Finally, I found an affordable Thrustmaster Cougar for my motion platform simpit. Ebay for only 172.00 and the seller said "This joystick is in decent condition. The only flaw is that one of the slider buttons is missing on the throttle." No worries, I can replace a switch cap...right?

Well....along with the switch cap that was missing there was a bad:

- Throttle range knob (how do you ream those out in normal use?) the range pot itself will press in to actuate a button but will not pop back up.

- Antenna Elevation pot is bad (have not tried to clean it yet and that would probably fix it)

- missing button cap on the radio 4-way (mentioned in the ad)

- broken casing on the Hat 4 switch on the stick so it slips down into the stick when you try to use it

And to top it off:

- Broken Y-Axis gimbal on the stick.

To be fair, the seller did offer to refund my cost and take the HOTAS back after I told him about the issues. But I think I can take care of everything and still have a fair deal on the HOTAS. Other than the mechanical issues the HOTAS looks almost new, no scuffing on the lettering, etc.


I have actually fixed the Hat 4 by gluing the casing back together, I think I can fix the stuck range knob button, I can try to clean the Antenna Elevation pot or replace it with a better unit out of my bits and pieces drawer. And believe it or not I fixed the Y-Axis gimbal but I am not sure how long that fix will last.

By the way, I happened to have a modded set of Thrustmaster rudder pedals (I added toebrakes) and they do indeed plug and play with the Cougar, awesomesauce as my daughter would say.

To make a long story still longer here is what I think I need:

A spare set of gimbals in case my repair fails.

A Radio Switch (or just the cap) This one is the only vitally needed part.

A Hat 4 switch in case my repair fails on that as well (and I am confident that it will fail).

An Antenna Pot in case I cannot clean the one that I have nor find a spare in a drawer anywhere.

A Range pot in case I cannot fix the one that I have.

Here is what I did to repair the gimbal, it seems to be working perfectly well.







Please let me know what you have and how much.

Thank you

Pots, switches, and IIRC covers for those are still available from TM. Or at least they were last year when I got my stuff. I'm not sure about that gimbal fixture thing though. I would guess TM is your best bet for parts at the moment.

Yes but I thought I would check with the community for used parts first. You never know. From what I have read you can get the original gimbals from TM, they are not listed but if you email them they do have them.

Lol... the community's "used parts" are very likely damaged as well. Or spares. Good info on the gimbals though, can you confirm that if ever you do go down that route? Thanks!