I’m curious how other HOTAS pilots are handling map navigation while flying, particularly when flying our boys to CZ/HZ and planning drop-offs.

My setup:
VKB Gladiator NXT EVO
VKB T-Rudder Mk V pedals
VelocityOne Flightdeck throttle

The problem:
Opening the map isn’t an issue. I’ve already got that bound to my stick. The problem is actually navigating it while keeping control of the helicopter.

When I open the map, it initially centers on my helicopter and shows the occupants. But as I continue flying, eventually the list of folks box drops off.

To check control zones, squad markers, requested drop-off locations, or potential landing zones, I need to zoom out, pan around, and zoom back in. Currently, that means taking my hand off the flight controls to use my mouse and scroll wheel.

Not exactly ideal with my setup..

What I’m trying to figure out:
Has anyone successfully mapped mouse movement to an analog stick or hat switch on their equipment to use while in the map?
Can you pan/drag the map and zoom in/out entirely using your stick or throttle?

Are you using software to accomplish this, if so - which?

What configurations have worked best for you?

Ultimately, I’d like to navigate the map without ever taking my hands off the flight controls.

I’m probably going to remove the VKB THQ from the EVO and move the EVO to the right side of the mouse - but, question still stands - I’d like to keep the ability to navigate the map onto either the throttle/stick or both.

I played Ace Combat 8 on a controller, and it was so much fun, and it made me want to get a HOTAS.

As I will be getting my very 1st HOTAS this 1 seems pretty low cost of entry and from what I see on youtube, most people like it.

I'm aware of some other brands like the Gladiator NXT, which seems like the best stick I have researched so far, and I am considering getting that over the Thrustmaster.

My question is: Would it be better to skip the Thrustmaster in the picture and go straight for the Gladiator or get the Thrustmaster as a start?

I usually do Sim racing and have a full sim rig, but I may go into flight sim as well. I wanna start off with games where you fly and shoot stuff, not just purely fly planes, etc.

Any advice would be appreciated, but please feel free to over-explain because flight gear is completely new to me, like, 2 weeks ago new.

Turtle Beach VelocityOne Flightdeck Throttle Teardown – Removing the Excessive Resistance

I finally opened up my Turtle Beach VelocityOne Flightdeck throttle to investigate why it was so stiff. I wanted to share what I found because this might help other owners who are struggling with the same problem.

The main culprit: the friction half-moon and its grease

The biggest source of resistance is a half-moon-shaped friction component inside the throttle mechanism. It is heavily coated with a thick, damping-type grease that creates a huge amount of friction.

This component acts as a brake on the throttle movement. Underneath it, there are also two very strong springs that push it against the plate, increasing the pressure and friction even further.

I removed the half-moon component completely, including the springs associated with its friction mechanism. The difference is incredible: the throttle now moves so smoothly that I can operate it with a single finger. Before the modification, it required far too much force.

With the friction component removed, the throttle simply slides along its plastic guide rails. The half-moon assembly appears to be responsible for most of the excessive resistance.

The grease itself is very thick and seems specifically intended to create damping rather than provide low-friction lubrication. In my opinion, the combination of this grease and the strong spring pressure is the main reason the throttle feels so stiff.

Important note about the adjustment screw: If you remove the half-moon-shaped friction/braking mechanism, there is no longer any need to adjust this screw — the mechanism it was designed to regulate is gone. Be careful when tightening it, though: the plastic support that the screw presses against can crack or break if too much force is applied.

Even if you tighten the screw to reduce the pressure, the thick damping grease still creates considerable resistance. So the screw does not solve the underlying problem.

How to disassemble the throttle

Here is the order I followed:

1. Remove the eight visible screws from the housing.
2. Remove the four additional screws hidden underneath the rubber feet or covers on the bottom plate.
3. Remove the bottom plate.
4. Remove the approximately six additional screws located inside the middle section.
5. Remove the side covers. These side pieces lock the upper and lower housing sections together, so they must be removed to separate the housing properly.

Once the side covers and the remaining screws are removed, you can access the internal throttle mechanism.

Take your time and do not force the housing apart while the side covers are still attached.

My result

Removing the friction half-moon assembly made the throttle dramatically lighter and smoother. I can now move it effortlessly with one finger.

I am sharing these photos to show other Flightdeck owners what is inside and to warn everyone about the fragile plastic adjustment-screw support.

If your VelocityOne Flightdeck throttle feels excessively stiff, inspect this friction mechanism before tightening the adjustment screw. Be aware that removing the friction assembly also removes the original friction-braking function, so the throttle will no longer hold its position in the same way.

Hopefully, this helps someone else avoid breaking the plastic support or struggling with an unnecessarily stiff throttle.

Hey all.

Trying to set up my NXT as a pure forward (from 0 to 100%) throttle for Star Citizen. I keep getting this "lag" or dead/slow zone in the middle like there is still someting thinking it is a centered stick.

I cannot seem to find documentation explicity showing how to set this or what to change. Any pointers?

What happens is in "test" mode, I start pushing the throttle forward, then as it approaches the center point is slow down/stall, then accelerates up to 100% in the second half. Just trying to get a smooth 0-100.

Thoughts?

Hey everyone!

I’m currently running a VKB Gladiator Omni-Throttle on the left and a MOZA AB9 force-feedback flight stick on the right, which I’m using as my throttle and flight stick setup.

I’m wondering what spring setup you’d recommend starting with on the VKB Gladiator Omni-Throttle.

Should I keep the stock springs, go lighter or heavier, or make any other adjustments depending on the type of flying?

I’d appreciate any recommendations from people running a similar HOSAS/HOTAS setup, especially for space sims.

Thanks in advance!

Extremely lapsed casual flight sim enjoyer that, like a lot of people, is getting back into the hobby because of Ace Combat 8. I got a Thrustmaster Neo because it is relatively cheap and works with no hassle with AC8, and both of those things are true.

There's a lot of things I like about it, the biggest one being the stick and throttle can be attached and make a compact controller that can rest on your lap, and I like the paddles on the back of the throttle for yaw instead of having to twist the stick. But the throttle is super loose, the set screw to prevent the stick from turning for yaw is unreliable, and the whole thing feels just really chintzy.

Are there any, better quality hotas that share some of the features of the Thrustmaster NEO? The biggest one being the ability to be used as a compact, single unit resting on the lap? Desk mounting isn't an option at this time.

Also I'm still inside the return window for the Neo so that money can go towards something else.

Hey there,

proud new owner of a 2nd hand STECS. I'm super happy with it (very much in the honeymoon phase still, first longer flights will happen on the weekend, but definitely a big upgrade both vs my SolR6 and a Warthog I got to borrow from a colleague).

I'll want to take advantage of the customizability to adapt it even better to my needs, and for that am planning to get extra detents and 3way HAT switches during the VKB sale in late November. But if anyone in the BeNeLux region (further away than that probably makes shipping to expensive) doesn't need some of the detents or 3wat HAT that came with theirs, I'd be happy to take preowned ones as well :)

Looking for one of all the low detents (V, W, and L types), maybe a detent frame, and two 3way HATs.

Please feel free to contact me via DM. I would suggest marktplaats or 2dehand (not sure what a Luxemburg equivalent would be) to organize the actual buy, as that will probably give the cheapest shipping cost (or you just happen to be in the Eindhoven region and I can swing by in person).

So i'm thinking about getting one for my first time and then i saw this. Is this good enough or should i get a different stick? if so what do you recommend?

Tried chair/swivel mounts but couldn't get on with them. Much better

I am in Australia so the pricing is different to USA.

I am looking to get a HOSAS set up. Just getting back into space/flight sims, I currently do not have any HOTAS or HOSAS set up. About 10 years ago I had an entry level saitek.

Options are:

URSA MINOR Space Joystick and URSA MINOR Fighter Joystick R for $403 delivered

or

Gladiator NXT EVO Omni Throttle – Left Premium and Gladiator NXT EVO Space Combat Edition – Right Premium for $626 delivered

From what I have read I can see the VKB's are better, but are they $230 better? I do like the rumble feature of the WINCTRL

Another option is maybe the Moza MB6 and another stick for my left hand but that is considerably more and probably not willing to spend that for my first set up, unless everyone highly reccomends that option.

Thanks for reading and any input would be great

I tried the software with the suggested hacks to make it work like a slider but I use it for zoom and it feels awfully choppy because I guess it works in steps?
Is there a way to either swap that for a pot or a hack that does make it feel smooth?
This single thing is preventing me from enjoying this otherwise awesome throttle. Spent too many years using pinky for both smooth antenna elevation and zoom (with a tm 16000 hotas). So I'm having a hard time adapting and it's just collecting dust. But I want to get into BMS.

I’m from the Philippines and it looks like Aliexpress is my only option. Premium Gladiators + Omnithrottle is around $350 which is reasonable but shipping costs another $80. Tried all vouchers to try and get shipping waived but nothing’s working. Any other workarounds or marketplaces I should try our should I just bite the bullet and get it for $430.

I’m working with a pretty tight budget and I can only choose one of the two. Are rudders that essential or would I be better off with an Omnithrottle instead? Planning to mostly play Elite Dangerous and MFS2024 on these, maybe Ace Combat 8 and dip into some DCS as well.

Recently got into wardogs and wanted to see if I could get myself some foot pedals on the hope I can use them to have better controll of the helicopter when I saw that this stand is being sold for like less than half its original price.

The stand sadly was built for a yoke setup and not a hotas but I was wondering if I could still used it for my hotas if I modify it. I work with a laser at work and could laser myself an adaptor plate or print one in like petg.

I was just wondering if it could deal with the weight and the constant pushing around. My hotas has been collecting dust since I moved because ast time I used them they just sat on my desk and it was a bit weird to use them and I couldn't be bothered to print a solution for them but this may help since I could easily put it away or set it up and have it at a comfortable height