How do I set up Honeycomb Bravo drivers, profiles and lights?

The Honeycomb Bravo is a standard Windows USB HID controller, so it needs no separate driver for basic axes, buttons or switches. Install the Honeycomb simulator-specific software only for annunciator lights, aircraft-specific events and Honeycomb Configurator profiles, then create or check a separate control preset inside your simulator.

These instructions cover general Windows PC flight simulation. Xbox Series and PlayStation 5 versions cannot install Windows Configurator or bridge software; console operation and lighting depend on the console, simulator and supported hardware connection. Operating-system support also differs on macOS and Linux.

Do I need a Honeycomb Bravo driver?

No. Windows recognises the Bravo Throttle Quadrant as a standard Human Interface Device, so a separate basic Honeycomb driver is not required.

• Axes, switches and buttons: Windows supplies the HID support, while assignments and calibration are handled inside the simulator.
• Annunciator lights: These normally need Honeycomb's simulator-specific bridge or plugin to receive aircraft-state data.
• Aircraft-specific commands: Complex autopilot, detent and add-on events may require a Honeycomb Configurator profile.

There is no universal lamp driver for avionics that independently controls every Bravo annunciator. The lights depend on the bridge, the active profile and data exposed by the loaded aircraft. A working throttle axis therefore does not prove that the lighting integration has loaded.

The Alpha yoke and Honeycomb rudder pedals are separate HID devices. Windows and the simulator should show each device independently, with a separate control preset for each.

Download Honeycomb Bravo drivers and software

The authoritative source is the Support or Downloads area maintained by Honeycomb Aeronautical. Listings may call the files Honeycomb drivers, but they are chiefly Configurator and simulator-integration packages rather than replacements for the standard Windows HID driver.

Do not install an X-Plane, Prepar3D or FSX package into MSFS, and do not assume an MSFS 2020 installer supports MSFS 2024 unless Honeycomb's compatibility information says so. Even when the Configurator application is shared, the simulator bridge is not interchangeable.

X-Plane users can follow our X-Plane 12 calibration and aircraft-profile steps after installing the matching plugin.

How do I install the Honeycomb Bravo on Windows?

A clean installation starts by proving that Windows can see the hardware before adding any simulator integration.

1. Close the simulator and back up profiles. Export Configurator profiles where supported. If replacing older Honeycomb software, use its uninstaller first and remove obsolete bridge copies only after preserving any profiles you need.
2. Connect the Bravo directly. During setup, use a reliable USB port on the computer rather than an unpowered hub. If it works directly but not through a hub, the problem is USB power or stability rather than a missing driver.
3. Verify Windows detection. Open Device Manager and confirm that the Bravo or its HID game-controller entries appear without a warning symbol. Press Windows+R, run joy.cpl, open the Bravo's properties and move every lever and switch. If nothing responds here, simulator software will not fix the fault.
4. Download only the matching package. Confirm the simulator name, simulator generation and Windows support before running the installer. Avoid archived or repackaged copies when the manufacturer provides a replacement.
5. Install in the correct order. If Configurator and the simulator bridge are separate installers, install Configurator first and the matching bridge second. If Honeycomb supplies one combined installer, run it once rather than adding an older bridge afterwards. Accept Windows administrator elevation when requested, but do not force the simulator and Configurator to run at different privilege levels.
6. Restart where required. Restart Windows when the installer requests it or when it has added a start-up component. Keep the simulator closed until installation has finished.
7. Check the installation location. For MSFS 2020 or 2024, open the UserCfg.opt belonging to that simulator and read its InstalledPackagesPath entry. The active package folder is [InstalledPackagesPath]\Community. This avoids confusing Microsoft Store, Steam, custom and separate 2020/2024 locations. For X-Plane, the supplied plugin belongs under [X-Plane folder]\Resources\plugins, with no unnecessary outer folder.
8. Confirm that the integration loads exactly once. In MSFS, retain one AFC_Bridge package in the active Community folder and one bridge launch entry or running instance. In X-Plane, the plugin should appear once in the plugin administration screen. Prepar3D and FSX should likewise show one active Honeycomb module. Duplicate folders, linked add-ons or old start-up registrations can produce double commands or stop the lights from initialising.
9. Create and test a simulator preset. Select the Bravo device, make an editable preset, clear unwanted automatic assignments and bind one control at a time. Test axes first, switches second and lights last in an aircraft with its battery and avionics powered.

For a closer look at Community-folder handling and the two different profile types, see our detailed MSFS installation and profile checks.

What does Honeycomb Configurator configure?

Honeycomb Configurator manages hardware-to-simulator events, conditions and annunciator logic; it does not replace the simulator's own control preset.

Choose the Bravo as the device, then load and activate a profile made for the correct simulator and aircraft. Importing a profile is not always the same as activating it; verify that the intended profile is shown as active before starting the flight.

Configurator does not automatically determine what the interchangeable lever handles represent. Simulator axes still need to be assigned and checked separately. Binding the same button natively and through Configurator can also make a command fire twice.

How should the Bravo levers and buttons be assigned?

Assign the physical controls for the loaded aircraft rather than relying on the labels fitted to the lever handles.

The Bravo's commercial-style reverse handles normally press buttons when raised through the idle detent. Changing the handle does not turn that mechanism into an analogue reverse axis. Observe each input in the simulator's control screen before choosing its command.

How do I configure the Honeycomb Bravo in MSFS 2024?

MSFS 2024 keeps control presets per hardware device and allows aircraft-specific selection, so the Bravo preset must be selected independently from the Alpha, pedals, keyboard and other controllers.

1. Select the Bravo device. Open the Controls screen and choose the Bravo tile before editing assignments.
2. Create an editable preset. Duplicate a suitable preset or start with a clean one, then give it an aircraft-specific name. Do not overwrite a useful profile until the new mapping has been tested.
3. Assign or select it for the aircraft. Check that the intended Bravo preset is active after loading a different aircraft. A piston, twin jet and four-engine aircraft should not normally share the same lever layout.
4. Search by physical input. Move each lever or press each button and inspect every command attached to it. Remove duplicate defaults, especially throttle, mixture, flap, gear and autopilot assignments.
5. Check other devices. The same command may be bound on the Alpha, pedals, gamepad or keyboard. Our guide to separating Alpha and Bravo presets in MSFS covers this common source of double inputs.

Third-party aircraft may use custom events and variables instead of standard MSFS controls. In that case, an ordinary Bravo binding can fail even though it works in a default aircraft. The aircraft needs a compatible Configurator profile or exposed commands; a generic Honeycomb driver cannot manufacture unsupported events or annunciator data.

After an MSFS 2024 update or Honeycomb software update, check all of the following before rebuilding the profile:

• The intended Bravo preset is still active for the loaded aircraft.
• No new default assignments duplicate the custom bindings.
• UserCfg.opt still points to the Community folder containing AFC_Bridge.
• Only one AFC_Bridge package and launch entry are active.
• The correct Configurator aircraft profile remains selected.
• A lamp test and a standard powered aircraft still produce the expected outputs.

Can one Bravo profile work with every aircraft?

No. A generic profile can cover simple switches, but lever layouts, detents, reversers, autopilot events and annunciator variables differ by aircraft type.

• Single-engine piston: Throttle, propeller and mixture, leaving unused axes unassigned.
• Twin piston: Two throttles, two propeller controls and two mixture controls.
• Twin-engine jet: Speed brake, two throttles and flaps, with reverser buttons mapped for that aircraft.
• Four-engine jet: Speed brake, four throttles and flaps; autopilot controls may still require custom events.

Name each simulator preset and Configurator profile with the simulator and aircraft. Similar-looking variants can use different events, so confirm the mappings rather than assuming one profile will transfer unchanged.

Honeycomb Bravo troubleshooting flow

Start with Windows detection, then simulator bindings, and leave annunciator troubleshooting until ordinary inputs work.

The Bravo is not detected

If the Bravo does not respond in joy.cpl, reconnect it directly, try another known-good USB port, inspect the cable and check Device Manager for errors or repeated disconnects. Installing AFC_Bridge will not repair a controller that Windows cannot see.

If it works in joy.cpl but not in the simulator, select the Bravo device explicitly, remove any control-screen filters and verify that an active preset contains the required bindings.

Controls move twice or trigger conflicting commands

Search by physical input and remove every unintended assignment. Check the Bravo preset, other connected devices and Configurator for the same command. A mistake we see constantly is leaving an automatic simulator binding active while adding an identical Configurator event.

The reverse levers do not work

First confirm that raising each reverse handle registers a button rather than another axis. Then choose the reverse command the aircraft supports: hold reverse, toggle reverse or decrease thrust. Clear competing throttle and reverse assignments, and test each engine separately.

The annunciator lights are missing

Normal axes with dark annunciators usually indicate an integration or aircraft-data problem, not a missing Windows driver.

1. Power the aircraft. Turn on the battery, avionics and systems relevant to the warning being tested.
2. Check AFC_Bridge or the simulator plugin. Confirm that it is installed in the active location and loaded exactly once.
3. Activate the correct profile. A default-aircraft profile may not understand a third-party aircraft's custom variables.
4. Test a standard aircraft. If its lights work, the USB connection and general bridge installation are sound.
5. Check USB stability. Repeated resets, intermittent detection or lights briefly flashing and going dark can indicate a port, hub, cable or power-management problem.

Our focused MSFS 2024 AFC_Bridge and annunciator checks cover duplicate installations and Community-folder faults in more detail.

The lamp test succeeds, but add-on aircraft lights still do not work

A successful lamp test proves that the Bravo's LEDs and USB output path can operate. If axes, buttons and the lamp test all work, but a particular add-on remains dark, the unresolved part is the simulator bridge, active profile or that aircraft's annunciator support.

If standard aircraft lights work but the add-on's do not, the add-on probably uses custom variables or does not expose compatible status data. It needs a dedicated profile or aircraft-side support; reinstalling a generic Honeycomb throttle quadrant driver will not add that missing data.