Very good choice for the flight/space simmer looking for a HOTAS setup that won't break the bank
by Mr Nicholas CroninI'm a long time flight simmer and more recently have been playing a lot of Elite Dangerous. My fairly old Saitek HOTAS recently gave up the ghost and I was in the market for a new setup. I'd very much like a Thrustmaster Warthog but can't justify the price at the moment, especially as it recently seems to have spiked from 300-ish to 400. I'd heard good things about the T-1600M and found OcUK were selling this package with the throttle and pedals considerably cheaper than everyone else.The stick itself is very nice, It's got a decent weight to the base so it feels solid and won't move around the desk as you use it. The grip is very comfortable (and the package includes the necessary bits to change it over for left hand use). This stick uses the Hall Effect sensors which are found in Thrustmaster's considerably more expensive flagship HOTAS Warthog. The advantages touted are these sensors are very accurate and precise, with a high resolution. They don't wear out and aren't effected by dust getting inside the stick. So in theory at least, as long as you look after this stick and don't abuse it too much it should last forever. In my flight sims I've found it to be very smooth and pleasant to fly with. The throttle unit is also rather nice. Rather than rock back and forth the throttle slides back and forth on metal rails built into the base. The action is just a little bit juddery or sticky, but nothing that a bit of extra lube on the rails won't sort out. The base i quite light, but has a large footprint and the rubber feet do a good job of gripping my desk so I haven't found the throttle sliding or moving about the desk despite it's relatively light weight. It seems to be designed for larger hands though, so if you have small hands you might find yourself having to move your hand on the throttle to reach the buttons and rudder rocker controller on the front. The rudder pedals are about as good as you'd expect them to be at this price point. Again the unit has a good weight to it and the rubber feet grip the carpet far better than the ones on my old Saitek pedals which seemed to be forever slipping and sliding on the carpet as I used the pedals. The rudder travel itself isn't massive, but again at this price point you can't really expect more. The pedals themselves would seem to be suitable for all but the largest or smallest of feet. You can remove the lip at the bottom of the pedals if you wish. I do find the central position detent on the pedals to be a bit weak, and in use it can be quite hard to "feel" the central position of the pedals. The pedals are also rather close together (more so than the Saitek pedals). To be fair after a few hours use I've got used to it and don't really notice it. The toe brake action is nice and smooth too and the springs for these seem to be stronger than the Saitek ones which make them easier to use as you can more accurately feel the pressure you are applying to the brakes. Note though these are flight pedals and the toe brakes pivot around a point about halfway up the pedal - as such they aren't really suitable for use in driving games.I haven't tried the Thrustmaster Target software for programming - I can quite happily get by without it.I'd have preferred a fourth button on the top of the stick, and a stronger central detent on the rudder pedals. Overall this is a very good setup for the price (less than half the current cost of just the HOTAS Warthog stick and throttle). Highly recommended for those looking for an entry level stick/throttle/pedals setup or who can't justify the price of the HOTAS Warthog or some of the other high end specialist flight controllers (from the likes of VKB, etc).
