WinWing Orion 2 Upgrade Overview / Comparison 

Just commenting to let you know that this is another fantastic hardware review and that *somewhere* down the line this will be one of the sources of information used by me to inform my next HOTAS purchase. While it's genuinely fun to me to watch new hardware reviews these are also going to be genuinely extremely useful down the line too as the information provided is fantastic.

Thanks @RedKite, prefect review, just what I was looking for. Well worth the wait!

Hi RedKite. Thanks for your time and thoughtful reviews!

My unit just shipped. Looking forward to trying it out myself. Upgrading from the TWCS.

Thank you for posting this video 🎉. You have a new subscriber. Keep up the great work 🎉.

Mine will get here this week!

Great review thank you

on your 7:20 timestamp comment, I use some non-slip liner used in cabinets and kitchen drawers. seems to work well for me since I have to move the throttle off my desk frequently.

Great comparison, thanks for the video. As a user of the original Orion, there's no economical upgrade path as such, it seems. The new base and finger-lift options have to be purchased separately, for about $266, which is more than half the total price of buying the whole set again, including throttles, joystick base and joystick handle. And I wonder how easy it would be to sell just the old base without throttle handles after that? Well, I guess I'll pass and pretend I never saw the new Orion 2! I am quite happy with my v1 kit after all... :)

I just got mine a few days ago and love it! As your other commenter said both my two sliders also feel the same. The sliding action is also smoother in game than my Warthog which always had a jitter to it. With the Viper side frame thing, I can only mount it to my Monstertech mounts using two out of the four screws unless I did something wrong? The new muscle memory and mappings are gonna take a while to get used to but it feels so nice.

Redkite, I have a question about the J2 throttle. I just received mine in the mail and I really like it so far. However I have a question regarding the Z-Axis (antenna elevation) wheel on the right throttle handle. It will only register a slight movement when switching from axis to button mode & back. Then it freezes in the max position. I am new to DCS and new to this level of HOTAS controls. When setting up your O2 was this axis working right from go? Or did it take some tweaking to get it to work? I have updated the firmware with it connected directly to the motherboard & tried calibrating several times. I tried opening a ticket with winwing but had an issue. I will continue with opening a ticket but saw your video & figured you are knowledgeable about these controls. Thank you in advance. And I did subscribe as I enjoy your videos.

Great review, thank you! How would you rate the Orion 2 (with the Viper handle and the side mount for the afterburner detent) compared to the Cougar throttle?

Thanks for the preview, I have seen some photos a few days ago of someone who opened their Orion and there were cables crushed under a screw. For the review could you make an internals comparison between the Orion 1 and Orion 2 and check if they have fixed this or if it was an isolated manufacture/QC issue on that particular unit?

Thanks for the review. I just received my throttle v2 base and f16 throttle handle. feels like a quality product. I did have one question. There is a status indicator light that keeps blinking. Not sure what this means. I went through calibration. Didnt do firmware updates, the base and handle are up to date. Any thoughts on how to clear it? was it something that you experienced as well?

I just got my f16 throttle and assembly took some time as the parts I got are different than the online manual. After an hour of assemble I realized the suction cups will not work with the f16 version and I really need to be able to put it away when not in use, so I'll need to come up with another solution to keep it in place.

Great video. I am a real-life advanced piston FW pilot and also XP-12 FW, generally twin piston business King 90 etc. or Malibu. I would like to dabble with heli's and replace my yoke system with a Hotas-type stick with a separate power unit (similar to G56 (Pro). What I need however is something that can dual function work as a collector for a simple heli's. Which of the usuals are suitable for dual use or do I need to go to WinWing & Co?

I think the question of whether there'll be an A-10 throttle is now resolved with the introduction of the F-15 throttle, since it's basically the same handle but with more functionality. So, no A-10 throttle.

Thanks @RedKite! Any updates on the full review? Would like to see how changing the detent config is. How annoying is it to remove/add the afterburner detent? I often swap between modules and the warthog is easy enough by just lifting out the detent so it takes about 5 seconds.

1:32 missed oppurtunity for 'these nuts'

Its a giant pain in the ass to assemble. But It's heavenly once you get it running

where did you get that other detent from? I wanted the finger lifts but I think 59 usd is a bit steep for a piece of plastic on top of that the shipping costs. Thanks.

First. Lol us Mirage F1 fans are addicted.

is there any option to have an Idle position detent without having the finger lift kit? I do have a small part with a screw in it spare, I wonder what that is for?

Great review. Do you think adding the finger lift assembly to the V1 would give a little bit more strain relief on those cables?

How do you map idle cut-off to the game for engine starting and shutdown if there are no throttle position buttons in the new throttle base ?

Cool👍🏼

Hey awesome video! Really well put together. Do you know if they will work with MSFS 2020?

Seems like the f16/a10 part is now more of a removable cap? Allowing future modules to be swapped in.

You should do a review of ED's Aim-120 Product :)

I know is been a long time Kite, but do you use the fingerlift? For me, the fingerlift creates a friction that I don't like

Does the Orion 2 still have a button press for the throttles passing into the idle range? That was kind of nice to have for starting the hornet up.

I am wondering where to get those addional throttle panel ? Are these ready to order ?@ 3:50 min... ❤

Hey I just purchased and set up my Orion 2 f-16 and have it mounted to my Next Level Racing F-GT. I’m unable to install guide rail AND mount it to the chair. The guide rail covers the mounting screws when installed. If anyone know a work around please let me know!

I just want to know where to find those realistic looking caps you have on the startup panel?

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

Okay, just received my Orion 2 throttle base and I noticed a couple things right away. First, I ordered a complete system, i.e. throttle base and FA-18 handles, and an Orion 2 stick base and F-16EX grip. For some reason they shipped all four components separately so I'm getting them one at a time. Not crazy about that after paying $80 for shipping. Why couldn't they put all four of them in one big box? Whatever. Second thing I noticed when trying to mount my throttle base to my Hikig desk mounts is that the footprint of the throttle base is huge. It took some creativity to get the thing on there securely but it works. However, in doing so I found the first, and hopefully only thing I genuinely dislike about the Winwing system. The throttle base has these two flat box things on each end that are apparently for securing other mods to it like the F-16 throttle or maybe a collective. That's all well and good, except they are directly over both left side mounting holes which makes putting the correct size mounting bolt/screw through the hole pretty much impossible. Don't know what's up with that. I suppose I could come up from the bottom and put the nut on the top, but that is not my preferred method. Someone didn't think that one through. Anyway, hopefully that will be my only complaint, and hopefully the rest of my system won't be too far behind the first piece. I do have a question for anyone else that has had one of these for a while. I realize that having the switches and knobs with specific labels is helpful if the thing is only gonna be used for a few different fighter aircraft. But I would really prefer a system that wasn't labeled so aircraft specific. I use my system for a lot of different aircraft and spacecraft. I have at least a half dozen different space and flight sims that I play all the time. So while I was never really happy with my previous HOTAS (Logitech X56), I did prefer the generic labeling for this reason. So what I was wondering is if anyone knows of a source for some aftermarket overlay panels to go on the throttle base that are more generic?

Did you ever do a full review of this one?

My friction sliders are the same. The top one and bottom one have the same force required. Luckily for me I suppose.

i want a set of these really bad but they are never in stock ughh

Are the detents system coming with the base or a customer having the Hornet grip already has to buy it again ?

This confirms that they are going to sell the startup panel sperate, right? Thanks for your video!!

Does that mean you don't have a button to put it to idle? I use tarus throttle. But plan on getting the orion as a designated F16 kit, and I would hate if I'd have to find another button to move the thorttle to idle. I love starting up planes and just pushing forward the throttle to active idle.

I was considering getting the 2 but i would miss the button press from cutoff to idle. That is not cool. They should make it an optional feature. Im disappointed.

are the actually wires that plug into the throttle handles the same? my orion gen 1 recently pooped out and i’m getting the 2 but u don’t wanna buy anything i don’t need and would like to use my gen 1 throttle handles

I have one of these on the way, are you able to provide the mounting hole dimensions? I cannot find them anywhere but wish to get an idea of what kind of mount i need to build to accommodate its size. thanks in advance!

My Orion 2 Throttle (with the F-18 throttle handle) just arrived today and I can confirm that it ships with the finger-lift detent, no need to buy it separately. ***Not sure if it's a bonus item because I pre-ordered two months ago though.

How long it take the preorder to get approved and how I pay it say PayPal but I don't put the info to get charge.

I have the original F-16 throttle on the Orion 1. I ordered the Orion 2 intending to move my F-16 grip to it. It seems to be incompatible. The throttle gate simply doesn't fit on new base design. Does anyone have any clue if there are other parts required (Orion 2 didn't come with any).

How could you not notice the base in the new version is plastic instead of metal?

Can the front and back PSU connectors be removed ?

How long did it take to ship?

What looks like $1 suction cups is completely out of place on a nice piece of kit. They really need to fix that. Same goes with the stick base. Cheapass suction cups, it really doesn't jive with how much it costs and the quality of the hotas. What a shame

RedKite, i am sold on the quality and the number of buttons and switches with the WinWing throttle base, however I have one insurmountable problem with buying one. I do not fly the F-16 , A-10 or the F-18. I fly almost exclusively the REDFOR aircraft. The labeling of the switches and buttons to correspond with particular aircraft functions is a DEAL BREAKER. Why has no one at WINWING realized that not everyone wants the buttons labeled. Thrustmaster Warthog has the same problem. Virpil makes their throttle generic with a label kit included. I don't think I am the only one that feels this way. WinWing appears to be the heir to the Thrustmaster throne but they are missing out on a large swath of potential customers. You seem to have their ear, so maybe you could put in a good word for the rest of us. WinWing ......Make an Orion throttle option that is generic with lighted areas so the end user can label it as we choose and still get lighted markings. All it would take is changing the label plates. As far as know these plates are not end user changeable. If they are changeable, release a 3d printer template so that the community can make our own. Sorry for the venting....but you might be the one to help with this problem....

The slider thing is not a v1 vs V2 thing. My v1 has a loose slider and my v2 neither is loose

if i have older then i not need newer. if i have any hotas i not need lol

So I suppose my biggest question would be, would you spend your own money on this?

Thanks for the review Redkite, very well done and mostly impartial. This review affirms all the negative feelings I have towards this product. Supposedly 95% metal but its the most plastic-y looking thing I've ever seen. Amateur fisher price grooves, lots of elements like the PSU placement that is an overall downgrade from the previous version. Most importantly though, the #1 reason I dislike their stuff is that, people expect flight sim gear to be highly priced, but that's generally only true when you are buying a replica of something. TM Warthog's biggest claim to fame and why it sold so well is that it looks like the real deal, and equally important can be used in sim pit builds. No offence but these guys are just too cheap to pay royalties and therefore they just aren't big enough to play in the same arena as others. Therefore they will always be "good value, runner up", typical CN "knockoff" and never first class. Too bad, so sad, looks well built, but its a jack of all trades, master of none.

Can I have your old one? ☺

Sticking out threads of the switches is how it is in the real F/A-18 pit, see for yourself in DCS. Also you never mentioned that the new base is entirely plastic! The old was metal. The throttle mounting plates are now also plastic, were aluminum before - never mentioned again. I realize that you are in Winwing's pocket, but come on, your reputation is better than that! I would summarize that Orion1 aimed for Thrustmaster Warthog, Orion2 aims for Logetch X56 throttle.

What on earth is it? Does it do anything useful?