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Four Throttles
by Leonard "Viking1" Hjalmarson
 

Of these four throttle units, the SFS is the winner for pure heft. In spite of that, both the Thrustmaster TQS and the Saitek X36 have a very solid feel. I expect that the CH Pro Throttle might gain additional heft in its coming rebirth.

Only one of the four throttles used a slide action rather than an arcing motion. The Pro Throttle was criticized by some virtual pilots when compared to the arcing action of the other units. This too may be remedied in its coming rebirth.

Pro Throttle
CH Pro Throttle

Finally, although this article is primarily on throttles, it's tough to touch on HOTAS issues without mentiong the Quickshot Masterpilot, a programmable console that mounts thirty one buttons! Until the advent of Game Commander I used my Masterpilot mostly for a COMMS system, notably in F15, Total Air War and Falcon 4.

Click to continue

 

B17 II
B17 II: Four Engined Bomber

Since Game Commander, however, I have used it primarily for weapon and radar functions. I suspect that when Super Hornet and Longbow III arrive it will continue to be put to good use. Game Commander and the Masterpilot have enabled me to virtually leave my keyboard behind in high end simulations.

Conclusion

I didn't mention Thrustmaster's low end Attack Throttle in this roundup, or the non pro version of CH Products throttle, since the design itself was very similar to the Pro Throttle.

This fall we will see the next evolution in throttle design, and the various manufacturers aren't saying much. In the next month or two, however, news will begin to leak out and we might even get our hands on one or two of the latest iterations. Stay tuned as we bring you the latest on the greatest new simulation hardware for the new millenium.

For more on HOTAS systems see:

Feb. 1999 The Perfect HOTAS

Feb. 1999 HOTAS Guide

INDEX HOTAS Index

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Last Updated August 4th, 1999

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