of my VKB stuff. I've been looking at Virpil (mostly because they have a nice throttle as well), but their shipping is ridiculous compared to VKB's.