Hey I have been in the market for the Thrustmaster Cougar HOTAS joystick & throttle but have not found it anywhere. Is it not being made anymore?

I looked at some ebay ones but it is either the early version or the late version with just the throttle. I have also searched amazon and many other online retailers and have have no success.

I am aware of the problems that occur with the HOTAS cougar and I understand it would require some modding/fixing to make it right. This is a project I would like to try. However since I cannot find the HOTAS Cougar anywhere I am starting to wonder if searching for one is to become very dire.

Perhaps someone knows a place where I could grab one?

Thanks.

No longer in production.

Might want to save some pennies for the new Thrustmaster Warthog controller.
http://www.thrustmaster.com/product.aspx?ProductID=205&PlatformID=5
http://www.simhq.com/_technology3/technology_175a.html
http://www.simhq.com/_commentary/all_101b.html

Is the Joystick the same as the F-16 one? They look very similar. Perhaps I could buy the throttle alone and get the HOTAS Warthog Stick. I fly in Falcon AF mostly so I am looking for the F-16 stuff.

What is the going price for the HOTAS warthog?

The Cougar really is no longer in production? It's the end of an era...

The HOTAS Warthog's stick is very similar to the Cougar's in design, but it's not the same. The handle is redesigned (and hopefully painted such that it won't wear off so easily) and the stick base is vastly improved according to preliminary reports, but the stick connection is still the same one used on the Cougar, apparently. Just note that the added push-down on H4 (the hat switch off to the left side of the shaft) won't register on the Cougar if you're using a Warthog handle on it, and the Cougar handle obviously doesn't have that functionality.

Another major difference is that the Cougar uses one USB port, with the stick as a master and the throttle slaved to the stick. The Warthog has an independent stick and throttle, both with their own USB ports; they're unified in T.A.R.G.E.T. much like you would with CH Products equipment in the Control Manager. This also means that the Cougar throttle by itself is useless, since the stick is where the heart of the whole system resides.

The Warthog is definitely an exciting product, but I can't see myself actually buying one without some T.A.R.G.E.T.-compatible rudder pedals; I need everything under one DirectInput ID for some games, and the Cougar does that nicely.

If I do get sold on it, though, I'll undoubtedly have to sell my Cougar and RCS to offset the cost, both of which are modified (the former with the first-generation Force-Controlled Cougar mod, a nice fit for Falcon 4.0; the latter with a Hall sensor kit), and may be modified even further in the meantime (thinking of adding toebrakes to the RCS by adding CH pedal footrests to it and wiring up their pots, as well as adding a Hall sensor to the throttle as well as the friction fix). None of that comes cheap, though, and I have no idea if anyone would be willing to pay the price now that the Saitek X-65F's out (even though that one doesn't have rudder pedals).

I actually have a Cougar that I was thinking about selling along with the RCS pedals. If you're interested let me know, I didn't use them all that often. The RCS pedals I bought second hand so they are a little beat up but still function fine. The Cougar I bought about 7 years ago and I've taken good care of it. I still have the box for it....
You can send me an email to cegross2@verizon.net if you are interested.

Thanks,

Chris