Modular design for easy upgrades? I like the sound of that! Makes the initial cost easier to swallow if I can be confident that there's a force-feedback upgrade path. I know someone can make a better FFB stick than the old MS SWFFB2, but hardly anyone tries.

Of course, I fully admit that I won't be able to afford equipment of your grade for a while. "Champagne tastes with a beer budget", as some like to say. But I've been through so many flight controls, from the old Suncom F-15 HOTAS setups to the Saitek X-52 Pro to a very highly modified TM HOTAS Cougar to the usual CH Products Fighterstick/Pro Throttle/Pro Pedals combo to even the vaunted TM HOTAS Warthog, and every single time, I noted bothersome flaws in each and every one of them regarding ergonomics, feel of movement, sensor quality, programmability, etc.

I'm not alone, as I met someone on the Star Citizen forums who's quite possibly just as demanding, if not moreso, and also happens to be an engineer for this sort of stuff, down to designing and building his own gimbals, most notably a specialized aiming stick for MechWarrior Online. (And speaking of Star Citizen, that fanbase is a market you can potentially expand to down the line, if you so choose. Some people there are already devising new HOTAS setups and alternatives better suited to 6DoF spaceflight...)

I want to know if you'll be the first for which I don't notice the usual flaws associated with mass-produced gear of any sort, something that makes me want to pinch pennies for months so I can finally buy it and have that greater step toward immersion...unless I'm the lucky sod that manages to win the free set, but I'm not counting on that.

I'd like to hope we meet your expectations. I'm extremely critical, which is one reason I decided to do this in the first place. Yes, there are a few other companies building nice stuff, but not at a price point most people are going to go for.

To your point about being mass produced; our stuff won't be. We will be looking at a product run of 100 units for the control column.

Thanks for the info about Star Citizen...It wasn't even on the radar for us.

And lastly, you never know about the free giveaway. Not too many people have bothered to sign up, so your odds are pretty decent at the moment!

Have a good weekend!

I have a little sneak peek for you guys.

Ok, so what are looking at?

What we have here is part of the initial run of control columns. Everything is made from laser-cut aluminium, except for the housing, which is made from cold-rolled steel. The housing is finished in black power-caot, while the aluminium parts are left bare. We might decide to anodize them on later runs.

These pictures will give you an idea of the finished parts. Currently the electronics are still being manufactured. The stick tubes are also still being made. The opening where the stick exits the enclosure will be finished with a leather boot, and that is also still being finished.

So, as you can see, there are still plenty of things to get done before we can start selling them, but we are well on our way!

As you can also see, this thing has been designed and built to last a lifetime, and as I've said in earlier posts, the basic framework is modular, so as we think about things moving forwards, they will all be retro-replaceable parts that will work with the base unit.

We've spent alot of time and money so far, and I hope you guys think the results thus far are promising, and worthy of your interest.

Appreciate any feedback you may have!

Nice sheet metal gimbal. What kind of force load do you plan to use? Will there be separated load for each axis? Eventually dampers?:)

is that a self centering bearing??????

It takes about 250 grams of force to move the stick to the stops. That seems ok but we are experimenting with different springs. Currently the load is divided among 4 springs, and not separated per axis. The original design intent utilized cams and bearings to divide the load, but it would have made the unit too expensive. We plan to offer the parts to upgrade to that configuration once units are shipping.The same goes for the rotary dampers.

Nope, they are 22mm flanged bearings.

Great looking stick thus far! Please be weary of the type of lube to use so the springs don't break over time and the metal does not wear out...

Sweet!

How high do you figure the seat must be from the floor to have the stick grip at proper height?

The unit is made to work with a standard desk height of 30 inches.
For chair height, figure a measurement of 17-22 inches at the front of the seat.

Looks good to me, I even signed up!

What I really like about the gimbal construction is that it's easy for the end user to disassemble and modify as necessary. Just look at all those screws holding it all together and those bearings used where mass-production sticks have none! This will be pit-builder paradise, I know it!

Now if I could just think of a way to connect some FFB motors to the gimbal pivots sturdily, reliably and without stressing out the motors too much to the load. I'll cannibalize an existing FFB stick's electronics if I have to.

I've got a Logitech WingMan Strike Force 3D that's sitting around all disassembled because the stock gimbals are a total engineering failure with the way the pots are mounted directly onto them. That would be a perfect donor for this project, especially coupled with some anti-torque pedals...the only problem is that the software centering force is very sloppy and will need some mechanical assistance. Even the famed Microsoft SideWinder Force-Feedback 2 suffers from that a little, which will be especially obvious in a floor-mount stick with lots of throw.

Thanks for the feedback!

@nameless could you post some images of those FFB motors please?

390.00 USD = 243.136 GBP

I think that's a pretty reasonable start price for early adapters.

If I can,I will try and sell some militaria and see if I can make some £'s.

Could you please estimate uk shipping?


H

The shipping is a bit of a sore spot at the moment. Shipping within North America is not too bad, around $50, but shipping to Europe is double that, around 100-110 to the UK for instance. Reason being the weight; it's almost 10kgs.

We are looking into other options for shipping to Europe/UK, and if we can find a cheaper method we will use it. If we do find a better method, all pre-orders will be refunded the difference.

Very impressive work i hope you will sell buttloads!:)