Watching this vidio convinced me that a pair of Alpha's + WarBRD bases were the right choice. Thanks for sharing, I actually forgot to leave a comment in January when I first watched it. Two updates... Wait times 2021 Ordered on Virpil Website 10th Feb Took my money on the 10th of March Dispatched From Virpil via DHL on 22nd of March On 22nd March DHL gave ETA as March 31st Delivery actually arrived 26th of March Also, you can now program the LEDs to react to button presses. I.E. RED when undercarriage is down, and GREEN when up
Three things to note that were not mentioned. The scroll wheel has two depression levels. (Rather than the one mentioned here) The hand-rest is capable of a lockout to prevent play. DtEA here has it engaged so he thinks he cannot reduce the hand-rest height much more, but has about 2/3 inch to go (which is significant) if he removes the lockout nut (an intended feature). Also, you can buy a similar nut that’s the right size and put it onto other Virpil sticks with the same feature (EG. MongoosT50CM3 Grip). And finally, Virpil sticks have the availability to rotate on their base 360 degrees for ergonomics and mounting purposes (in case of chair mounts). This is important in that you don’t need to rotate the base itself if you’d like a proper 15 degree left rotation for wrist fatigue relief (like in modern fighter jets). This feature is especially useful in center stick setups.
@@mavhizd All the axes on Virpil sticks are incredibly fine, but it is a spring loaded lever pinned at the bottom so you’d need to be stable with pressure. I regularly use it as an analog brake lever in flight sims, so I can vouch for it as a fine control axis. So, yes, practical as a second throttle, though I’d recommend momentary usage.
I’m glad they offer different cams. Contrary to popular belief the flight sticks in modern fighter jets DO NOT have greater resistance the farther the sticks are moved from center.
Good review. I have the Alpha left and right variants and agree completely that the four way+push hat switches are easy to mis-press. They are very good joysticks, potentially the best out there, but they’re definitely not perfect. There is a reason the Thrustmaster Warthog doesn’t have push on any of its hat switches. The Alpha is designed more around small hands I think. If you have larger hands, the Constellation Delta is probably a better bet for you. You can now pre-order Virpil equipment on the website - no waiting around for restocks any more.
Thrustmaster HOTAS Cougar/Warthog sticks are less featured because of being design wise 1:1 carbon copies of real sticks designed for only that specific job.
OMG, the chaos when the Virpil web store restocks is going to be double now ;-) Last restock was total mayhem (!) when they tried to make changes to the webstore at the same time as they stocked the Alpha grip. Nice honest review!
My Alpha arrived just a couple days after yours and I pretty much agree with all your points, especially about the push function on the hats. I think they could improve the situation a little bit if they used different shapes on the caps, like a castle switch.
Ordedred two bases (Wardbird) and a RH and LF COnnieALPHA stick, and took like 2 months to get. WORTH THE WAIT!!!! May buy the control panel, and maybe I'm also getting the 2 foot extension to place the stick on the floor (can't desk mount because I have to moved stuff around my desk quite often since it doubles as work desk). Use laptops on the side, etc, and desk mounts just won't do.
I just got my new Virpil alpha left hand, replacing a Thrustmaster 16000. Big difference! Much more like my Warthog right hand, but still much lighter.
I never had an issue with the hats where I can easily use the push and point with no issue. HOWEVER, I have had issues with the analog thumb stick not resting at 50% (its at 49 on one axix, and 57% on the other), same with the Z axis, its usually at like, 51%. A bit of deadzone helped that one and the 49%, but the 7% I can't quite get rid and it tends to want to thurst my ship down. I had had to add a lot of dead zone on it. LOVE the feel of the grip, though I wish I had the Mongoose base instead of the Wardbird I bought. Good review!
Ordered one of these earlier this week, with a v4 desk mount, adapter and BRD base. Finally found a proper stick with twist. Bought a Logitech X56 last year, but jeez, that joystick is almost unusable - my previous X52 Pro was MUCH better. Have to set massive deadzones just to keep it center (on both X, Y and twist axis), and even had to return the first one due to these issues. Second one is only slightly better. Now, the Alpha stick alone costs about double what the entire X56 set costs, but I have a feeling it'll be worth it. And I can still use the X56 throttle, which is actually pretty decent. This review set my mind at ease, and confirmed my hopes and thoughts.
Beautiful base and stick. I have just ordered from Virpil to the UK. Cannot bloody wait, could be a long wait though but not fussed. Using a Thrustmaster T. 16000M at the moment for MSF 2020and loving that so lets see how good the Virpil is. Thanks for the review
The stocking issues kept me from getting their stuff, but honestly, It was for the better. While the Virpil things are premium products, they're already *very* expensive for what it is, and if I were to have to pay for several shipping fees, due to them never having all of the things I want in stock, then it simply becomes far too expensive. I had some 1000€ set aside for a proper upgrade, but after some 5-6 re-stocks, and still not being able to get more than half of the things within a single order, I instead decided to cave and instead bought a used Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS, in brand new condition for some 240 Euro. Throttle €320, MongoosT-50CM2 grip €170, VPC MongoosT-50CM2 base €290. Totaling 780 Euro, and that is with VAT excluded, and thus nowhere near what one would actually end up paying. With the 25% Swedish VAT, it would end up costing €975 plus shipping, which is mental. I have tried the Virpil throttle, the mongoose grip, and the base mentioned above at a friend's house, and while the throttle and the base in some sense are more premium than the warthog one, it's not, at least to me, worth the very steep asking price. Things get even more skewed when used hardware is an option, as the warthog is far easier to find used than any of the Virpil stuff.
I kind of get the feeling that that "Tall Stick" with that huge space between the bottom of the actual base of the stick itself and the surface it rests on was probably purposely make like that..... it seems to me that it would do REAL WELL in more of a "cockpit" type of setup where the "table" sits between your legs and the stick "reaches up" to be the right height and it looks like there is a perfect place to put 4 screws (or bolts) on those 4 horizontal "legs" sticking out the corners. I think it would make an AWESOME stick to use in even a "simple" cockpit build.... with just a chair, short table and monitor placed where the windshield would be..... Or even just find a nice sturdy wood box or low table for ur desk setup and scoot back and still put the stick between your legs..... that's how that type of "control" was designed to be used anyway :)
When will Virpil have the control panels that are compatible with the short deskmount with a T50 CM2 throttle? I am so looking forward to the release of a few control panels. This video rocked so keep up the good work and thanks for sharing!
It'd be really good if you could share your opinion on the throttle. Especially how you're configured it for Elite and whether it's more comfortable than x56. I like how you review stuff, it's really an opinion and real use-case, rather than just drooling on expensive hardware. It's rather hard to convince yourself to spend so much money without any prior experience:) Thanks for great vids!:)
Great review, looks good - keeping my CH HOTAS, but if I was buying one from scratch would seriously look at it. Would be nice to see what you thought about the throttles too.
the height of the stick and it not being available is why i got a VKB Kosmosima pro with Gunfighter base. i maybe miss out on the scroll and brake lever but it's such a big upgrade over my Thrustmaster t16000m that i dont really care
Did you share or release your config files? I feel like I missed a configuration video, I purchased this setup and it is arriving today. Thanks for all the great content.
i've been using that great old 40 dollar logitech "extreme 3d pro" joystick for years. sure you have take it apart and clean out its incredibly cheap and flimsy potentiometers every couple of weeks, and they never really work incredibly well even for all that... and then you have to unplug it and plug it back it at random times, before trying to use it, so that it doesn't just perversely decide to completely skew its calibration in a way that can't be corrected with the calibration utility otherwise... but aside from that, it's a pretty good joystick. i really hope logitech gets around to making a better version of it one of these days, honestly.
I've been dying to have these but they were about as expensive as my whole pc lol. Now I have to save up again for them cuz I did a new build lol
4 года назад
Thanks for the review! Got a T16000M atm but was looking at this as a possible upgrade due to it having the twist built in (need that cause I can't use peddals). Looks good but very high as you mention so would probably need the under table mount :/
remove the nut under the handrest it increases the height for your hand about 0.5mm.... i hesitated first resumed the build quality would not be as perfect as it apeared and for that price was i not that sure ... But all my concerns where unnecassary and all went well.. sure it needed a.little longer to get the parts but all was very good packaged and after allmost 2 years i get an additional grip for my right hand
Very nice review DtEA, currently trying to decide to either go with the Virpil constelation alpha or the VKB gunfighter mk3 with the kosmosima grip... any input apreciated!
Hi fellow virtual pilots! Need to replace my old X52 flightstick! I decided with a grip . This would be "Alpha Constellation". But what is the best base for "Constellation"? It will be used mostly for military simulators. It will be used first on the table. But in the future I plan to move flight control under the table. But I'm in doubt. What is the best base to buy? Is it true that Mongoose base is better quality than Warbird base? Or are they the same? For me, it is the quality of the base, the "clear center" , the absence of central backlash and the response to the handle deflection is the most important. The rest I can get used to. What would you suggest?
The movement of the stick is smoother and more accurate. Especially close to the centre. The hats and switches are about the same, but overall it's a more premium feeling stick.
I'm new to this hosas/hotas or even flight stick game, is there any really nice entry level setups? I really wanna get into it but I don't wanna pay a price that cost half my pc yet.. I would like something that will be viable in star citizen/Elite dangerous pvp so I'm leaning towards a hosas instead of a hotas.
For cheap level Thrustmaster T.16000M set would be the best by using magnetic hall sensors instead of wear prone potentiometers. Though number of controls is very limited and you might want to mod it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vn_V7aoSruw.html For next/mid level set of VKB Gladiator NXTs would be good choise. (and base can be later upgraded) While not as fully packed as Alpha, VKB's space sim grip still beats Thrustmaster's top models with analog mini-stick in Premium grip version. Or if wanting to lower cost, VKB Gladiator for your dominant/main hand and Thrustmaster for other hand.
Virpil changed their ordering system so you can no longer do pre-orders. You can only order things that they actually have in stock. That means if you do get an order in, it should ship relatively quickly. The hard part is just catching their stuff when it's in stock.
Chris H Restocks: forum.virpil.com/index.php?/topic/142-worldwide-webstore-restock-date/ Ordering: forum.virpil.com/index.php?/topic/1803-ordering-from-virpil-controls-community-discussion/
I have been waiting half a year for this and its now out of stock all the time. No idea what Virpil are doing but this is ridiculous !!!!! Also wjy would they discontinue the best throttle ever and replace it with a worse one ????? Seriously can't stand the yellow accents on the new one ! It looks so cheap !
why is so very expensive, and you nedd must buy the base expensive to pls!!!!, you need for all set 1500$ +++$$$$$, this control it is for few people bad bad bad
So wait, you gotta buy a $200 dollar flight stick THEN fork over another $200 for the base? That’s like buying a car then having to buy the tires and engine separate. Wtf euro people?!
Well it is high-end product, so you naturally pay more for that. Virpil sell different bases and different grips, so having them separate allows someone to buy exactly what they need. It ain't cheap, that's true, but they're worth it if you are really into this and are looking for high-end pieces of kit.
This company has a great joystick but the customer service is absolutely trash. Good luck at getting one. You might get the base then 6 months later get a grip. The company sales team is absolutely trash. High demand with no way to to pre order. Don't believe go to virpil offical forums on there site. Buy a VKB space sim joystick just as good.
Well I might look at some other brand because Virpil might be really good, but sales are shit and they are just one big unorganized mess of a company. Hell I if i'll find better quality systems (throttle,stick,base,panels,mounting plates) than Virpil I will immediately jump ship because waiting forever is not my game.
I wouldn't say that. I've bought a couple sticks and bases from them upon initial release and have contacted their customer service for one issue after receiving and setting them up and I got a response from them immediately and they resolved my issue quickly (ended up being user error on my part). They are just a newer company than a lot of the others out there and are in a growing phase. They are working to improve their output. You just have to keep an eye on the restock forum and have your email on the when available list and you can get them. This last stock with the alphas and some rework to their site was admittedly a bit of a disaster, but s**t happens. They could do better for sure on how they sell the product and maybe offer some sort of a preorder, but I have no idea what the real demand is. You could be in for a long wait either way. Just has to do with supply and demand. Regarding the Alpha sticks in particular, remember that this was basically the first time they've sold since the original preorder, so of course demand for these particular sticks is going to be high and more difficult to get for the near future. Anyways, just my two cents. Wouldn't call their CS trash. They're just a relatively small company that has seen a high demand over the last few years for their product. Is what it is.
Any chance of having a look at your bindings? I just freshly bought the alpha(didn't knew about any previous problems with ordering from Virpil- if I knew I would probably order from VKB or WINWING but it came 10 days after I've made preorder) By the way have you seen the WinWing hotas? I love the look of their throttle.
It must be hard to make some of these video's, especially if you , as you say, paid for the equipment. Let us agree on one thing before we start, if the joystick has a spring for centering, in any axis, then it is a toy and not to be used by people who want a good experience. No aircraft has ever had spring controlled flight surfaces, ever. Look up how a spring works and how the loads are derived, it is the exact opposite of the loads experienced by any flight surface. If it uses a spring, then it is a toy and it is over priced. You are a mug for buying it.
