Time to upgrade Virpil and WinWing and MOZA, OH MY!

Hardware & Tech Questions
141

This is the Virpil Mongoose. I dont know of any other sticks that came with an Axis on the brake paddle in the front of the stick. When the MiG-29 came out, I started using it with all the Russian aircraft. I started using it with the La-7… Totally changes my ground game.

Mongoose
Mongoose1280×1060 106 KB

Mongoose2
Mongoose2188×541 21.1 KB

This is @PaulRix stick. Nice! I see you Paul!

142

My grip is the old VirPil CM2 which has been discontinued in favor of their newer Flanker grip which is, if I recall correctly, made of metal. It has been excellent. The brake lever was only seen as a button by the Moza software until just recently, but now I have it working as an axis again. This is great not just for the Russian birds, but also the Spitfire. In some ways using a brake lever is better than having toe brakes..it’s more precise and it really helps to tame the Spitfire’s ground handling.

143

This is a good point. In the software for the moza stick, you must pick the correct profile for the Axis to work.
BTW, my Mongoose T-50 has black buttons. Not the grey. I grow weaker trying to resist the Flanker grip.

144

I have to admit that the Flanker grip has caught my eye, but apart from the heavier feel, it’s hard to justify when I already have a fully functional CM2.

145

My sentiments exactly.

146

ALPHA Prime [R] grip showed up today.

20260325_151849
20260325_151849924×1805 269 KB

Got a CDT vmax throttle and another control panel on order with them, probably see it near the end of June.

147

148

Good stick… it’s a great all rounder with a ton of buttons, great for both flight and space and for bonus points it also looks like an alien head from the side :rofl:

James Cameron Aliens GIF by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

149

So time goes on and as it does some things change, some stay the same and our taste evolves.
Had someone told us 6 years ago that we would have so much choice in flight sim hardware, we would have dismissed them with “No, only racing people get all the good stuff” Yet here we are today. This is not a my stuff is better than your stuff. This is what I like, how I use it. This may be useful to someone looking to upgrade or get new stuff.
Here are the things I cant live without.

  1. Thrustmaster A-10 Joystick Covers the F-16, A-10 and others.
  2. Thrustmaster F-18 Joystick A-4, F-18, I thought it was Navy but the F-15 has it too.
  3. Moza FFB base. It has been with me for two years and I cant live without it.
  4. WinWing(Control) Throttles. These things rock! And not just cos you can change the grips. There are enough rotaries, axis and buttons for anything from WW2 to the modern stuff. Spend the extra doug for the Anniversary edition if you can. The Toggle switches have different heads making them easy to feel for when in VR. If you already bought the standard then go over to Virpil and buy the Toggle switch rubber caps. Then you will for sure know what switch your are touching.
  5. WinWing TO Panel. Wow, this one really upped my game. If their throttle was running out of buttons, now I really have to think about where I am going to put my controls. What I love about it is the accesibility and how in VR, my hand does not get lost. Very much worth the money.
  6. Virpil Ace Rudder Pedals. They are also 2 years old and have been rock solid. They are comftable, you can customize the angles, and are built like a Panzer. What else do you want from pedals?
  7. WinWing F-15E, F-16 and F-18 Throttle Grips. Most days I fly with either the F-15 or F-18 Throttles. If I had to have just one… Either one of these would be ok. However, when I want to fly one of them aircraft, I know I can match the assignments button by button to the DCS aircraft. I found the investment worth it.
    And there it is, a years later recap of my hardware.

Regards,

Maico

150

That’s a nice setup dude! You (and I) need FFB pedals now. Have been watching all of the Flight Sim Expo videos. Those WINCTRL FFB pedals are tugging at my heart strings :slight_smile: Just have to talk to an accountant about how to write them off. I have the VPC Ace pedals too, that I retro-fitted with a motorcycle steering damper before they offered it as a kit. Great setup, but would like FFB for flying helicopters.