Flight Stick by Turtle Beach - "Almost Perfect" 

shorten the spring by 40% helps a lot

@@rboettger wouldnt shortening the spring make it pull even harder?

Update: I traded this for a VKB Gladiator and have NOT looked back on this Turtle Beach since. The spring is not worth replacing since it's not nearly as moddable as the Thrustmaster Warthog or even the X56 gimbal + large spring system. I'm also extremely disappointed they released the Flight Deck which does fix all of the problems this stick has, but at a price you can get a full VKB Gladiator + STECS or a Gunfighter base with the MCG for only $20 ($420) more. In terms of self enjoyment and practical usability, this stick will NOT last for a long time because of the many poor design choices they made on it that Noob does touch up on in this video. I owned this flightstick since August 2023 with 200 hours played: 90% of my gameplay is flight sims with 10% fighter jets, and the performance of the gimbal as described in this video with the force deflection through the center made flying airliners much less fun than it should be. The complete lack of adjustability of curves on this where I can only modify it in its software with generic presets that are Precision, Linear, and Fast felt too restrictive to their settings in finding a feel that was somewhat realistic. Although the Gladiator does have a center detent with its plastic cam and the EVO with clutch dampeners with lighter springs does help mitigate it, it is a massive night and day difference in quality from Turtle Beach's gimbal. The trim wheel axis on this is completely useless in MSFS when it refuses to center or work as an encoder since it saves the value after every flight. The buttons B16, B17, and the mouse cursor trackpad surrounding the trim wheel are very poorly laid out and are feel very cheap when they press from the lightest touch. A Logitech Extreme 3D Pro or a Thrustmaster T80 racing wheel for half or quarter of the price of this stick uses much better tactile buttons on their units than this. Twist axis on this is also subpar compared to VKB's twist adapter since it's angle range is only half of it, which makes it harder to do precise movements even with a decent hall sensor. Software for VKB does take a while to learn since it's not intuitive, but VKB has posted their tutorials on RU-vid and show it is very powerful like Joystick Gremlin, and certainly much more than nothing which this flight stick has. With VKB's software you can setup a trackpad, pov hat, and cockpit movement axis all in ONE ministick with the SCG through "Shift" and "Subshift" modes as well as having a center push button to double the use of the same ministick as a Analog Hat Switch instead. Lesson learned, skip the Flight Stick entirely and get a VKB Gladiator NXT EVO with the Premium Space Combat grip and you guaranteed will not regret it.

Agreed... a mk II version, ironing out all the niggles that their customers find with it, could be one of the all-time greats... it sounds like a go-to stick already.

A lot of the criticisms are going my head, I still kinda really want this one.

@@Kinzokugia, from what others have said, the stick gets a lot smoother with use, within the first couple weeks, as it gets broken in.

@@Kinzokugia Get yourself a VKB Gladiator NXT Premium. Only a bit more expensive, but its got 90% of the joystick feel a stick can offer, and like >20 buttons. Like, I didnt even know that sticks can feel so much better than the cheap ball/cup construction, until I got that thing. If you wanna go budget, the VO Stick seems to handle a lot worse than a T-16000M, to be honest. A T16 is actually pretty good for a 'cheap' joystick, take it with a TWCS and you got a real HOTAS setup.

They released the Flight Deck full HOTAS earlier this year which does come packed with even more features like a full digital touch screen instead of a gear rotary wheel, and better buttons + triggers. But the gimbal and spring system is the same as this for more than triple the MSRP. The grip is also easily hot-swappable IF they ever release any other grips. Since its still new, a lot of people have been having many issues with the software especially the full digital screen. Overall not worth the features with this brand unless that's exactly what you watched to have that much better joysticks with metal cam gimbals don't provide.

Glad I could help!

@@NOOBIFIER1337 you usually do sir!

​​@@elwinbrake2695 I think you might like VKB's products, especially the older Gladiator MK.II base. It has a very smooth center transition. Unfortunately it is sold out from the official store.

Just get a VKB Gladiator NXT.

Tbh even without motor control problems, its really irritating to have sticks like that. I almost feel like a shill saying that, considering the other comments, but a VKB Glad was a massive upgrade. Its the cheapest way to get an actually great joystick. Virpil is dope with their full metal construction, but theyre like 2.5 times as expensive.

Agreed

That's the truth, and I think that was the goal they were aiming for. Training flight simulators have stiff controls that mimic the aircraft being simulated, including the feedback and warnings. The twisting of the stick for rudder actuation is a good cross feed (possibly realistic) for those that don't have rudder pedals, but it can be locked for those that do have rudder pedals that won't be using that feature. I'll be receiving mine tomorrow, so I have the weekend and two days off to figure this puppy out. This is gonna be fun!

One guy on here had cerebral palsy so the stiff stick isn’t good for him, its not all about sim sticks being wrong

WTF

Did Turtle Beach do anything to help out with the issues you've had?

@@NOOBIFIER1337 yep. And the hand rest actually snapped in half and had a sharp edge to it that scratched my stepson’s arm. He was in a PvP dogfight in Star Citizen and was probably putting some pressure on it, but still this shouldn’t happen. I’m going to reach out to Turtle Beach about it. I had to superglue the left throttle piece back together.

@@spaced-cadet there is nothing that can be done. There are no adjustments possible. No tuning possible

@@spaced-cadet I’m reaching out to them now. We shall see what they say and I’ll update here. I may make my own video about the issues I’ve had.

There is no world where I'd pick this stick over a VKB Gladiator.

40 years? What a rookie you need to pump those numbers up if you want bragging rights.

Yea same, that thumb track pad is exactly what I need for things like strafe etc in space games.

@@Malakie Tbf if you got the space you might want to consider HOTAS. Something like a TWCS throttle has an analog sitck at its back, which can be comfortably used for stuff like strafing. For space stuff theres also dual stick solutoin, though they can get expensive.

@@termitreter6545 I already use HOTAS. Looking for something better.

It does not resolve itself. I used the stick for a month

Since my last comment, I've "spoken" (online messages) with several other owners/users of this stick. Every one of them says their sticks got a lot smoother with use, as they got broken in. You may not have used yours enough, during that time. Personally, I LOVE my two. Yes, they're not perfect. I would love a two-stage trigger AND a thumb button (which I use as "push to talk"), but if those are my biggest gripes, I'm good with that.

@@odonovan What a crock of shit. All other joysticks tested, Start Good and Continue to be good. This is still a heavily flawed product, despite you becoming accustomed to its faults. I do appreciate you taking the time to post your comments though.

I appreciate you taking the time to watch. O7

Not bad habits, think of it this way: In a flight sim that requires you to aim, you want small movement to be easy (with less force), big movements to be hard. With this stick, you put a lot of force to move the small movements away from center, then suddenly the force required to move the stick drops off and you pushs it all the way instead of the precise movement you want.

Thing is, you can still do a lot better than VO. While Im always gonna be annoyed about the T-16000s Z-axis sensor "breaking" for no reason, that joystick is way better with centering and precision than most other cheap sticks I tried. The VO Stick seems to be much worse compared to that, and thats at 3 times the T16s price point! Scissor construction is probably much more complex and expensive. But then again, a VKB Prem is like 200-220 bucks, and its got almost everything you could wish for on a stick.

@@termitreter6545 ofc it's more expensive, yep. But absolutely worth the investment. It I'd go cup and ball I'd go really cheap like 3D Pro or maybe t16000 or save up and get a scissor based stick

It could be the best entry if it was retuned

I appreciate that!

I was gutted to find it was this good with such an odd construction.

They are all Hall effect now. So, what’s the point

I will investigate

@@NOOBIFIER1337 Just 8 screws on the base cover and 4 screws holding the center metal plate, which is actually the spring assembly. But be mindful of the center plate orientation when you put it back together, it goes a specific way (small guide holes on the corners).

And just like that, my hope is restored : )@@renesakata1737

I might have to give this a try... The stiffness always bothered me with this stick. Now to find a spring that would work

Seeing ive only played the Ace Combat series & a couple space combat titles on consoles, when you say the stick travel is too short, you talking about moving your plane instantly from barely moving the stick?

Computer peripheral companies don't realize how far you can go with simplicity and quality materials. Part of it is the marketing wonks that know, sadly, that "gamers" want lights and feature bloat. Seems like they haven't got the memo that there's a distinction between "gamer" and "simmer", the latter of whom should be their target with this product.

@@x3wildcard True words man.

the screen drives up the price of production and then they cheap out on the important stuff, just like the old x52, in the end almost no one uses the screen, its just a gimmick.

@@karambiatos same with the x56, that thing was one big ergonomic nightmare...without displays tho :D

@@justalex4214 that was a different point, that was more like standard saitek stupidity, something that's so close to being perfect but just has those few things that make it kinda bad.

@@karambiatos yeah but the general idea is the same tho. They slap more buttons on it, maybe put some weights in to make it feel heavier and make it look more high quality on the outside and call it premium because that's still more cost effective than investing in better parts for the stick and sensors.

@@justalex4214 indeed the same thing goes with even the warthog, they made a metal grip to make the toy look like a serious totally not a toy thing, yet the main gimbal is plastic instead of being metal.

At 129€, V2 would be an insult to all buyers of first gen! reminds me of the poor work from winwing who comes with product revision on a yealry basis

@DownloadPizza there is a difference between a bad feeling button or some material that feels cheap and the basic fundamental behavior of the product

@@aquamich129 well then they shall do a V2 but instead of calling it V2, they call it "reV3rsed" and leave everybody wondering about a potential V2 and "is this V3? how??" altogether^^

It confused me to review this because as I said in the video, you would expect the focus to be on “Good Feeling” and then fancy stuff

Also I’m a purely MSFS so it’s perfect for me.

Agreed, I was about to pull the trigger on this, but this being the only review of several I watched that talked about aiming & shooting, saved me some cash big time. I immediately subbed after watching.

Gladiator NXT EVO could fit that bill.

I'm not sure I'm understanding as there are a ton of videos regarding hotas for SC. Given that doing pvp flight combat is going to be a necessity sometimes most people prefer to go dual sticks for SC. But there's still a bunch of videos regarding hotas for SC, a bunch within the last year and at least some over the past few months...

@@Vinwelder from like year ago or before. Tech going forward (but also user experience and honest reviews after year or so of use) but there's none videos regards reliability or latest tech

@@bartim0re487 That's because, honestly, there hasn't been any movement in the last 5 years or so. Gimbal tech peaked a long time ago, and most of the high end gimbals are actually better and more accurate than what you'll find in real life GA aircraft. VPC 50cm2/50cm3 (these are the same except the cm3 has a tunable damper clutch), VKB Gunfighter, those are your best gimbals. Step down to VKB Gladiator for your midrange, and down to TM T16000 for your low end. Grab w/e pedals you can afford if you need them. That's it, every "what joysticks for SC HOSAS should I get?" thread can be answered this way and it hasn't changed much/at all since SC's inception. If you're dead set on HOTAS not HOSAS (dedicated throttle vs a 2nd stick as an omnithrottle for true 6dof), you're looking at the Warthog or modded Cougar throttles. Just go double stick (HOSAS). It's better, and easier. Noobifier has a video on the Gladiator where he specifically discusses build material longevity. The higher end gimbals are all metal and will last longer than your wrist. I edited this like 5 times, think I'm done now...

Correct, it takes a ground up approach with checks at every milestone to release a great product.

All things are relative. I look at controllers that are between 700-1400$

I hope so too!

Oh god tell me more! I really want to love this thing but the aiming & reticule performance shown in this upload killed it for me.

I always felt like the t1600 is too sloppy and soft for me, I wonder if this resistance would feel better because like you I def heavy hand my sticks and this has better options on stick for buttons givin they all actually show up.