Looking for some feedback on how folks are handling after burner detents in aircraft that do and don’t.
Do you utilize a physical detent or something like the “fingerlift” setting for the DCS F-18?
If you do have a physical detent, what do you do when you fly a sim that doesn’t have an afterburner (like an A-10, GA aircraft, or Helo)? Do you adjust your axis end points so you can treat the detent as max throttle? Or do you use full range on you throttle and just push through the detent and try to pretend its not there?
I’ve done it all ways, and haven’t been totally satisfied. The finger lift button in the DCS F-18 isn’t very imersive, and sometimes I can’t tell if I’ve successfully engaged them or not. I added an actual detent to my throttle at one point that worked well, but then when flying a C-172 or DCS Huey, the detent made fine throttle adjustments very difficult in some critical phases of flight. I did at one point adjust the throttle end points for anything without an afterburner to max out when I hit the detent, but 1) it was a hassle to adjust all the axis in all the different sims and 2) some games don’t let you adjust axis end points like that.
I took an idea from @WreckingCrew and modified the physical detent in my HOTAS Warthog to allow it to be pushed over, rather than requiring a lift. So it still has a stop, but when you don’t need it you can roll past it with a bit of extra effort. The only downside is when you are want to set the throttle at the exact spot where the “hump” peaks. Otherwise it works quite well and I think is the best overall compromise between functionalities.
I have a new VPC T50-CM3 which has a number of detent options. Currently, in IDLE/CUTOFF I am using a lift to get to the off position, but push-through to go to idle. At the A/B end of the throw, there is a push-through in both directions detent. I have calibrated the VPC software to exclude the small area at the low end for IDLE/CUTOFF range.
The push-through A/B detent is very light in/out, so this hasn’t been an issue. Like when I fly bush planes in FS2020. It’s just another index in throttle movement that acts as a reminder what throttle setting I am currently at. If it were a finger lift for A/B, it would be far more intrusive, IMO.
There is a new option under the Hornet’s Special tab. I forget the name of it, it’s like “realistic AB sound” - it was added after the sound update that really damped the in-cockpit AB noise. Toggle it and you get the older style sound back in the pit.
Thanks for all the input. Ideally the detent mod for the CH Throttle would be “removable” so I can switch back and forth, but it involves sticking velcro in some places and can’t be easily removed. You can easily push through it, but like someone else mentioned it make fine throttle adjustments in and out of “after burner” difficult for aircraft with no afterburner or helos.
Today I experimented with using the fingerlift assignment and it seemed to work OK. In the F-18, at least, you can easily check the RPM gage to see if you are in AB or not (if you forget).
Ya, that sounds cool. I actually though if I had access to a 3D printer I could make something that fits onto the base of the CH Throttle with some pins or thumb screws and acts as a detent, and then could be easily removed when flying aircraft without a detent. Unfortunately I don’t have access to everything needed for that, though.
Thanks for the offer. I don’t have a CAD file and would probably need lots of trial and error to come up with a design. I’ll probably stick with m other options for now.
I printed it in 3 different orientations just to see what the wear patterns would be. I have been using the bottom one for well over a year and I don’t see any degradation on the contact surface. I think the file I used was this one from Thingiverse.
It works perfectly for the afterburner on F/A-18, F-16 and F-15. Hitting the push through section in the AV-8B gets you around 89% RPM.
The old Hotas cougar had a physical detent to enter in AB.
The real problem here is when we have a TQS and want to fly all as mentioned (helis, f-16, c-172, …). Where one config works well in some aircraft and not so good in others.
Maybe try to get a hardware mod like the one in the upper post and on the aircraft/heli that not have AB, adjust the axis curve (using target profile or dcs settings on axis tune) to the 100% throttle match the hardware mod detent.
