Inside view of TM HOTAS Warthog

[BR=11=Frazer]

Download high resolution pictures here

My findings of the TM HOTAS Warthog as an experienced formation aerobatic pilot are not quite as satisfying as I hoped for.
The first thing I noticed is that the stick is not smooth when you give very small inputs. Inputs that are of high importance for formation leaders flying loops and barrel maneuvers with wingmen 3 feet of your wing.

Self test:
Pull the stick back as slowly as you can.
You will notice "bumbs" which can subscribed as "stickyness".

So, I decided to take a look inside of the TM Warthog stick to see what coused this. It became clear to me as soon as I found out that the ball joint (cap and ball) are both of plastic (yes, plastic!) and besides that, there is a large surface of contact between the two. Even though it is all greasy inside, I think this design is not as perfect as it appears to be.

TM claims that the 3D magnetic sensor has a surgical precision of 16-bit resolution (65536 x 65536 values) and I for sure believe that, though when the technical system doesn't allow you to make small adjustments because of lack of smoothness, the high resolution is rather pointless.

I'm hoping that this "stickyness" will dissapear over time, though most likely it will not. For now, it is impossible to fly as smooth as required as formation aerobatic leader.

At this point, I hate to admid that my 150 euro X52Pro allows me to fly more precise as an formation aerobatic leader.

For the rest, the TM HOTAS Warthog looks and feels awesome.

Advice for protential buyers:
Combat pilot: adviced
Solo aerobatic pilot: adviced
Formation wingman pilot: not adviced
Formation leader: USELESS

[BR=11=Frazer]

Edit: Don't buy this stick.