Customer Reviews:
 Quality
at its best!
I received my Thrustmaster Hotas Cougar recently. Like a child
waiting with anticipation for a Xmas or birthday gift I tracked
it everyday maybe two or three times until it arrived! Ah h h
yes Christmas in July! This is just about the best gift I have
received, mostly because it is what I really wanted. I had seen
the first advertisment for it about a year ago I believe and
since then I know that I have purchased a least 4 types of
controllers. Im not a great Pilot or even a great gammer but
when I got my Hotas Joystick my mind saw all kind of new
adventures on the horizon. I have purchase several joysticks and
pads for my computers and either the buttons have broken or they
just lost what little minds the had or did not perform. As a
retired Navy Petty Officer I have had my fun filled share of
dealing with detailed operating and calibration equipment and
have a feel for what is working right and what is not. In less
then 10 minutes I had installed the software and "My
Thrustmaster Hotas Cougar Joystick" This I could not believe
because I have had some problem with each of the controllers
that I had purchased before and it was not operator error!
What I find in this Thrustmaster is quality, endurance, style
and growth as it will have other componets in the future from
what I understand. With each upgrade of my computer system I am
sure that my Hotas will perform well beyound the everyday
standards of other joysticks and grow as my system grows with my
additions to it. For once I feel as though I have an investment
in quality and not a waste money on just a mere toy that will
fall apart. I could talk about it all day but you wont
understand until you to become a proud member of the
Thrustmaster Hotas Cougar family. Thanks Thrustmaster!
Love
my Cougar
Well to start out this is quite possibly the best feeling
joystick setup I have ever owned. Sure its costs big money but
its worth it just for the programming and ease of use.
Let me get the bad points out of the way first. There are
significant "flat" areas at 12, 3, 6, 9 o clock positions. And
in some reports there is significant center play. Now with those
gone let me tell you about mine.
I have had it for about a year now and I have loved and hated
it all in a 24 hour period. However the love aspect overrules
the hate 99% of the time. There are times when it needs some
harsh words but those are few and far between and mainly related
to the software and my Via chipset motherboard. So be careful
which Via chipset you use. My suggestion is stay away from the
KT266.
I love the feel of the stick and I am one of the few who like
to hear the clicks within the throttle from the detents. You can
move or remove the detents as needed and it makes for a highly
customizable stick before you even attempt to mod it. The
software (Foxy) is utterly amazing. There is nothing that I
havent been able to do with it even having used the old versions
of Foxy and Thrustmapper way back when.
So in closing if you have the money buy this stick and use
it. ... Good Luck with your Cougar.
Simply
the best
The Thrustmaster HOTAS is by far the best flight controller
system on the market today. All metal construction makes it
unique in a field that is filled with plastic. The joystick and
throttle each weigh in at 8 pounds and will not move off your
desk no matter how hairy the situation gets. They are as real as
you can get without having a plane strapped to the bottom of
them.
If you are s serious flight sim fanatic, then this is the
system for you. Be warned though that while almost every flight
sim that is out there right now is supported by the accompanying
FOXY software, you may have to still do some reading and the
manual is 183 pages long. :)
The manual is necessary though, with the ability to program
every button and switch to perform almost any combination of
actions that you want them to, you need a powerful program to do
that and FOXY is the answer. It has a very easy to use
interface, a helpful help file (which many programs conveniently
forget) and will even let you make a graphic of your joystick
with all the functions youve assigned to the switches so you can
refer to it (hopefully while youre still on the ground).
Again, if you live for flight sims, then this is for you. If
you are only going to use it every once in a while to frag your
buddy, then I would consider a less expensive stick - unless of
course you just like having the best of the best . :)
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