Joe / Teej,

Thanks for the info. I'm sold

Damn you SimHQ! just threw my x-52pro and my g940 up on amazon to try to recoup some of the cost and then pre ordered this....hopefully this will quell my obsession with peripherals........oh no....what do i do about rudder pedals...

Does the Warthog use the Cougar stick with just a different base? It looks the same.

Oh no! It looks the same because the handle looks the same IRL, but it's been completely redone with much better feel/force when pressing the buttons as well as its design. The handle is one of my fave parts of the unit and if I ever use my FSSB modded Cougar again, I'll definitely use the HW handle on it, too!

I don't think any part of the Warthog stick grip is interchangable with the Cougar - the pieces join in different places and the screw holes aren't in the same places.

Plus, remember the Warthog stick has a pushbutton function on the CMS switch (the hat on the side of the stick) - it's now up-down-left-right-push.

Teej - Did you get a date after which you can release photos ? Just curious, cause I did not. I dont mind to release a few photos of the innards but dont want to get in trouble.

Meengreen - The Warthog has the same F-16 handle in appearance as the Cougar. Other than that... no, it is very different from the Cougar. What Teej said about the grip and parts is correct. The Cougar feels like something made in China and the Warthog feels.... well, solid. To answer your other question, it has lighter throw than the Cougar, but not as light as the CH Fighterstick or Combatstick. I personally enjoy the Fighterstick, bc it can be used for several hours without wrist or elbow pain. Not so, for the Cougar. The Warthog is closer to the Fighterstick than the Cougar. A good point in its favor, if you ask me.

The rest of you - Pre-ordering is fine and all, especially if $420 is no biggie to ya, but I might hold off, especially if you have something that is decent and you are used to. Best to let a few die hards and virtual testing squadrons put it thru the ringer for several more months. A few of you asked about rudder pedals to pair with it. Obviously, if $420 US dollars does not make you shrink back, then the pedals to pair with it are the F-16 Simpeds. Well made, virtually indestructible and easy to adjust.

In regards to images;

I held out for over a week, but finally caved and pre-ordered.

May my girlfriend have mercy on my soul...

I do not know how the A-10 throttle feels(yet), but for me the F-16 throttle feels like it was designed just for me. Absolutely perfect fit.

Regarding pedals, I have the original Thrustmaster metal unit that works perfectly with the Cougar, I take it they won't be compatible with the Warthog? TIA

Not directly, but you should be able to link it with the cougar, and link the cougar with your pc, and use the rudders. However, I'm not sure this is entirely correct, someone will correct me

The simw website is back up after "a few hours"

Sorry if this has been asked, can the CH Pro Pedals work with the Warthog? I'm guessing so as a second controller.

Thx

Yes, it'll work fine.

This is the best advice I have seen in here. A few months in the hands of more people besides the VTB is a very good idea. I have nothing against the VTB, but I want to hear from other people who weren't sponsored by TM or had anything to do with them.

I'd do the same thing if I were in your shoes! I tend to spend copious amounts of time researching all kinds of technology I buy, and I usually end up very satisfied with my purchases after spending insane hours researching and reading reviews, so I completely understand and agree with your approach.

As a side note... we don't get paid to pedal TM's merchendise in the community. That's not part of our agreement with TM. If their equipment sucks we wouldn't be using it in the first place and our contract allows us to part ways if their lineup doesn't meet our own requirements to fly the way we do. (We just need to display their logo and company name on our "jerseys" as any sports team would be required to, e.g. European soccer clubs, F1 racing etc.). What we say here and on other discussion boards is our own initiative, but that being said I completely understand wanting to hear the 3rd party reviews first - I would do the same thing myself if I was spending several hundred bucks on electronics!

We're just happy to share what we can with everyone ahead of time, since we're excited about the HW launch!

After having used TM gear since the original FLCS HOTAS and more recently the Cougar I have every faith that the Warthog HOTAS will perform as advertised, so will be laying down my cash for a set once they're released at the end of October.
This really does look like the setup to have if you're into flight sims and this is from someone who spent a fortune upgrading my Cougar with gimbals/hall sensors etc.
I guess I'm just a sucker for new shiny kit....

Glad you see my point and didn't take offense to my post. I have always wanted a cougar and when I bought my first one....I was very disappointed with it. But I have bought another one and plan on keeping it.....once I'm able to install it in W7. After that I'll look into what mod I want (hopefully it will feel like my CH stuff)

If I am reading that site correctly, it would appear they have sold more than they are getting in stock. Is this the case?

Thanks!

Roger that, Cali.

Rest assured, we're all thick skinned and we don't need to trudge off to mamby-pambyland like a bunch of jackwagons looking for our self-confidence. (For those outside the US and/or who haven't seen it, this is a reference to a car insurance commercial that had a drill-sergeant type dude acting as a psychotherapist....R Lee Ermey).

It's also a simple reality that no matter what TM produces, there's going to be the crowd of folks who love it, those who hate it, etc. It really is impossible to please all the people all the time.

As to the pictures...at this time I believe I'm still limited to showing what was displayed at the media event...and the only picture I got out there that shows any of the un-gimbal mechanism is the following - I was actually taking a pic of the throttle mockup but got half of the stick guts next to it. The sensor would be at the top and detect the stick movement above it - this doesn't use the potentiometer-like hall sensors you might be familiar wtih from Cubpilot.



Teej