PFC Digital Throttle Quadrant

By Louis J. Betti (8 January 2002)

The console showing the standard twin-prop quadrant attached. A version of this quadrant for the Beech Baron (with throttles in the center) is also available.

For the future, I am planning a behind the scenes look at PFC; the people behind it, their facility, and all the wonderful things that combine to make their hardware the best there is. But for now, I'll concentrate on one of their latest creations that has kicked up the realism of my flight simulator experience another several dozen notches, and that is the PFC Digital Throttle Quadrant.

The quadrant is a stand-alone unit that accepts interchangeable throttle units (quadrants), and does not require you to have any other PFC hardware installed in order to use it. Thus, you can use it with your current joystick / yoke and rudder pedals from other manufacturers. However, if this should become your first PFC purchase, let me warn you, their products are extremely addictive, and in no time, and with money permitting, you will find yourself ordering their yokes and rudder pedals to join it! I use the Digital Throttle Quadrant along with my PFC AFCSII yoke (marketed by Vmax-AETI) and PFC Cirrus rudder pedals.

With the PFC Digital Throttle Quadrant you will have individual engine control, and this will include mixture, prop pitch, etc., depending upon the aircraft you are flying and throttle quadrant you are using. On jet quadrants you will have a lever for spoilers and a separate, single lever for engine reverse. Complete details on what the quadrants include can be found at the PFC web site.

When ordering the throttle console, you will be faced with choosing which interchangeable throttle quadrant(s) you wish to use with it, and at present there are nine such quadrants.

The price of the console itself, without any quadrant attached is $300, and the choice of throttle quadrants and prices appear below, and are current as of this date, and subject to change.

The Main options page, where you select the quadrant you are using. You also select the COM port the console is connected to here. Note the options for other PFC devices, such as their avionics stack and remote instrument controller, more goodies to tempt you!

Aside from looking at the photograph of the throttle quadrant, the best way to describe it is a "desktop console", 12" wide, 5" high, 8.5" deep, and weighing in at a hefty 19 pounds. You can be certain that with that weight, and the fact that it is made by PFC, that we're dealing with a lot of metal here, and very little plastic.

While the unit is intended to sit upon a surface, such as a table or desk, and has rubber feet to avoid scratching same, the fact remains that you will probably want to find a way to keep the unit attached to this surface, so as to avoid inadvertently moving it when using the throttles. No means is provided for such attachment, but a few strips of Velcro (r) should do the trick. In my case, I mounted the unit under a table, using two "L" brackets. Of course, this required some drilling into the side of the console, but by mounting it in this manner, the unit hangs at what I feel is a comfortable height. One way or the other, provided you have the space, this is all a minor consideration, and many of you may find it will work well just sitting on a desk, without any further means of attachment.

On the face of the unit are the four key features that you will be most interested in. On the left side is the gear lever, and above it a rudder trim knob. On the right side is a flap switch (momentary operation), and dead center is what you came to the party for to begin with, the interchangeable throttle quadrant!

Once out of its substantial shipping box, set up of the unit is relatively straight forward. If you have rudder pedals, these will plug into the back. Depending upon the yoke you have, this will either remain connected to your game port, or will go in-line with the rudders via a Y-cable. Those of you with CH, MS, or other similar sticks / yokes will be sticking with your game port. Even my AFCSII yoke remains in the game port. Only certain other models of PFC yokes/consoles would be connected with the rudder pedals.

Next, the included serial cable is run from the back of the unit to one of the COM ports on your machine (I still call these serial ports!). Finally, the 12-volt DC power supply is plugged in to your wall outlet, and then in to the back of the unit. All of the ports are clearly labeled, and since they are all of differing size/pin arrangement, there is no making a mistake with your connections.

You will note that there is still one large port on the back of the unit that remains empty, and this one is labeled "Avionics". Caution: Attempting to figure out what this is for may cause undue stress to your wallet, as this port is for optional connection of PFC's amazing, ultra-realistic Bendix-King avionics stack. A $2000 goodie that I'm saving up my money for! http://www.flypfc.com/avionics/avionics.html

With all the connections made, the software side of things is a snap to accomplish. Here you will need to make sure that you have the FSUIPC.dll installed in the modules folder of FS. In addition, you will need the PFC.dll, which also goes into the FS modules folder. These files are included, are self-extracting and are provided on CD. They can also be downloaded from the PFC web site. With both the FSUIPC and PFC dll's in your FS modules folder, you are done, there are no other drivers or software to install.

The calibration menu for the throttle quadrants. Note that the 2 Engine Jet quadrant is selected.

If using the PFC throttles with a yoke / joystick that has its own throttle, you will need to disable this in the Assignments menu of FS, as I needed to do with the throttle on my AFCSII yoke, which still must remain connected for the yoke to work. I'm pretty sure the same can be said for CH yokes, which have built-in throttles.

As you would need to purchase the unit with one or more throttle quadrants, it would come shipped with a quadrant attached to it, and replacing it with another one is a simple matter of removing the two large thumbscrews located one on each side of the quadrant. The linkage between the quadrant and console is mechanical, with long rods making the connection to position-sensing devices, which then send signals to the digital controller board inside. As such, there are no wires or plugs to deal with, and a quadrant can be easily swapped out in under a minute. Throttle quadrants can even be swapped out with FS running; just be sure to select your new quadrant from the menu before proceeding to fly with it, otherwise you might find your throttle unresponsive, because the software thinks it a spoiler lever!

With the console connected and your choice of quadrant in place it's time to go fly.

With FS started you will see on the menu bar a new label for "PFC", click on this to open up the PFC utility, which will allow you to select the throttle quadrant you are using and, if you feel necessary, calibrate the throttles. It can all seem rather daunting at first, as there are many options intended for use with other PFC devices, including their avionics stack, Cirrus consoles, Jetliner Console, etc. Otherwise, the various choices are explained, and in most cases simply choosing the throttle quadrant you are using is all you will need to do. If you have rudder pedals connected, you will also go here to calibrate them, along with the aileron and elevator axis of certain other models of PFC yokes. In most instances, you will be only concerned with selecting the throttle quadrant, checking calibration of the throttles and rudder pedals, and that's about it.

So, what's the PFC Digital Throttle Quadrant like to use? Well, it's almost like "real", simply amazing!

The action of the various levers is suitably stiff, and since there is no vibration in a virtual aircraft, there is no need for a friction lock on them, however their stiffness can be adjusted with a friction bolt located on the side of the quadrant, using either an Allen wrench or a pair of pliers. Their default stiffness is such that an inadvertent tap will not move them, and you will find the overall smoothness and firmness of them to be like nothing else, except the real thing. Naturally, there are compromises, mostly with the jet throttles, so do not expect that "fist-full" of four jet engine throttles to feel the same as they would on a 747, but it will more than suffice. For those of you who fly GA aircraft, the high performance single engine quadrant could have come right out of my Piper! Adjust RPM and lean your mixture, just as you would do in the real airplane. On the jet quadrant, move the spoiler lever to "arm" and the spoilers arm, move it further, and you have complete incremental control over the position of the spoilers. Your ability to make adjustments using the various levers is as precise as one would expect in a real aircraft, and is limited only by FS, and the panel gauges that provide the readouts.

Four of the nine available quadrants: 3-engine jet, 4-engine jet, single engine high performance, and turbo prop.

Take off, pull out and raise the gear switch, and the gear responds, just like the real thing. The flap switch is momentary, and programmable to suit your type of usage in operation, but will not give a visual display of flap position. For this you will still need to look at the gauge on your instrument panel. Rudder trim, also used as control wheel steering for easy ground handling is a different story, and here you will need to trim by feel, as turning the rudder trim knob will not cause the rudder trim knob or indicator in MSFS to move, but you will get rudder trim. Consider the trim, gear and flap switches to be nothing more than extra goodies that add to realism and value, a side show if you prefer to the main attraction that sits center stage, the throttle quadrant itself.

As you might tell by now, I have always liked PFC products, and their Digital Throttle Quadrant is no exception. Sturdy, well made from quality components throughout, and intended for years of demanding use, just like all their other products. Not inexpensive, but quality rarely is, and when you consider that there is nothing else quite like it on the market, it can be considered a must-have for the serious flight simmer.

I do not believe in product "ratings", unless done against extremely strict criteria, or getting into the "what I like" and "what I don't like" opinions, as all of that can be very subjective. It should suffice to say that the PFC Digital Throttle Quadrant is a quality piece of hardware that performs exactly as it should. It comes from a quality company, with a great reputation and great support for their products, and carries a limited lifetime warranty. As with all PFC products its purchase will not prove to be a disappointment.

Now, on to saving my money, so I can fill that avionics port in the back!

Lou Betti
loubetti@earthlink.net

Visit PFC at:
www.flypfc.com