Home Archive Forum About

CH Products Flight Throttle Quadrant USB

by Douglas Helmer

Article Type: Review
Article Date: May 03, 2006



Introduction:

New hi-fidelity aircraft simulations for the PC, both civilian and military, are in short supply these days. So how does a sim nut continue to extract every last ounce of simming goodness from this small pool of aging sims? We'll, if you are like me, you start ratcheting up the realism.

But what do you do if you have already maxed out all the realism settings in your sims? The next step, of course, is to start thinking about a more authentic cockpit environment. If you are a certifiable sim nut, you'll want to consider building a homebrewed cockpit that duplicates all the controls and guages found in your favourite aircraft. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, let's just say that there are individuals who have actually built, in their basement or garage, full-sized, authentic commercial jetliner cockpits and military strike fighter cockpits.

If you have tons of time, money, and technical know-how, you could build one of these dream sim pits. Or, if you are like me (limited time, limited money, and very limited know-how) you can still take a big step toward enhancing the authenticity of your desktop cockpit without jeopardizing your marriage because you remortgaged the house in order to buy that MFD you just had to have.

CH Product's Throttle Quadrant USB is a relatively low-cost way to add more realism to your simming experience.

What is a Throttle Quadrant?

First off, what is this word "quadrant" (sorry, but I just can't move on until I deal with this). I searched high and low on the Internet for the origin of the full phrase "throttle quadrant," but found nothing definitive. Turns out, the word "quadrant" means one-quarter of a circle. Based on that bit of fact, I'll take the huge intellectual leap and guess the reason we call them throttle quadrants is because the levers were designed to travel the 90 degrees of a quarter circle.

Why we call it a throttle "quadrant".

Now, if I am right about this quadrant business (which I'll assume I am until proven otherwise), then I guess the CH Throttle Quadrant isn't really a quadrant at all because the levers only travel 60 degrees over their arc. That would make it, technically speaking, a throttle sextant. Had enough of this nonsense yet? I know I have.

Moving on.

The Unit:

Housing:
  • Material: Injection Molded Plastic
  • Color: Charcoal Grey
Dimensions:
  • Width: 8 inches
  • Depth: 5 inches
  • Height of Housing: 3.5 inches
  • Height of Levers: 2.5 inches
  • Total Height: 6.0 inches
  • Space between Levers: 9/16 inch.
Six Levers. Six 2-Way Switches. Interchangeable black, red, and blue knobs. Quality construction.

As with all of CH Product's controllers, the external housing of this throttle quadrant is made of injection moulded plastic and is a dark charcoal grey in color. As I have said in previous reviews of CH Products gear, it is worth noting that their device's external housings are extremely well made and will stand up to years and years of intensive use. I have CH joysticks and throttles that have seen daily use for six years that show no wear whatsoever.

Levers:

There are six levers. The levers are precision molded plastic with strenghthening ribs.

The movement of the levers is tight and resistance is a consistent value throughout their range of travel. I have relatively large hands (4.5" across the palm), but I had no problem wrapping my fingers between the levers from underneath, or grabbing all four middle levers from above. On the other hand, if you work with your hands all day and have chubby fingers that resemble brautwursts, you may have a problem wrapping your fingers underneath and between the levers.

Idle Detent:

Each lever has a physical catch or "detent" position near the low end of the lever's travel. It is referred to as the "Idle Detent" because this is the position you want your throttle lever to be at to keep your engines in low idle. On jet aircraft throttle quadrants, there is often two detents: one for the idle position, and another at the high end between full normal power and afterburner. This quadrant only has the one idle detent.

CH Products achieves this detent catch through the use of a spring-loaded, chisel-shaped piece of white plastic that falls into a slot cut into the hub of each lever. It only takes a slight bit of extra pressure on the lever to push it out of the detent position.

How long this chisel-point piece of plastic will last under constant use is not something I know, although it does give me pause. Most detents in commercial grade gear use a spring-loaded steel ball bearing that falls into a divot. A ball bearing is virtually immune to wear; I'm not sure about this plastic-on-plastic approach in terms of maintaining a crisp-feeling detent after years of extended use.

The Detent Advantage

The advantage of the detent is the physical reference point it gives you in order to set all your throttle levers in the exact same idle position. This is handy if you don't want your multi-engine bomber doing slow circles to the left or right while you warm up the engines on the tarmac.

The detent also allows you to program multiple functions into each lever's range of travel: you can have one function programmed into the range below the detent, another at the detent, and a third function above the detent.

The Holy Grail of this arrangement (provided your sim supports this feature) is to program reverse thrust into your jet engines when you pull your throttle levers all the way back into the minimum zone below the idle detent. Even if your sim does have a command to invoke reverse thrust, like FS 2004 does, you may find it difficult to get it to work with your throttle quadrant. Here's a couple of good posts on this subject from over at CH-Hangar.com:

And this from Bob Church's Stickworks:

Hob Knobbery:

The knobs on the levers are all removable and interchangeable. CH includes two extra knobs as well. In total, you get 4 black knobs, 2 red knobs, and 2 blue knobs. It only takes a moderate amount of force to pop the knobs off, and they lock on with a little ridge molded inside the slot for the lever. A tip o' the hat to the designers for this design as this simple procedure could've been a nightmare on less thoughtfully designed levers.

The black throttle knobs are round with a concave surface which makes it easy to rest your fingers upon them and simultaneously slide the levers forward. The red knobs are round with a fluted rib surface and the blue knobs are rectangular with a wavy surface. All these different surface textures allow you to grab the proper lever without looking down.

Switches:

In addition to the six levers, there are six switches. Each switch is a 2-way momentary switch. A momentary switch will not lock into a set position, so if you push the switch up it returns to the center position as soon as you release it. Each position, both up and down, can be programmed via the CH Control Manager, thus giving you 12 programmable functions at minimum.

Setup:

As with all CH Products controller devices, you have two options:

  1. Install the device as a USB controller
  2. Install as a USB controller, then use the Control Manager software to program the throttle as a CH Control Device.

Option 1 is doable, but highly unlikely since you'll probably be using the CH Products Throttle Quadrant with other CH controllers running in programmed mode.

Can you use this throttle quadrant controller as a USB device while your other CH controllers run in programmed mode? Yes. In games that recognize more than one controller input (e.g., FS 2004, IL-2) you can have your controllers running in different "modes," either direct USB or as programmed or "mapped" devices. For games that do not recognize more than one controller, you'll have to use the CH Control Manager software to combine all your CH controllers into one programmed device.

Can you mix your CH throttle quadrant with non CH controllers? Yes. According to the FAQ over at CH-Hangar.com, you can mix your USB throttle quadrant controller with other controllers such as Microsoft, Saitek, and Logitech, but you won't be able to program those other devices with the CH Control Manager software.

Hands On:

I used the CH Products Throttle Quadrant USB in both IL-2 Pacific Fighters and FS 2004. In PF, there are no flyable four-engine bombers, so I configured the middle two levers for left and right engine throttle, then the next two for prop pitch, then the outer two for mixture. I programmed a variety of functions into the switches: individual engine start, feather prop, fire extinguishers, level flight, gear, and so on. The advantage of flying with this dedicated throttle quadrant really came home in a bombing mission where my flight got jumped by Japanese Zeros. Despite the best efforts of my gunners, the enemy managed to flame my starboard engine. Normally, when this would happen, I would begin a keyboard tap dance. Each step described below required a combination, 2-key command (e.g., Alt + P):
  1. Isolate the damaged engine
  2. Shut down the engine
  3. Apply fire extinguisher
  4. Feather the prop

In the heat of battle, and with your gunners screaming in your headset, this is easier said than done. With the throttle quadrant, it was a simple matter to perform the needed steps. In fact, after running this same mission several times, I was able to perform the emergency shutdown procedure for a damaged engine without taking my eyes off the screen since all the levers and buttons are "findable" by feel alone.

Time to whip out the emergency engine shutdown procedure. Oh, and someone get that Zeke off my tail!

What I described above is just one of an infinite number of setups you could put into your throttle quadrant. I inspected one of Kevin "Revvin" Watt's downloadable configurations for IL-2/PF and he used some of the levers not for engine control but for functions such as flaps and arrestor hook. The logic behind this is very sound since there a several aircraft functions where the position of the lever lets you know at a glance what's going on with your aircraft.

For example, how many times have you been on final for a carrier trap when when of your buds chirped up on Teamspeak or Roger Wilco to tell you that your tail hook wasn't down? By setting flaps, spoilers, gear, or arrestor hook, or any other easily forgettable function to a lever, you get the advantage of not only getting the command off the keyboard, but also having the physical position of the lever that correlates to the physical position of the programmed control surface or device like an arrestor hook. All you do is glance at the lever and that tells you, by its position, whether the device or control surface is deployed or not.

In FS 2004, there are plenty of opportunities to fly four-engine commercial jets, so the quadrant really shines in this sim. When you get your CH throttle quadrant to work with FS 2004's engine thrust reversers feature, there is really nothing cooler than touching down in a heavy and applying full reverse thrust to bring the big beast to a halt...the roar of the reverse thrust is an awesome aural experience.

Side Note: It's a good thing that this quadrant has strong attaching clamps since a few of my landings were a tad hot and I was reefing back on those throttle levers rather, er, "enthusiastically" when I was running out of usable runway.

Bringing a commercial jetliner in FS 2004 to a halt. Thrust reversers engaged using the CH throttle quadrant's throttle lever's min zone below the idle detent position.

I also used the quadrant in the spectacular B-25J Mitchell bomber "Briefing Time" add-on. This is a WWII two-engine bomber so I was able to program each engine's prop pitch and fuel mixture onto the levers in addition to throttle.

The best part of using the CH throttle quadrant for this sim was programming the switches to help in the authentic engine startup sequence. You can just click the switches in the on-screen interactive cockpit panel pop-ups, but doing it on the throttle quadrant is pretty cool. To start the 25's engines, there's a whole set of steps that include setting magnetos, turning on fuel pumps, running up the starter, priming the engine, then meshing the starter to start the engine.

The switches for the "Briefing Time" B-25-J Mitchell's engines. The important switches for starting the engines can be programmed onto your CH Throttle Quadrant USB.

It's interesting to note that the developers of Briefing Time had to make some compromises in the authenticity of the startup method because most simmers only have one "finger," the mouse, to click switches. If you watch the videos that come with this add-on, you can see that the real aircraft's startup requires the pilot to do a couple of things at the same time. I'm not an FS add-on expert, but the CH Throttle Quadrant USB, with its multiple switches, might allow the more authentic startup since you could, conceivably, be performing two functions nearly simulataneously. Again, I'm no expert on this stuff...there are key command delay thingamajigs that I don't understand, but I thought it was worth a mention.

Hey! It started! Exterior view of the "Briefing Time" in FS 2004

Conclusion:

No surprises here. Just another high-quality offering from CH Products. Unlike a joystick, or a single-axis throttle, the CH Products Throttle Quadrant USB, with its six levers and six, 2-way switches, isn't a simming necessity, but it is sure nice to have.

If you like flying multi-engine bombers in either combat sims or as add-ons to FS 2004, this quadrant will let you control each engine separately along with pitch and mixture.

If you like to fly commercial jet sims, this throttle quadrant will enhance your landing fun ten fold if you program the reverse thrust feature into your throttle levers.

If you are just sick and tired of doing the keyboard tap dance every time you setup your fighter plane for a carrier landing, then you'll appreciate the visual references this quadrant's many levers affords so you can see, at a glance, where your various control surfaces, arresting hook, and other devices are set.

For its high quality construction, programmability, and enthusiastic corporate and community support, the CH Products Throttle Quadrant USB gets a COMBATSIM.COM Top Pick Award:


Related Articles:

Review: CH Products Flight Sim Yoke USB

Discuss:

Visit our hardware and controllers forum to discuss this article.

Pricing:

Links in this Review:







© 2014 COMBATSIM.COM - All Rights Reserved