Cheap Thrustmaster Hotas Warthog Joystick (2960720)

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List Price: $499.99
Sale Price: $416.99
Today's Bonus: 17% Off

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The other reviewers are spot on. I just want to up the 5 star count. VERY happy with this item. Seems to be a WIDE range on price though. Not sure why.

Anyway, I've got more than 1,000 hours in military jets and a dozen combat missions. This stick and throttle system is incredible and by far the best available on the market.

Sturdy not plastic. Easy set up plug n play (except FSX see below).

By far the most impressive to me is the feel the action. It truly feels more like a real aircraft than anything before. Many sticks are flimsy. And "Force Feedback" always had an arcade feel to me. This has a realistic feel.

Obviously it's for DCS A-10C and in that application it's a dream. I set button 4 next to nose wheel steering (pinky) to "active pause" since it's not assigned in the game. I also had to reset the trim switch from a view setting to a trim setting. Other than that and of course the choice is yours it functioned perfectly right out of the box.

Another "sell" for you... I have over 300 landings on aircraft carriers. But, landing the FA-18 in MS FSX was ridiculous. NOW, I'm in the groove and center the ball on the first pass. It is SOOOO nice. The only surprise with this set was the lack of a profile for FSX so, at the time I'm writing this, you have to spend some time on set up. Really!? Yep.

But, honestly, I think you'll enjoy your higher realism sims with this set. And the more you enjoy them, the more the price of this stick and throttle set makes sense. Even "fun" sims like Thirdwire's "Stike Fighter" series work well with HOTAS (and program easily).

See the review at SimHQ for more info on using HOTAS Warthog on different sims...

In fact, HOTAS Warthog is so real, I kept my old Microsoft Sidewinder to use with Rise of Flight. HOTAS just feels too futuristic in a Sopwith cockpit. Too tight on the action. A little "Slop in my Sop" seems appropriate for those early days of aviation. :)

In short, this set and DCS A-10C (I know, I know... Steam) are the closest you'll come to being in an actual military jet without leaving the house.

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The warthog is a good product, I would've given it 5 stars, but unfortunately for Thrustmaster, as with its past Cougar debacle, missed a QC issue. Many users, including me, have noticed that the stick has a 'stiction' issue that is, if you hold the stick at a position, then try to make a slow and fine adjustment, inevitablely you make too much correction due to bumps.

The static friction is much greater than dynamic friction so when making precision work such as gunnery and formation flying, it's rather frustrating. My first unit (which died but was replaced) was smooth at first, but after one month of use, the stiction came about. The replacement unit had stiction from start. Some users have reported that they do not have this issue, while other do.

The joystick sensor is very accurate, but it's rendered entirely moot if mechanical accuracy is not there.

The solution is to take the joystick base apart and replace the existing grease with a better plastic safe grease. It's not hard but soldering is most likely required as breaking wire is almost certain if you don't know what you are doing. I've replaced the grease with Molykote EM-30L as suggested in the forum and now the stick is buttery smooth.

Of course, the Warthog is otherwise very awesome to behold and stiction is not as apparent unless you are doing precision flying. The construction is solid, I just wished that Thrustmaster had opted for a better grease. Had I known this problem and didn't know how to fix it, I would not have paid the $500 I'd expect better.

Best Deals for Thrustmaster Hotas Warthog Joystick (2960720)

I received this kit from a contest about a month ago and it has performed flawlessly during that time with well over 20 hours of game time using it.

I wrote a review for my former TM Cougar HOTAS (http://www.amazon.com/review/R329NM8PE25CQJ/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm) and while I owned that particular piece of gear I thought it was the best that I had owned at the time...this piece of equipment simply blows all others I have owned out of the water. I have owned gear from CH, Saitek, Logitech, Gravis, Suncom (now out of business) and each time I continue to come back to Thrustmaster gear.

This Warthog has a superior feel to it with the ball joint on the stick portion and the split throttles allow some great customization of the controls and how you can work a single or multiple engine aircraft in games. The one problem I have is with the programming software and trying to understand it out of the box...well you have to download it directly from Thrustmaster but you should know that going into the purchase.

For connectivity I have tried this hardware on operating systems from Windows XP up to Windows 7 64bit and it is recognized immediately and operates as advertised by the manufacturer. I feel that I must let you know that there are some people reporting loss of the throttle response randomly and as a result the manufacturer has released an updated firmware that is reportedly fixing many of the "bricked/dead" throttle units. However a few are having to be sent back to the manufacturer and replaced with new parts to take care of the problem.

If you want to spend the money then you will not be disappointed. Again this is the best flight simulation gaming gear that I have had the opportunity to use in my 20+ years of playing flight simulation games.

Honest reviews on Thrustmaster Hotas Warthog Joystick (2960720)

The HOTAS is plain awesome when it works. The programming software takes some time to learn, but once you get it going, it's the best there is out there. However, since owning this thing for 6 months or so. I am on my second RMA. Shortly after I purchased this HOTAS, the firmware fried the unit, it would not respond, had to send it back for repairs to Canada which is not cheap from my state. Problem number two just occurred with one of the throttle buttons going out. Support wants me to RMA it again. Once again, not cheap to send this back for repairs. Thrustmaster is willing to fix the product but the RMA process is about a 4 week turn around and it is expensive to the end user considering I paid $500 for the best system out on the market but seems to have some quality issues. Needless to say I am frustrated with TM.

You should also know TM is willing to refund shipping charges, but they require your bank account information in an email in order to process the refund. There escalation process is horrible and there support although willing to work with in the their own policy constraints are not very customer centered from what I have seen so far. Again, great HOTAS if it works. Hopefully you don't get stuck with a lemon like I did...

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Thrustmaster Hotas Warthog Joystick (2960720)

Five star feel and function, one star reliability.

Great joystick and throttle, when it works.

I have just returned my HOTAS Warthog Joystick for repairs for the SECOND time.

There is some sort of short causing all the joystick buttons to cycle on and off. First failure after 10 months, second less than three months later.

My Warthog Throttle has been returned for repair ONCE.

EAC switch "ARM" back-light failed after two days)

Tech support is painful and slow. Once you finally get an RMA, it takes several weeks to get your joystick back. They will refund your shipping, but it takes months.

When it's working, the Warthog is great (a nice improvement over the HOTAS Cougar).

The feel of the joystick, throttle, and switches is solid and very much like an actual aircraft. (20 years as a Navy pilot)

Joystick is MUCH smoother than the old HOTAS Cougar.

Right Throttle lever has a little bit of play left/right, but is otherwise OK.

I have been using Thrustmaster products for over 15 years. F-16 FCLS and TQS, F-22 Pro, Rudder Control System, MFDs, and HOTAS Cougar.

Previously, the only real problem I had was a broken spring on the Rudder (after 15 years of use) and the Cougar joystick gimbal was poor out of the box.

I'm really not sure if I would buy a Warthog again. It is FANTASTIC when it works, the best I have ever used, but for $500 it should not break in under a year, and three failures is ridiculous.

Update: Had to return the joystick a THIRD time for an internal short.

The good news is that Thrustmaster replaced it with a new one AT NO CHARGE. No problems with the new one so far.

I've got to give Thrustmaster (Guillemot) credit for working to make things right.