I am thinking about getting one but have seen a few posts on various forums stating that the units simply stop working and there is nothing to do except return at your expense. Now if I am paying £300+ for this I don't really expect this to be a hit or miss scenario!

The same thing stopped me from getting a Cougar as the quality just doesn't seem to be there for such an expensive product.

But, I guess this is a decision I have to make on my own but could someone answer a couple of questions please?

The throttle looks heavy and weighty and seems as though it would stay put when using but the joystick not so. Does it have any little anti-slip pads on the base? I will not be fixing it down in a permanent position.

Are all the switches/buttons of good quality?

I too am getting one in less than a month time and would like these questions answered (though I will be hard mounting it).

How long does the warranty last in other countries? In Croatia local retailers give us just 12 months... shockingly low for such a high end product.

Throttle and stick have rubber pads and stayed on my desk well
But throttle afterburner detent you have to mount it or you will lift the base when using. In prop sims I use a curve to be 100% at the detent as its more comfortable hand position.

Well the quality negative first:
-I had one of the first ones, many months now and lost the firmware once but was able to reset it myself with a procedure holding down 2 buttons. The positive is it didn't have to be RMA.
-To get maximum accuracy I had to Re grease the insides myself with lithium grease
-I had this happen to stick after 6 months heavy use (I use it 20 hours per week): http://www.warthogworld.com/hangar/showthread.php?65-Delamination-of-Anti-friction-Buffer-Ring
-Programming is a pain if you don't want to put in the time, be prepared to spend a day per sim setting up good scripts

The plus:
-BEST stick for mounting, same with throttle. Base plates removed it is mounted just the round part at seat level. It's been even more invaluable teamed with the Obutto cockpit. The Only stick for the Obutto IMO
-Easy to extend the stick
-Most powerful scripting of any stick (although a pain)
-Most accurate stick I've ever used
-Very nice solid "real" feel to the stick throttle and buttons, make CH look like a plastic toy

So my thoughts are its not a buy and forget product. It's a high end hobbyist product and you MUST put time into it to get those most out of it.

Even with those negatives, the immersion and experience it gives me is second to none. If mine broke, and I couldn't fix it I would buy a new one as I can't ever go back to CH

The quality for this stick is exceptional, much better than the Cougar. I've had mine for a year now and the throttles still work great. Had to send the stick base back earlier this year and yes, I paid for the return shipping, but have had no trouble since then. Is all the hassle worth it? For DCS A10, yes.

IIRC the throttle unit bricked with a certain motherboard type, but that has now been fixed.

This "database" indicate that are not only MB type related, since are listed Asus, MSI, Intel, MAC board...

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=66542

Maybe chipset?

Sokol1

I have a Gigabyte so should be ok. Think I will take the plunge but will also need rudder pedals again (sold my last set!) as I play ROF. May as well get the TM MFD's too lol. How you finding those Ice?

I got Saitek pro flight rudders and they are ok. I barely use them in-game, just to align the aircraft on the runway on take offs and landings. RoF will need more pedals so I'm not sure if the pro flight ones are "good enough," I remember one guy going for the more expensive version because he was playing WWII sim aircraft.

The MFDs simply rock. Again, one of them failed me earlier this year, but all I had to do was send TM a pic of me cutting the defective unit's USB cable and they were happy to send me a replacement; no need to send the defective unit to them.

I used to have the normal pro flight pedals so was looking at the combat ones this time which have some metal parts.

Do the MFD's get recognised by DCS A-10 or do you have to programme them?

MFDs = plug-n-play.

For Blackshark you might want to make a custom profile, I can attach my inserts if anyone wants an idea what to map.