Purchasing quality flight sim hardware in Australia

[453=SGII_Wotan]

Gday 

 

I live in Western Australia and would like some advise on what you think are good quality flight sim hardware products.

I am planning onsetting up a sim pit, I have ordered track ir from scorptec, now I need joystick, rudder pedals and the actual sim pit.

I used to run Logitek rudder pedals and an X52 joystick setup in the days of 1946.

 

However, looking at the warthog setup and other equipment the quality looks alot better

so whats out there guys feedback is appreciated

 

thanks in advance 

 

Wotan

[Rhino-1938]

I modified a Playseat for air/sim use see attached

[Dusty_Steppes]

That all depends on your budget. I went with Virpil for the throttle and stick, MFG Crosswind for the rudder pedals, a Blackhog button box and mounted it all on a GT Omega Prime extruded aluminum frame with Trak Racer castors. I went down the road of trying to use cheaper products and found it to be a waste of money and time because the durability and performance I was seeking wasn't provided. This setup has proven to be rock solid for a couple of years and the frame allows me to easily add/remove equipment and adjust everything for an ergonomic fit.

[cardboard_killer]

@453=SGII_Wotan, there are as many answers to the question as there are products. I think, though, that you will want a stick with an extension for a dedicated pit. That probably means Virpil, VKB (I use) or Winwing. They are all great from the feedback you'll see posted here. I think you'll get the most votes for Crosswinds (I use) for your rudders, but there are cheaper options (as well as more expensive). As for throttles, there are quite a few options. If you aren't planning on going into DCS, I think most any will do--I still use a CH six throttle quadrant and it works fine for me.

 

As @Dusty_Steppes wrote above, it all depends on your budget and that should be driven by your dedication to the hobby as well as availability of funds. If you know you'll be simming a long time into the future, spend big. JMO.

[Lusekofte]

On 2/2/2024 at 11:21 PM, 453=SGII_Wotan said:

warthog setup

I suggest not to buy Warthog setup and rather go for better quality. Warthog do not have a proper gimbal. VKB, Virpil and winwig does. 
Warthog suit DCS much better but is very old tech 

Flying ww2 combat a smoother more accurate stick is recconended

[HazMatt]

My experience with 3 different TM hotas is that the ones they are currently making are junk. Twitching on a 2nd axis when moving 1 axis, buttons wearing out, just overall cheap and poorly made. Not like the ones of yesteryear.

 

I had the same experience with the Logitech X55.

 

Plan to buy Virpil here.

[[CPT]Crunch]

Virpil will also back their stuff up, my Y sensor went bad recently after about six months, just a bad sensor, they helped trouble shoot it making sure it wasn't something like a loose connection, than sent a new Y-axis sensor board.  No BS, no questions, no hassle, they sent it half way around the world the next day at no cost to me, should be here soon.  They gave the option to send it in for repair, but we both knew what the issue is and the stick base is straight forward and simple enough I can do it quicker myself.  Having messed around with various cams and springs they're smooth as a baby's bottom and tough as a T-34.

[Sgt_Joch]

I used to have a CH fighter stick/pro throttle which was perfectly fine for IL2, but after 10 years of use, both were getting very spiky and replacing the pots only partially solved the problem. CH used to be fine, but the underlying design with analog pots is obsolete.

 

After looking around at possible replacements, I purchased the Winwing Orion2 F16 stick/F18 throttle a year ago. Price is very reasonable, quality is impressive and have had no issues at all. It is a bit of overkill for Il2, but perfect for DCS.

[453=SGII_Wotan]

Ok I've got a scorptec vengeance PC coming. I9 64 gig of ram 4090 gfx.

 

I have track it and a 32

 Inch msi gaming monitor so fellow Aussies of the killer Caldwell mold wot next

[Aapje]

Don't forget to check/update the BIOS after you get it, and then check whether it is running the Intel Baseline profile, so your CPU doesn't degrade quickly.