"Why you want a Thrustmaster HOTAS WARTHOG™".

Not a single store carries it here in little Norway and my Cougar (s/n:1251) really deserves to be retired after so many years in active service.
And when I google for Norwegian retailers this thread is the first hit. You dont want to disappoint a customer, do you?

It was dark. Maybe the darkest night I had seen since joining the A-10C training squadron. It had been boring so far ... studying the manual and practicing start-up. But maybe it had been worth it. Joker was lined up on 03L and I pulled into the slot on his right. We were about to do a quick night time hunt & pounce on some rusty targets on Range 52. I was pumped! Yeah!!

I caught Joker's arm drop through the goggles ... darn these things are bright! Easing the throttle forward to full mil we started down the dark runway. Joker's formation lights were easy to see. Piece of cake!

As we rotated and started climbing, it was time to clean things up so up came the gear and then the flaps. I was holding steady back pressure to keep it at our briefed 10 degree climb. I wanted to trim but didn't have the trim mapped--the exercise was good for the old arm though. We were climbing straight out heading for SP 1 when we penetrated the cloud layer. I was tucked in close at Joker's 5 o'clock cause we had briefed a tight climb through the forecast weather. No sweat, training would prevail.

Just to make things even more sure, I decided to set up the TAD with Joker hooked so the TACAN and TAD would keep the SA at a comfortable level. Let's see, left MFCD to the TAD ... was that the Boat switch or the China Hat? Rats! OK, maybe it was DMS forward, short I think! Uh-oh, did I map the DMS to the castle hat or the POV hat? Must be the POV hat ... short forward ... what's that light? And why is Betty squealing like that? OK maybe it was the slider on the throttle ... not the ideal solution but it might be made to work. Slider forward? Or back? Or maybe I mapped that to the speed brake. Naw! Slider forward. No! Airspeed is bleeding--that was the speed brake! I'll get this fixed yet.

Maybe I'll ask Joker ... Joker? Where the heck was Joker? No formation lights. No TAD hook. No TACAN! No Joy! Execute lost Wingman, now! Crap! Break right and throttle back. I'm in the soup and my SA is down around my ankles. I'm ignoring the HUD and the instruments ... ALTITUDE! ALTITUDE! PULL UP! PULL UP! This is going downhill fast, time to unload, pronto! Did I map the eject sequence? Where? There weren't enough buttons or switches or hats! This old HOTAS just ain't gonna hack it. When I get back down I'm go--------------------<hiss, crackle>.

So, why do I want a Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog? I don't want one--I absolutely NEED one to survive!

Ahoy there!

Shiver me timbers! Warrrrthog, arrrr! I've been searching for it for all me life...

'Tis many a year since I got my hands on my current tiller, and it shows heavily! Aye, there’s a sight so foul ye’ll want to shut yer deadlights! All the swabin', keelhaulin' and swashbucklin's taken a heavy toll on an ol' belayin pin, stem to stern. Scurvy bilge rat is walking the plank, soon to be done for, shark bait, goin' to the Davy Jones' locker, me be puttin' a black spot on 'im!

An' without one might as well lower the mainsail, strike the colours, careen the schooner, scuttle the ship!

And what is to become of me? A lily-livered landlubber, avast! Becalmed, marooned and addled, 'tis a fate worse than death!

So be a good mateys, lend me a new tiller, at least till I waylay that chase that got away. I've been eyeing that long black one, Warthog ye'r callin' it. Arrr, 'tis a good pirate name, Warthog. It rolls in your mouth like a cannon ball from a six-pounder, blimey!

Won't yer? I'll be good for it, savvy?

Aside: Though I be a corsair I always pay me grog, me wenches and me simulations!

All I can say is WOW!

Thank you, Thrustmaster North America, Thrustmaster International, SimWare Simulations and SimHQ for having this very cool contest.

Reading the responses I know these sticks will go to a deserving home. I would hate having to judge who the two lucky winners will be.

Thank you again. Good Luck Everybody!

Why do I want one?

Well, I'm a bit daft, some might say weird, others might say warped or just plain schizo! But my wife is tired of seeing me sitting in a chair in front of my computer with my arms doing all sorts of weird gestures and movements pretending I have a HOTAS then rapidly going for the keyboard to actually make things happen. When she asks what I'm doing I try explain I'm manipulating my HOTAS. You can only imagine the looks I get with that response...

For years now I've asked her to buy me one of the really nice ones (a Cougar HOTAS has always been on the top of my list until now) for my birthday or Christmas. I dutifully write to Santa each and every Christmas to only ask for one thing, a Cougar HOTAS, but this year it will be a Warthog HOTAS! But then each year I'm crest fallen when I look under the tree and do not find one...

I've stood on street corners with a sign "will work for HOTAS" but the police usually show up thinking I'm asking for something else...

Since seeing the Warthog HOTAS on the Thrustmaster site and then reading the review here on SimHQ I have been having nightly dreams of owning one and now my arms move more furiously while pretending I'm manipulating that awesome dual throttle and various hats and buttons on both the stick and throttle while trying not to crash once again into the landscape because I didn't reach for the keyboard in time...

Now even the neighborhood kids are all making fun of me when I cut the lawn because my lawn mower has dual controls that I pretend are the Warthog's throttle that I manipulate while racing around the yard making weird sounds and gestures imagining that I'm strafing hordes of enemy tanks all the while leaving strange patterns in my yard...

I now have to pretend that I'm actually taking the meds my wife puts in front of me each morning that the kind doctor gave her to try and help with this problem... I keep begging her not to call him for higher doses saying "I really think that they are starting to work this time" so I don't need stronger pills...

Yes, I not only want a Warthog HOTAS, but I need one! My life will then be complete and I might actually live out the rest of my days without the encumbrance of a straight jacket. Not only will you make me happy and grateful but my entire neighborhood will rejoice and thank you that this middle aged man has finally gotten some help and that they no longer have to hide their children from me...

"Why you want a Thrustmaster HOTAS WARTHOG™"

I could go all fluffy and talk about how long it would take to save money to buy one having three kids, a mortgage, car payments, etc… but I will not do that.

For almost a year now I have waited and watched forums, gaming news outlets and everything else in between looking for more information. At times I have been frustrated with the company that produces the controllers I like to use; I even vowed silently that I would wait at least 4-6 months to see if the Warthog needs any modifications before I decided what to do. I am not going to wait past Christmas IF I have to buy it. I just will not be in the first wave like I was with my TM Cougar back when it was released.

Then just a few weeks ago I decided to sell my TM Cougar and modded RCS pedals to a guy getting back into flight sims and use that money to start my Warthog fund. Well that money went to other things to help get my simpit started; at any rate having a Warthog will complete several parts of my hobby.

Having owned TM controllers from way back in the early 1990’s starting with my first FCS and WCS with RCS pedals and culminating in the TM Cougar that I no longer have. I can think of nothing better than winning a Warthog...well it depends on what happens when my wife learns that I won instead of bought said Warthog; that could be MUCH BETTER!!! Man these tremors from Cougar withdrawal are hard to get rid of.

If I am chosen as the winner that is a great thing because I don’t have to spend the money on the controllers but get to buy other components to upgrade and prepare for the next wave of flight games that will be hitting the market soon.

Quite simply I want a TM Warthog because it is the next step in the evolution of what I feel are the best flight simulation controllers on the market and what I feel have always been the best controllers in this genre! Plus as an update as of today 10/29/2010...I just lost my job of 10+ years due to "cutbacks" and I am not going to be able to save the money that I wanted to for the controllers.

Wow so many great post so far I just had to comment what a great read!

So that said, I'm not entering this contect for 3 reasons:

1. I just know I can't compete with the posts so far.
2. I have to have one NOW cause there is just NO WAY I could EVER wait for this contest to end for the potential that I might win one!
3. I already pre-ordered it and if all goes well and the Nov 2nd date hold true, I should be flying with it that following weekend!

Good luck to all!

I already pre-ordered one.

I just need another one so I can tear it apart for modding while flying the other one. That's why I have two Cougars. The other one is permanently disassembled and used for measurement/experiments/jigs. Not that I wouldn't tear apart the first one; I ain't got that will power to resist.

Moreover, the active duty stick is for finding problems, and the torn apart one is for devising solutions. You can't simulate wear and tear and get a "feel" on what could be improved from daily uses.

It's a cruel and unusual punishment having to stop flying for modding or the other way around!

It felt like I was seeing the battlefield through someone elses eyes. As if the fires of HELL rained down around me- tanks and AA batteries exploding with the intensity and furious anger that only the US Air Force can provide. Wait, there it is. Through the smoke and ash, a faint glimpse of this angel of death and destruction. It is the Warthog. The sound, oh the glorious faint whine of its engines. The epitome the beautiful ugliness. The perfect fusion of form and function. It sped away from me, into the distance, as if it didn't know I was there. No, it knew I was there. It let me live,.. live to fight another day. As I wake from the dream, I start my beta release of A10, I can't help but remember the dream as flight controller envy overwhelms me. Someday my friends, someday I will have the Thrustmaster HOTAS.

Why I want a Thrustmaster HOTAS WARTHOG

I have a wife and 4 kids, been in the Air Force for 11 years. Really like the cougar, bought one about 4 years ago but didn't have the money to mod it. Sold it and felt bad, so I bought another one a few months ago. Can't get it to install in windows 7, so was waiting for TARGET to get released so I can reformat and try it again. Still don't have the money to mod my cougar. If I win the Warthog, I'll give my Cougar to someone on these boards that deserves a new HOTAS, it's still brand new. I have worked on A-10's for 6 years and F-16's for 11 years. So you can see why I like this two HOTAS. This would be a nice early Christmas present for me and another person. Good luck to everyone.

Why I want a Thrustmaster HOTAS WARTHOG

Warthog is the next Ferrari of HOTAS and I want to own a piece with small serial number.

But the real reason I am writing here is that until I got one (buy or win) I want those green lights!Desperately ! So, I think to mod my Cougar using LEDs back light.

So please to those who will decide about the winner, if I lose this great competition and until I own one of those pieces of art I will mod one of my Cougars.

None of us want to see HOTAS Cougar like this, so better sent my Warthog quick!


Good luck everyone!

"Why you want a Thrustmaster HOTAS WARTHOG™?"


I.

Want.

A.

Thrustmaster HOTAS WARTHOG™.

The reasons are obvious. I fly P.C. combat flight simulations, so I demand the best gear. That's why I buy, use and trust Thrustmaster.

Why do I want one?

I suck at mud moving sims. I augur in while launching Mavericks. ZSUs are more in danger of being rammed than being shot by my A-10C. Given the lack of natural talent, I seek *ahem* artificial advantages and it just doesn't get any better than the Warthog.

I want a Thrustmaster HOTAS WARTHOG™ because I want the best.

Why I want the TM Hog?

Because I WON't!!

If I would have the Hog lying around here I would feel so bad. Bad about ripping the Hog out of it's natural beeing. The beeing to seek shelter and forage in denser vegetation, going out of the burrow to forage with it's own kind in the wilderness. Warthogs are powerful diggers! It's not just for nothing that they're called "Mud Movers" among experts. They're using both snout and feet finding and catching their feed. Sometimes they burst within 2 seconds out of their burrows if it's necessary, while they're letting out a delightfully shriek, confusing and shocking their victims or contenders. But after then, they set forth very pleased, going on the foraging and to keep everyone off theirs patch.

I can't give the hog that natural environment. Not yet. Not for the beginning. Only a wooden, cold and hard writing desk. Until I have the chance to get this peace of beauty and accquire a pair of footrests in addition. That might be a bit more homelike in the burrow, I'd build for it inside my room. A burrow with a nice place to stay in for the more quiet and peaceful times of not hunting. As well as a safe place for the other times, when it can be the wild sow it's well known for.

Oh wait...you are talking about that HOTAS? Seriously? I thought about the "Hell from above"-Piggy-Hog. Then...mhhh...simply give it to me, if you want to get rid of. It will fully enjoy the things mentioned above as well. Besides that burrow and footrests, which then should be a pit and rudders I think. Yup.

Why you want a Thrustmaster HOTAS WARTHOG?

Because I have never had one, and can't afford to buy one..

I would like a Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS because.


"In hot" I rasped drawing deep breaths, acutely aware of my heart thumping away in my ears.
I was hanging upside down and the straps bit deep into my shoulders as my A10 hit the apex of the loop and screamed earthwards.
Frantically scanning the rushing earth I saw my prey again, a burning column of armour with survivors scurrying away left and right desperately trying to spread out under the forest canopy. Calmly selecting the CBU's I punched in the ripple and interval then assessed the best delivery line to hit as many tanks as possible; I knew I only had the opportunity for one more pass.
As if in slow motion I rammed the throttles through the gate and lined up, thumb lightly resting on the pickle button of my Warthog HOTAS.
Like a grand conductor of an exquisite dance of death my precise movements weaved the jet expertly through the ether, the munitions thumping off the racks and spreading carnage and destruction through the massed armour below.
Almost without thinking my thumb rhythmically stroked the counter-measures, flares popping out in pairs and quickly dropping away protecting my jet, protecting me from the danger below...

RIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!!!! Suddenly the doorbell's insistent noise pierces the steady roar of jet engines.
"Damn" letting go of the joystick and throttle, taking off my headphones and hitting the pause I made my way to the door.
"Parcel, sign here please", I scribbled my name and looked past the delivery driver to a large package at his feet.

"This is yours" he said before turning around and heading off back down the drive.

Ripping open the pack reveals a pristine Warthog HOTAS, a prize from the contest entered weeks before YEEeeeesSS!, I punch the air.
Carrying the box upstairs I carefully disconnect my Cougar and respectfully place it back in it's box. I feel mixed emotions; the Cougar is like an old friend, familiar and reliable, will this new pretender to the crown be able to live up to it's pedigree?

"Well,only one way to find out I suppose" I thought with a wry grin.

Because..... a Hotas Warthog is Forever!

(De Beers)

As a (virtual) F-16 driver I obviously want one to put it as a trophy over my chimney.

Why do I want a Thrustmaster HOTAS WARTHOG?

Well, I'm still stuck with an Saitek X-36, and unlike a fine wine, it ain't getting any better with age.

Two kids means I have zero free cash for an upgrade. I'd be embarrassed to teach my four year-old daughter to fly with my current equipment, and it probably wouldn't survive the experience in order to teach my one year-old son in a few years' time.

She got to sit in a glider a couple of weeks back and was fascinated - she had an endless string of questions about what all the dials were for, what the stick did, why the bits on the wings moved, etc.

So please, don't do it for my sake...do it for her's.