Others say..."Good solid stick"The only reason for not giving this a 5 star rating is that the throttle is a little awkward to hold, even for someone with relatively large hands. The F16 TQS from Thrustmaster had a much more natural fit, but in every other respect the CH product beats it hands down.
I don't know how closely the motion relates to the real-world behaviour of the F16 throttle, but it works fine in sims.
Only issue I've had with using Flightstick/throttle/rudders is that with my USB hub XP doesn't always recognise them as the same device and that can lead to your control assignments in games being lost - takeoff is not the time to find out that F4AF thinks your rudders are your flightstick!
Even though I rated it 4 I'd still recommend this to complete your setup.
"Another great CH product"I've owned and used this unit for a little over two years now. Its just as reliable and durable as the Fighterstick but not as useful. The main problem for me has been the absence of a trim wheel. A second wheel to go with the one on the Fighterstick (only one of the wheels on the Fighterstick is programable) would be a big help. The Pro Throttle feels great in my hand and the sliding action is nice and smooth. I am deducting one star for the absence of a wheel.
"Awsome again"This is my first USB throttle Controler. Well I say it will be my last too. There is no other CH Products rock period. I can remember all the other joystick I have bought before and all the money I have wasted. CH is the only way to go. And no I don't work for them. I am a gammer and a flight sims pilot. With this throttle controler and there joystick, well all I can say is wow. It only made my flight sims even better. Well next stop is the rudder pedals. I want it as real as I can get. The price to me was high, but for the product it worth every cent. You can programs this throttle controler any way you want. But you should know how to set up flight sims games. This is for advance gamers. So be patient set it up. It rocks and right on CH Products. If it not CH Product, well it not a Flight Controller. Works great on my IL-2, Microsoft 2004, Lock On, Air War of Vietnam, Microsoft Firepower, and other Flight games I have. I high recommend this product.
"Very good, but it could have been better"First of all, I believe this product should be complemented with a good joystick, CH Fighterstick being the first choice. Of course, it can function alone, but I really can't think of any situation where one would need a throttle without a joystick.
The device is extremely light compared to similar units. The resistance, however, is slightly stronger, making some kind of fixing it to the table almost mandatory. Either that or you'll have to push it down every time you move it, so the friction does the stabilizing.
The motion is linear rather than arcing, which requires some time getting used to. I'm still not sure if this was a good decision.
There is a number of hat switches and buttons on the throttle and you'll probably never run out of them. Their placing, however, is not as good as with Cougar's throttle, for example. In my opinion, an ergonomic rework of the unit would be beneficial. In any case, if you need more buttons, programming options make further possibilities almost infinite.
There is also a microstick which is quite useful, but there are no dials. A minus, as modern flight sims make good use of dial controls.
Programming abilities are exceptional and belong to the very top. Complemented with CH Fighterstick, there is no other equipment to rival it.
As with other CH gear, the feel is somewhat toyish, but don't be fooled by it - this is a quality product and it will last very long time.
Verdict: Fine product to complement your CH gear. Reliable, with great programming abilities, but it could have been even better with dials, arcing motion and somewhat improved ergonomics.
"Don't know what I did without it!"
This is an amazing product, it truly transforms your flight sim experience. I had been used to the simple [$$] joysticks with the throttle as a little nob on the side of the thing. This, as part of a HOTAS system (like another CH products jostick), is just worlds apart -- they give you about a bazillion 4-way hat switches, which I use to increment prop pitch, fuel mixtures, supercharger stages, flaps, &c, and three buttons on the front. They also have an interesting mini-joystick, which theoretically one could use as a mouse, although I haven't gotten that to work -- but it is useful for other sorts of analog-action motions, such as the rudder control.
The motion is smooth and stable, and it has a large enough base that it doesn't slip around when you're
