Combat flying the real way with stick, throttle and rudder flight gear from CH Products

By Mad Max Merlin

HOTAS is an acronym for Hands On Throttle And Stick . It's the standard control system for most fighter aircraft in the world today. Modern HOTAS is a vast improvement over the warbird stick and throttle quadrant. Flying with a HOTAS system, whether in the real world or in a combat flight simulation, is a bit like playing the piano and a piccolo at the same time with both hands. Your right hand controls the flight stick and your left "plays the piccolo" on the throttle. Each control unit has multiple buttons, hats, toggles and multi-way switches that give you complete control over the myriad of flight and weapons system on your aircraft.

Over the years, I've flown with nearly every type of flight control system available for combat flight simulation. But, when I finally got my hands on the flight gear from CH Products, I was hooked! The designers at CH Products have created the Cadillac of stick, throttle and rudder flight gear that comprise the ultimate in precise and realistic combat flight simulator control . It is without a doubt worth every penny you pay for it. You can spend a lot more for other HOTAS flight controllers, but I doubt if you'll find a better value.

In this review, I'm comparing the CH Products Fighterstick USB, Pro Throttle USB and Pro Pedals USB to some of my former favorites from Thrustmaster, Logitech and Microsoft.

Want realism and a totally immersive experience?

I don't have as much time to fly sims as I would like. Who does? So, when I'm flying CFS 2 or 3, I want every minute to be thrillingly realistic and not have to battle my clunky flight gear. After flying a real AT-6 Texan warbird through ACM, (The CFS3 Topgun Fly-off) I noticed the huge difference between the actual tiny increments used to control the real warbird and the lumbering yanking around that you typically do with arcade-style toy flight controllers in the simulations. The difference is like night and day.

Back on the ground, I tried tuning up my Logitech Wingman Extreme 3D Digital flight stick and Thrustmaster Elite rudder pedals to approximate the delicate feel of real warbird flight control. Even with the sensitivity sliders in CFS 2 and 3 maxed out, Logitech and Thrustmaster just didn't cut it. Turned out to be a complete waste of time! Those products are designed for arcade-style game play and just don't have either the precision or responsiveness to simulate the real world experience. The only thing they have going for them is low cost.

The only arcade-style flight stick that even comes close to the real world precision is the Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 2. It's a good choice if you're willing to compromise realism for cost. Personally, I like Microsoft sticks but find the force feedback effects to be a nuisance. The jumpy stick throws off my deflection shooting.

Frankly, if you want to have a totally immersive combat flying simulation experience, I think you're much better off going with a realistic HOTAS and rudder pedal system from CH Products plus using the Buttkicker Gamer for the physical sensations of flying. Put all that in your stocking for the holidays and you'll have the next best thing to actually being in the cockpit.

The Fighterstick and Pro Throttle are accurate replicas of the actual HOTAS system found on the F-16 Fighting Falcon. The Pro Pedals accurately replicate real aircraft rudder pedals in their design and accuracy. They even have pressure-sensitive toe brakes! And, for you flightsimmers who also like to race cars, Pro Pedals are convertible to function as accelerator and brake pedals for automobile sims.

Accuracy plus durability add up to excellent value

Right out of the box, I could see that CH Products flight gear was distinctly different than anything else I've tried. Each item is ruggedly built and looks like it will last through a long lifetime of white-knuckle engagements. The things I like most are the compact design, excellent stability and outstanding precision. The Thrustmaster Elite rudder pedals that I replaced with the CH Products Pro Pedals took up nearly 50% more floor space and they always slid around on the hardwood floor or carpet while I was flying. I hated that.  What's more, my trusty Logitech Wingman Extreme had to be flown with two hands: one on the stick and the other holding the stick down while manipulating the throttle lever with my left thumb. And the Logitech throttle's engine control was grossly inaccurate. I was always bothered by the lack of true elevator and rudder trim controls on the Logitech and Microsoft sticks. I like to manually trim my aircraft before engaging the enemy.

The CH Products designers thought of everything: accuracy, durability, smooth functioning, ergonomically-placed controls -- the works! I was most impressed with the durable design. I actually had a Logitech Wingman stick snap off in my hand in the middle of an intense furball during a championship CFS2 match. Something like that can ruin your whole day! So, from now on, it's nothing short of the best, most durable flight gear for me. I also added up all the money I've wasted on other products that either wore out, broke, didn't work right, or were just plan awkward. Had I invested in the "Cadillac" of flight gear a long time ago, I would have actually saved a bundle.

Fighterstick tames Combat Flight Simulator 2 & 3

This is not a stick for the running-and-gunning arcade gamer crowd. Fighterstick USB looks and feels like an actual F-16 stick. It gives you a formidable arsenal of 3 axes, 24 buttons, 4-way hat switches and 8-way point-of-view hat that all adds up to a whopping 132 programmable control functions. It has three separate programming channels that can be switched on-the-fly and three, color LEDs that show you which mode you're using. Fighterstick also has a throttle wheel plus elevator and rudder trim wheels. Woohoo! Good thing the Fighterstick comes with excellent Control Manager software that makes it a snap to set this all up.

Combat Flight Simulator 2 has lots of useful control functions. CFS3, has even more! And some of those are way cool such as switching to different gunner positions, getting a weapons-eye view (a lot like watching smart bomb videos during the Gulf War) plus a full array of engine, navigation and flight controls. With 132 programmable functions, Fighterstick makes flying CFS3 a lot more exciting. And the best part is, I can keep my hands on the stick and throttle and off the keyboard.

I also love flying jets and trapping on carriers. The delicate control and multi-function buttons make the hair-raising chore of trapping a carrier much easier. Instead of taking my eye off the ball to use keyboard commands (something that had me fouling the deck way too often!) I have all the controls I need programmed into the Fighterstick.

Pro Throttle improves my kill count

I never thought that a separate throttle system was very practical until I finally go my hands on this Pro Throttle. Now, I wonder how I ever managed without it. It's built rock-solid, just like all CH Products flight gear. The smooth and highly accurate movements come in very handy for managing flight energy through precision engine control. It feels comfortable in your hand,  moves easily and stays precisely where you put it to maintain accurate engine power. But that's just the beginning. Modeled after an F-16's actual throttle system, Pro Throttle has a total of 69 programmable functions and uses the same 3-mode LED system as the Fighterstick. Pro Throttle, just like Fighterstick and all CH Product controllers, is programmed with either the simulation's built-in flight stick set-up or with the Control Manager. The CH Control Manager is especially helpful when you need to switch between different maps for different simulations.

Once I mapped my weapons functions to the throttle buttons, I was ready to go save Europe in CFS3 and battle the Imperial Japanese Navy in CFS2. Whether booming-and-zooming, turn-fighting, lining up on the IP for a bombing run or trapping -- I found the throttle an indispensable aid to increasing my kill count and reducing my crashes. Having precise throttle control makes formation flying a whole lot easier with far fewer midair collisions. Trapping carriers requires precise approach speeds and quick response when you get a waveoff. I found that Pro Throttle responded instantly to tiny adjustments, held engine RPM rock solid when left alone or kicked in full-bore when I needed full power instantly to go around for another approach or roll out of an Immelman onto a bandit's six.

Rudder pedals a real fighter ace can appreciate

 When I appeared on the Microsoft Insider Live show with real world fighter ace, Lt. Col. Skip Holm, we used CH Products Pro Pedals. Skip didn't want to fly using arcade-style twist-stick rudder controls. He wanted the real thing. And, since I was going up against him, I wanted real rudder control, too. Skip and I spent 12 hours straight flying CFS3 during rehearsals and the live broadcast. The Pro Pedals worked perfectly with the Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 flight stick and were very comfortable, too.

Auto-rudder just doesn't cut it for realism in any flight simulator, combat or civilian. I want the real feel of accurate forward and backward sliding motion for rudder input to control yaw axis. I also want pressure-sensitive heel-toe motion for differential toe braking control. I got exactly what I wanted with CH Products Pro Pedals. By comparison, my Thrustmaster Elite rudders were only marginally better than using auto-rudder and they don't have toe brakes. The Elite pedals would slew the plane around in great big yanks without much finesse. The minute I put my feet into Pro Pedals, everything felt and handled differently. The pedals moved with simple grace. Small increments translated accurately into realistic aircraft motion. I found that I could turn better and control my aircraft movements much more precisely even in the heat of an intense dogfight. The accurate application of stick and rudder meant I was turning tight as a gnat's eyelash and able to get inside my target for a deflection shot. With my old set-up, I was often stalling in the turn because the Logitech stick and Thrustmaster rudder pedals just didn't have the precise control that replicates a real aircraft.

I became a big fan of accurate toe brake. They're essential for a realistic experience during taxiing and running up the engines prior to take-off. And the ultimate verdict is that Pro Pedals passed the true fighter ace test. Skip Holm loved them!

Installation and set-up: RTFMF

Installation is a breeze. If you're like me, you install first and read the manual as a last resort. In fact, I have a note taped to my monitor that's simply the acronym: RTFMF! Stands for Read The (expletive deleted) Manual, First! Always good advice. In this case, you'll see that you must first install the drivers BEFORE you plug in your stick, throttle and rudder pedals. And, be sure to completely turn off all antivirus protection and re-boot without it BEFORE running the driver installation. This gets a little tricky. With Norton Antivirus 2003, for example, just disabling it from the system tray icon is not enough. You must run MSCONFIG (click on the START button, RUN, type in MSCONFIG, click on the Start-up tab) and uncheck all the Norton programs that load on start-up. Then re-boot and install the CH Products drivers. When that's complete, be sure to turn Norton Antivirus back on by first starting it from your desktop and then running MSCONFIG again and re-checking all the Norton start-up programs. Finally, re-boot your system and check to see that Norton is running.  I know, I know, this is a real pain in the tuchus but tell that to Symantec!

Mapping the controls takes a little time and thought

Each device comes pre-programmed with a default set of controls for Combat Flight Simulator 2 and 3 as well as many other sims including Flight Simulator 2004. So, if you're in a hurry, just kick the tires, light the fires and head off into the wild blue.

I took some extra time to map the HOTAS buttons with the flight and weapons controls I use most often. It helps to print a controller template and jot down which function you programmed into each button. Way too many functions for this flightsimmer to remember. So, I have included two mapping templates below. Just right click on them and save the picture to your hard drive. Print them and jot down your mapping configuration.

An important note about USB ports

One additional accessory you might need if you are adding USB flight gear is a USB multi-port hub. Most desktop PCs come with only two USB ports. If you use a Microsoft Internet Keyboard Pro, like I do, you have two more USB ports built into the keyboard that are active if you use the keyboard in USB mode (as opposed to plugging it into the PS-2 keyboard port). If you also use other USB devices such as scanners, printers, digital cameras or a CH Products USB yoke for flying FS2004 -- you will definitely need to add more ports.

Be careful about which USB hub you buy. You have two choices: internal or external. The easiest and least costly USB hubs are external. But, some don't work very well and others are completely useless with certain USB devices such as scanners and CH Products controllers that require powered USB ports. Fear not, there is a simple solution. Belkin makes a wonderful little external 4-port USB hub that can be used in both powered and un-powered modes. It even looks cool with colored LEDs that tell you the ports are working properly. You can grab one for very low cost just $29.95 at Amazon. That's what I did. I plugged the hub into one of my PC's USB ports and my Microsoft keyboard into the other. Now I have six, fully-powered, USB ports. I connected all the CH Products flight gear into the 4-Port hub (I also use the yoke for civilian flying with FS2004) and use the keyboard ports for my scanner and printer. Works perfectly!