VPforce Rhino - Modern FFB Joystick

[Varibraun]

I just put myself on the waiting list for the VPforce Rhino FFB joystick.  I believe that @truelynolen @Lusekofte and some others here may have one and I am interested in any thoughts you are willing to share and how long it took you after getting on the waiting list to being asked for payment.  Thank you! 

 

Background for anyone who hasn't seen this yet:

https://forums.mudspike.com/t/vpforce-rhino-ffb-review/15200

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

[Lusekofte]

Mine arrived yesterday. But I have not collected it yet. I will look into it asap but are on long hours night time working atm. 
what I read is, it is not easily prone to overheat by using extension on your stick like Brünner’s 

But it is worth keeping an eye on and think about. 

[Varibraun]

1 hour ago, Lusekofte said:

Mine arrived yesterday.

 

Great! It sounds like it is well deserved thank you present to yourself after all the long hours. I look forward to your thoughts.

 

I know you said in the other thread that it came up a lot sooner than you were expecting.  Approximately what was your serial # (don't need exact, just 300s, 400s, 500s etc.)? Mine is just over 1000 and the automated query tells me there are 670 ahead of me - so I am expecting an approximately 12+ month wait?

 

Edit - FYI - Just queried !stats on their Discord and got this answer:

 

Edited January 9, 2024 by Varibraun

[Lusekofte]

I got mine less than 4 weeks after I ordered. I was not expecting to have to pay for it now. Because it said same thing for me. I do however believe some people are not able to pay for it when the day come. And I was one of those lucky to get a finished one. 
 

Edited January 9, 2024 by Lusekofte

[ACG_Invictus]

Got mine two weeks ago.  Great product and the build quality is excellent.  I highly recommend turning down "Shaking" under the in-game Force Feedback settings to zero and using the VPForce Telemetry application for shaking effects.  The app adds a ton of immersion over the standard in-game FF effects (IMO, of course). 

[356thFS_Piranha]

I also have the VPforce FFB. Love it but can't seem to configure the Telem FFB. Can you point me to a manual with instructions.

Thanks

[Varibraun]

 

20 hours ago, 86th_Piranha said:

I also have the VPforce FFB. Love it but can't seem to configure the Telem FFB. Can you point me to a manual with instructions.

Thanks

 

Thank you Piranha - Regarding your question, I saw the manual link on the Discord.  It appears to be updated regularly and the TelemFFB portion starts on P.26 and the IL2 GB portion starts on P.43:

 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YL5DLkiTxlaNx_zKHEYSs25PjmGtQ6_WZDk58_SGt8Y/edit

Edited January 11, 2024 by Varibraun

[356thFS_Piranha]

Thanks!

 

[Lusekofte]

Less big and less heavy than expected. Looks like buildt like a tank. 

I wonder what stick to choose for it. 

or the one I got

latter feel a bit small to my hands.  Is the Mongoose any good. I think I be selling my Virpil stick and rudders so

 

[JG27*PapaFly]

49 minutes ago, Lusekofte said:

Less big and less heavy than expected. Looks like buildt like a tank. 

I wonder what stick to choose for it. 

or the one I got

latter feel a bit small to my hands.  Is the Mongoose any good. I think I be selling my Virpil stick and rudders so

 

That base looks great! I have big hands and love the Alpha grip on my Virpil stick!

[Varibraun]

23 hours ago, Lusekofte said:

Less big and less heavy than expected. Looks like buildt like a tank. 

 

Awesome - looking forward to your thoughts. 

 

Regarding the grip, if I get a Rhino, I will be trying with my VPC Alpha Prime and Warthog grip to keep the metal feel.  I also agree with @JG27*PapaFly that the Alpha is a pretty beefy feeling grip (I currently use it vs. my old Warthog grip).  Good luck!

[Lusekofte]

On 1/13/2024 at 2:45 PM, Varibraun said:

 

Awesome - looking forward to your thoughts. 

 

Regarding the grip, if I get a Rhino, I will be trying with my VPC Alpha Prime and Warthog grip to keep the metal feel.  I also agree with @JG27*PapaFly that the Alpha is a pretty beefy feeling grip (I currently use it vs. my old Warthog grip).  Good luck!

You have to choose when ordering. Standard is Virpil 

you can buy conversion kit but it means new wiring 

Truth is in real deal grips was not made of metal. What is important is trigger and brake handle are. I have no need holding in metal myself. But I do like not braking the trigger

[Lusekofte]

Well tested it for the first time today. And dependant on how you read reviews I must say I am overly positive surprised. 

I put it on top of some books for now and flew hind, mi 8 and Gazelle. I am very pampered by my other stick. But flying choppers with ffb stick was surprisingly easy and intuitive. Very smooth. Some said it had a  noisy and stuttering way of moving. This is absolutely not true. 
it is silent and smooth. The developer say you need to tweak it in vp force interface. And the force can easily be adjusted on a knob on the base. I will see what the many options have to offer. But I am impressed by its plug and play with no hassle in DCS. I will test it in GB on a later occasion 

For those ordered it. No worries. Your expectations will be met with awe

[Panzerlang]

1 hour ago, Lusekofte said:

Well tested it for the first time today. And dependant on how you read reviews I must say I am overly positive surprised. 

I put it on top of some books for now and flew hind, mi 8 and Gazelle. I am very pampered by my other stick. But flying choppers with ffb stick was surprisingly easy and intuitive. Very smooth. Some said it had a  noisy and stuttering way of moving. This is absolutely not true. 
it is silent and smooth. The developer say you need to tweak it in vp force interface. And the force can easily be adjusted on a knob on the base. I will see what the many options have to offer. But I am impressed by its plug and play with no hassle in DCS. I will test it in GB on a later occasion 

For those ordered it. No worries. Your expectations will be met with awe

Can you test it with some sustained-turn dog-fighting? I'd like to know how long it takes to reduce/shut down its forces for over-heat protection (like what the Brunner does so disastrously). TIA.

[Lusekofte]

I have tested it in hard turns for half an hour with 10 cm extension. The fan did not even turn on. The reason for me abandoning the idea of brunner was its overheating problems in cfs environment. It looks to be fine. But I cannot test it for real until I made a pedestal for it. It sit too loose on the books 

[Varibraun]

4 hours ago, Lusekofte said:

For those ordered it. No worries. Your expectations will be met with awe

 

Thank you - I think that is very positive encouragement that I trust coming from you.  I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts once you get it bolted down.  I still appear to be pretty far down on the list.  

[Lusekofte]

DCS and IL 2 got native ffb support. So they are plug and play. 
I will have to read a bit in the manual. Because obviously buying such a ffb stick means tweaking and another complex gadget. I was mostly concerned about overheating since Brünner got that. And I think we can rule that out. 

[Flying_Colander]

 

Look forward to more updates...

[Lusekofte]

I be damned. You can tweak the stick while flying. Huey no problem. Less spring and more damper 

Still books but fasten to the chair ?

[Lusekofte]

There is a concern about ffb and Gb.  I read that it happens with other ffb sticks in this game. I can trim it but the planes seem to push the stick forward in flight. Responses on the stick is good but the stick stay in a forward position that I do not like. There might be a solution for this, but not found it yet. Very annoyed about this, in special considering how well it perform in DCs 

[Varibraun]

3 hours ago, Lusekofte said:

There is a concern about ffb and Gb.  I read that it happens with other ffb sticks in this game. I can trim it but the planes seem to push the stick forward in flight. Responses on the stick is good but the stick stay in a forward position that I do not like. There might be a solution for this, but not found it yet. Very annoyed about this, in special considering how well it perform in DCs 

 

From a quick look at the VP Discord, it appears that @86th_Piranha may have had this same issue (see below), but I think he got it corrected in the VP software.  Maybe he will reply here with a quick fix?

 

[Lusekofte]

Yes I am more into right placement and high of the stick right now. I probably will find a solution. But I feel like sharing con and pro as they happen. So I do not misinform

[Varibraun]

1 hour ago, Lusekofte said:

But I feel like sharing con and pro as they happen. So I do not misinform

 

Very much appreciated!

[kestrel79]

Does the VKB adapter work with the older 5 prong connectors? I have a S neck extension and VKB Fat Black Mamba stick still going strong.

[Lusekofte]

I suggest you go in to go force Rhino discord or website to ask. I am not sure what vkp adapter he use. They offer vkb adapter 

I made a simple solution turned it 180 ° so I could get the right distance to the stick

the settings are unlimited and since I fly a lot of stuff I need to have a lot of profiles. 
It do not produce heat no matter what I do

no matter how much power I choose to have. It is incredible accurate and in my mind best ever stick I owned. 
I currently have Virpil, Polish custom built , max flight stick,  Ace yoke 

So I know what quality is. I am very happy I chose this. 
I know now why I got mine serie no. 0320. I did preorder a year ago in Discord. I just forgot. So when I went in their website and ordered there I already was in a queue 

[Lusekofte]

And deleting my first setting seems to fix the push forward tendencies in GB. 
Since I love rubbish planes I cannot say it for certain since I now tested it in combatbox with 3 flights in Mossie and Typhoon. The stick stayed where it should. I will test further tomorrow

[Lusekofte]

added the new Apache grip to my old collective. And made my simpit totally inaccessible  

Had to move it a bit back in order to be able to use it. 
I cannot praise this rhino stick high enough. 
It is truly a gem. No problems what so ever. 

[Dagwoodyt]

I would like to order one. Too bad they don't have a secure website for placing orders.

[Varibraun]

On 2/8/2024 at 4:20 PM, Lusekofte said:

I cannot praise this rhino stick high enough. 
It is truly a gem. No problems what so ever. 

 

That's awesome, thank you for the continued review.  Unless something drastic changes, I will pull the trigger when my number comes up.  I am a little over 600 away from the current shipping #, so my guess is that will be around a year away, maybe late this year if production continues to ramp up.

[Lusekofte]

16 hours ago, Dagwoodyt said:

I would like to order one. Too bad they don't have a secure website for placing orders.

When you order you simply reserve a spot in production. You do not pay until it is ready for shipment. I payed with PayPal 

[Dagwoodyt]

Old video, but seems like hackers can compromise visitors' systems without visitors entering any info.

 

 

[Lusekofte]

Well you do not enter any sensitive data in their website

[Dagwoodyt]

2 hours ago, Lusekofte said:

Well you do not enter any sensitive data in their website

Thanks. It would just be great if there were alternative ways to get on the list than by using an unsecured website's form. Seems a phishing scammer monitoring that form page could get all the info needed to plan an attack and even cross-reference it with other databases at their disposal. I could install Discord and try there, but I'd prefer a simpler way to get on the list. It's going to require a 1 year+ wait in any case. ?

Edited February 13, 2024 by Dagwoodyt

[Lusekofte]

I have no tested the force trim in vp force software. 
It basically park the stick right where you want it. 
I did import some profiles but did not like them much. And I my moron forgot to save my own settings. So now it is back to fine tune 

[Lusekofte]

Well due to health issues probably going to last over the summer. I happily are flying at all times. Every day. I can say this stick have been flying and will be flying a lot 

Absolutely no issues what so ever. Once tuned in VP force settings to whatever you like. It is a masterpiece. I owned so many high end sticks and all was good. 
But this thing , due to you can change everything. Is just the best the world has to offer. Hands down both in feel and quality it is no better out there. Want it heavy and centering while in speed like an old vintage fighter. Want it like a chopper where it stick where you leave it. Want it like a jet. Firm but always centering. One click and you got it

[Dagwoodyt]

Just checked and see their website no longer triggers a security warning. Good move!

[Varibraun]

On 3/20/2024 at 7:43 AM, Lusekofte said:

Well due to health issues probably going to last over the summer. I happily are flying at all times. Every day. I can say this stick have been flying and will be flying a lot 

Absolutely no issues what so ever. Once tuned in VP force settings to whatever you like. It is a masterpiece. I owned so many high end sticks and all was good. 
But this thing , due to you can change everything. Is just the best the world has to offer. Hands down both in feel and quality it is no better out there. Want it heavy and centering while in speed like an old vintage fighter. Want it like a chopper where it stick where you leave it. Want it like a jet. Firm but always centering. One click and you got it

 

Thank you for the update - very encouraging.  I am still hoping for one at the end of this year based on my #.

Edited March 22, 2024 by Varibraun

[Lusekofte]

9 minutes ago, Varibraun said:

 

Thank you update - very encouraging.  I am still hoping for one at the end of this year based on my #.

Just let your pulse go slow. This is an item worth all the money you pay. And it is worth the wait. A It is metal unlike diy kit. It is sturdy. Got a fan if heating up. I only heard it work when I test it. It stay cool during my flying sessions. It is very accurate and resistance can be tuned with a nob if you want it changed. 
On the immersive side the stick is loose while on ground flying warbirds. You only get the centering and stiffness when control surfaces get sufficient airflow. That is really cool. 
But there is things you need to know so read the instructions and learn them. The strength of the motor is also what can make problems. I always switch off the current when I am ending my flying. A safety push button. 

Edited March 22, 2024 by Lusekofte

[Youtch]

There seems to be a similar systems here:

 

It looks very tempting.

 

Hopefully VKB will pick up this design and produce it at bigger volume. There is surely a market for it.

[Aapje]

If VKB picks this up it will take 10 years before you can actually buy it.

 

I like the company, but they are slow.

 

But more seriously, a big issue with FFB is that the biggest advantage is in warbirds, but that is only a small niche within flight simming, which itself is already smaller than car simming.