Reddit mentions of CH Products Throttle Quadrant USB (300-133)

Some of it is my own personal taste, some of it is just the poor marginal utility of the Warthog, and some of it is that there are much better options for people with specific tastes.

1. Aesthetic: The Warthog controller is visually designed to replicate a modern combat aircraft's control system, and the controller buttons are labeled accordingly. The buttons are labelled to represent (and control) those systems in a simulator that actually replicates the functioning of those systems, something like DCS. Things like advanced engine controls, autopilot systems, etc.
   
   If you're not playing a comprehensive Sim that doesn't have analogues for those controls, you just have a ton of toggle switches whose ingame function will not at all correspond to how it is labeled, which is a bit annoying to me.
   
   The X52 has a similar number of buttons (less, but still easily adequate for any arcade game, and for the essential systems in most sims) and is nonspecific in design, so it fits in better in a wider variety of craft.
   
   
2. Price: It's twice the price of the X52; $400 vs $200, and for what you pay, the only real benefits are nicer fit and finish, and dual throttle control. However, multi-engine control is rarely, if ever, even an option outside of sims, and even in sims, if you don't drive multi-engine aircraft, this is totally irrelevant.
   
   On top of that, there isn't generally a huge need to operate the engines independently in aircraft anyways; most of the time the throttle controls are all operated in unison. If you like practicing emergency scenarios which require tight control over multiple engines, then you might want multiple engine control.
   
   
3. Alternatives: If you're interested in piston engined civilian aircraft, then you're far better off getting a flight yoke and throttle quadrant like the Saitek Flight Yoke. The yoke comes in at $200 and a set of rudder pedals for another $100 or $200, and much more accurately simulates the controls of typical small civilian aircraft. There are also multi-engine quadrants available as well.
   That's my opinion; I think for the vast majority of people (I mean basically anyone not playing DCS mil-sims) the Warthog is overkill and there are plenty of better options for you.
   
   Most of the time I see the Warthog, it's when someone is using it as a bling item for a game that will never make use of more than 50% of the controls (just look at the gear posts on Star Citizen through the years, it's quite ridiculous).
   
   Here's how I would go about it:
   
   Want a decent HOTAS that will be suitable for all arcade flight games? Games such as Star Citizen, Elite: Dangerous, X3, Battlefield, or even ARMA, which has fairly simple aircraft controls and physics. The X52 is a versatile and well-priced set up that will easily accomodate all the relevant keybindings these games have and its aesthetic fits well pretty much anywhere.
   
   Want a HOTAS for a hardcore modern combat flight sim? Basically, the DCS games? Get the Warthog HOTAS.
   
   Want to fly small civillian piston-engined aircraft (especially nice payware planes like the A2A simulations ones) in XPlane or Prepar3D (Lockheed's current development of the long-abandoned FSX)? Get a decent yoke and throttle quadrant, either single engined or a multi-engine quadrant. These units will also work well for jet aircraft in these games, you just might not have much use for the other throttle controls. Maybe use them as flaps, elevator trim or some other system?
   
   I've been flight simming for almost 15 years now; I've played arcade flight/space games, military flight games (ARMA, Battlefield, etc) and civillian flight sims (Microsoft FS 2002, 2004, X, and now Prepar3D), and I used a Logitech 3D Pro for many years, and upgraded to an X52 Pro eventually, and even I rarely find a use for all the buttons on it. The Warthog has never even crossed my mind as a worthwhile purchase.

Since your dad is a private pilot, I would recommend Microsoft Flight Sim X or X-Plane 9. The yoke is a must (I'm also recommending the CH Products one), and their rudder pedals are a nice touch for practicing cross-wind landings. If your dad flies multi-engine planes, I'd recommend the CH throttle quadrant, so he can practice his multi-engine techniques. FSX and X-Plane both have great instrument approach realism, so they're good tools for practicing shooting an ILS.

X-Plane is huge. Six DVDs worth of scenery. Supposedly it has a better physics engine (or maybe not?), but FSX feels fairly real to me, too (I'm a private pilot, also).

Don't expect FSX to look as good as it does on the promotional videos and youtube videos from people with insane computers and third-party plugins. It runs well on modest computers as long as you have the graphics settings set up properly.

Don't discount the rudder pedals as not needed. For a real pilot, rudder pedal practice/muscle memory is important.

Bottom line, the real gift is the hardware, not the software. If I had to pick, I'd go with X-Plane 9 ($30), CH Products Flight Sim Yoke ($100), and CH Products Pro Rudder Pedals, if you can ($100).

Gotcha. Mine's also around five years old... figure the pots are starting to go out.

Edit: CH has their quad on Amazon for $107. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002A59Z4/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

CH makes joysticks and yokes.

https://www.amazon.com/CH-Products-Flight-Yoke-200-615/dp/B000056SPM

https://www.amazon.com/CH-Products-Eclipse-Yoke-Programmable/dp/B001GIOGBY/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1506116244&sr=1-1&keywords=ch+eclipse

The Eclipse is newer.

https://www.amazon.com/CH-Products-Throttle-Quadrant-300-133/dp/B0002A59Z4/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1506116050&sr=1-1&keywords=ch+quadrant

Bigger than what you probably want, but purpose built for sims:
https://www.amazon.com/CH-Products-Throttle-Quadrant-300-133/dp/B0002A59Z4

I suggest the CH Products flight yoke and the CH Products throttle quadrant.

I made the mistake of buying the Saitek Yoke and throttle stacks. Unfortunately they feel cheaper and are cheaper. The Saitek yoke binds throughout the motion of the yoke and the throttles have lost their control axis abilities and I don't have the patience to try and work it out. I have used the CH Products and they are really worth the extra money.

Well, it depends on what you're looking for. Those kinds of throttle controls do exist, and are often often designed for specific kinds of aircraft. I hesitate to recommend Saitek given their currentnear-complete lack of support at the moment, but I've heard their yokes and throttle quadrants are actually decent and a number of other companies do some even more comprehensively. You might also take a look at the CH Products Throttle Quadrant if you're interested in that sort of thing. They're ugly, but they're built like tanks and at $120 they aren't going to break the bank.