Real Airbus Pilot First Impressions of Thrustmaster Airbus Sidestick and Throttle!

[@FrecklesAviation]

really nice to see how they've made it look and feel like an airbus while adding a few extra buttons to make it much more flight sim friendly

[@320SimPilot]

Agreed!

[@captwozza4817]

Wow - the UPS man arrived with my throttle quadrant halfway through your video! What were the odds 😅

[@320SimPilot]

Spooky! Enjoy!

[@urskraemer]

Oh, i am waiting still...

[@jonesaviation1116]

@@urskraemer I waited 10 months to be given a broken one

[@urskraemer]

@@jonesaviation1116 oh, thats awful, mine is already arived… And sorry for my bad english

[@MylaRolettoPingarelli]

Mines coming in today 😁😁🥰

[@dutypaidrock]

When's the review of the cat? 11/10 would pet again.

[@320SimPilot]

I think your review sums it up!

[@davidrenton]

plot twist : the Cat is 320 Sim Pilot, but he hired a hand model for the video.

[@ephphatha230]

Is the cat holding the camera 🤣

[@320SimPilot]

Shhh!

[@ibsevn2465]

Looooooool

[@nicolasderidder6874]

So cool

[@jeff92k7]

The throttle quadrant is not at 100% scale. It's at 80% scale. That is printed on the box in tiny lettering somewhere. The sidestick itself is supposed to be at 100% scale.

[@FlyGuy1]

Glad to see you got ahold of it! Enjoy it! Definitely something I’m sure you find useful 🙂

[@320SimPilot]

Working from home gets to a new level!

[@FlyGuy1]

Haha

[@John_Lemmon17]

Where can I find sensitivity settings? I’m having real issues

[@simonforrister3820]

When it was first shown, I thought it was worth getting but hesitated until I felt someone who had experience in the real Airbus reviewed it. Thank you @320SimPilot, I've got that reassurance now.

[@KyrilPG]

I've dreamed of an affordable / consumer friendly Airbus throttle and joystick for the last 20+ years. You've just made my dreams come true! I'm excited as a bedbug on a spring break hostel's mattress ! That's just the incentive (ontop of MSFS2020 and your videos) I needed to save up, buy a new computer and sim-fly again after a 7 year health related hiatus. Thank you, I mean really thank you a lot ! ❤

[@hanswolff289]

You can lock both levers by pushing the provided screwdriver into the hole (it's in the manual). So engine thrust for both engines is the same. I bought my set one week ago on the thrustmaster site. Lucky shot I think because an hour later they were already out of stock. Looking forward to your in-flight review of this kit.

[@haylieg2780]

I got mine off of Amazon a few months ago. I love it. Ironically, I fly all Boeing aircraft in P3D but could not afford the Boeing addition which is showing as 500 bucks so the Airbus addition it was.

[@erikskallevold2080]

Finally, the cat reveal 🐈

[@320SimPilot]

She always insists on joining the streams so it only seemed right!

[@Aviator738]

what second you see the cat?

[@marius9900]

Du høres norsk ut?

[@wandren912]

@@marius9900 ja d syns æ å. Hverfall skandinavisk

[@joeyip4381]

As always LIKE your video before watching! And finally I see your lovely cat!

[@320SimPilot]

Thank you very much!

[@januarybaby1063]

Such a fantastic, comprehensive, clear and cohesive review, well done 👏🏻

[@320SimPilot]

Thank you kindly!

[@kristoferkristensen9021]

Thanks for this review. Been wanting this stick and throttle for a while, and now I'm convinced.

[@James_cooper_89]

First IRL video if I'm not mistaken.. 320 sim pilot has hands! 🤣

[@avrahamramati6883]

One pilot has done a complete recreation of his IRL A320 flight with this sidestick, he shows them both side by side including one camera on the sidestick showing his hand movements.

[@holobolo1661]

@@avrahamramati6883 what is the video?

[@320SimPilot]

Can't keep everything secret! Thanks for watching James as always!

[@51im]

If you want the detent. Pull the slider off by pulling straight up and turn it round the right way. They seem to have fitted them all backwards

[@davidgiles9751]

Very nice and comprehensive review! I fly the A319/320 for a U.S. carrier, and was very curious about this product since it was released. I'm going to (probably) have to replace my old Saitek X52 Pro, as some of it's buttons are starting to fail. I'll look into a repair first, but will have to see how that goes... Thanks for video. BTW, Beautiful Cat

[@rhysharrison9058]

Just been watching this and very spookily the UPS man just delivered my TCA officer pack!

[@adamu6941]

I exactly got the same pack and i'm very satisfied, all well pre-configured, i only use the stick, not the throttle cause i only fly tiny planes... i really love the sensation of this stick, the quality, nothing bad to say about it !

[@NeoKingArthur]

I envy you being able to set the tension.. I broke the tensioning screw when I was tightening it after I took it out of the box. Now I have to live with a slippery throttle that never holds its position whenever it's not stick to any of the detents.

[@gerrypalmer6712]

Got mine yesterday. A couple of hours to setup. Really impressed adds another element to the sim. I am a uk subscriber I ordered direct from thrustmaster in France. Best to open an account, then add to wishlist. They will advise as soon as in stock. I hope this helps

[@Interpaul81]

To get fully synchronized levers you can put that small screwdriver through the holes on the side of the levers. That way they are locked and move together.

[@jimah20th]

That is a really good first impression review, captain. For anyone else using the TCA, and experiencing misalignment of the throttle, you can also reset them though the instruction page & the youtube accompaniment video are quite vague.

[@Ryanaclarke]

can you link? I can't find it anywhere, and all of my detents are **just** off

[@Cheedee]

It's so nice to have an actual comparison vs a real aircraft

[@scottgriffiths2217]

I’ve ordered these and they are in the post. This video was great at just getting me more excited. Keep up the great content 😊👍

[@320SimPilot]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@robertblanchard1871]

Thanks for your thoughts, kit just arrived, you can stow the screwdriver through the throttle levers to help with alignment , obviously not helpful if required to use throttles separately, but handy for a very old novice simmer.😜

[@seandonno9248]

Sidestick throttle does have a very subtle detent, with 2 modes selectable. I am currently using this ok, but will get the throttle quadrant as well to add to the realism.

[@skw6410]

JMC wallpaper on screen... didn't know you liked that livery 🤣

[@320SimPilot]

I should probably mention it in a future stream! Thanks for watching!

[@skw6410]

@@320SimPilot I have the stick... your review convinces me now that I need the quadrant. Your comments noted but I agree it still adds value to a sim flight. Thank you.

[@n1msu]

If you use lower the 'throttle' very gently on the actual stick, one can feel resistance before it switches to reverse. Mine arrived today. I couldn't understand why TM were boasting about reverse detent on the stick but that's the reason, lower it slowly and you'll feel resistance before it switches to reverse. Hope this helps.

[@Double-O-Seben]

Glad to see you got one! Enjoy!

[@francescacolucci7117]

💙

[@chrispatton7215]

Glad you found a set to purchase. The Thrustmaster set is as hard to find as a decent midrange graphics card right now. Looking forward to your hands on review of this product.

[@vladjobs]

Waited for this video since yesterday’s steam!

[@320SimPilot]

Hope it's worth it! Thanks for watching and coming along yesterday!

[@Reilly001]

i wasnt able to get the throttle quadrant but i did get the sidestick and cant wait to get it

[@hockey4lifeish]

Glad to see you got it! The detents on your throttle look a lot more 'snappy' (not sure how else to describe it) than they do on mine.

[@tomstravels520]

I believe they are adjustable aren't they from watching other reviews

[@paulmartin2429]

Love mine - set up in custom mode - works great will all the default aircraft -plus payware.

[@muhammadfawzi1145]

where did you purchase it from? I've been trying so long to find one in stock.

[@TypicalDutchSaysHi]

Thank you for the review. As you are a real pilot I value this review higher as the average simmer. Thank you! Bought it thanks to this one.

[@td8269]

I have it and its great ... i have also the add-on (for flaps and speedbrakes) and i ordered also an extra throttle A320 so i can use it for the A380

[@vutti2893]

Profuse apologies for suggesting you were sent the set up FOC. Sent the comment before watching all the post. 🙄 And......what a beautiful Seal Point.

[@320SimPilot]

No problem at all Vutti! Thanks for watching.

[@SewerShark]

I have a t.16000m wich is basically the same stick (same base, at least) and I use the slider to control fuel mixture on GA airplanes.

[@geoffashden2]

Since you posted this video, the side stick has clearly undergone some revision. Have just bought the pack that includes the flap and spoiler quadrant but the main difference is with the side stick itself. On mine, the cable is fully removeable and there are at least five extra buttons. I don't know if the action has changed as I cannot directly compare the two, but my sidestick has reasonable resistence. Of course I've never flown an actual Airbus but I think this kit is brilliant!

[@kevinburden781]

Great video had mine arrive from France yesterday, Shame about people on eBay scalping up the prices by £100 over retail. But you just have to keep looking and eventually, you'll find them.

[@Sturmi1337]

Got both a few days ago too, it integrates very well in X-Plane and MSFS, now i'm hoping to get my hands on the add-on aswell, really nice products and i love them. And iirc you can even disable the clicks, so it's usable for GA planes aswell.

[@Keinerboy]

There IS a detent between the throttle and reverse thrust. Very slight, but its there.

[@davidrose4900]

I've had the sidestick for quite a while, but I managed to get the throttle and addon last week from thrustmaster UK. I absolutely love it! I had issues getting the detents to line up with the flybywire unstable build, but the stable build works great!

[@leiflavebrink9639]

Now we know that you are as professional on hardware reviews as you are on teaching us the tricks and secrets of the A321. It starts to feel unhuman to have all your capabilities. I bet the very cute and well-behaved cat of yours plays a larger role than you've told us...

[@320SimPilot]

Very kind of you Leif! Thanks for watching!

[@aquamich129]

Nice video! looking forward for your in depth review of the quadrant but you can use the tool given with the quadrant to link both levers! quite usefull

[@Airtrooper719]

Nice! I seen on reddit you can also get an add-on which includes the autobrake/park brake, flaps and i think maybe speed brake. Very hard to get hold of though :'(

[@weswheel4834]

Disappointed that at 4:50 the cat had already arrived. I was hoping to see cat 1 approach. (I'll get my coat). Thanks for the video.

[@KEITHGEE1000]

Very helpful as always thanks!! Birthday this Sunday so I now what to treat myself to now!!!

[@320SimPilot]

Glad you enjoyed it Keith!

[@James_cooper_89]

Pleased you like it. Added a while new level to the experience for me. Just waiting on the add on pack now for flaps and gear etc. Would you mind posting your settings for the FBW experimental mod for the detents on discord?

[@coffeeguy6673]

Nice video 320 Sim Pilot ;-) I did notice that you were flying from the Captain's seat on the left but had your joystick and quadrant as if you were flying as the First Officer....great to see a real pilot reviewing these controls. Just got this pack myself from Amazon and thanks to you I now see how you lock off the rudder control on the stick, cheers for that . I've just ordered the Thrustmaster rudder pedals, this is such a great sim. Cheers

[@rowalong]

I love that his voice is as though he's speaking to us from the flight deck. It's like I'm about to fly to Ibiza...

[@fierox88]

I used to have the Thrustmaster T16000m (looks alot like the flightstick) and it was possible to mod the spring inside it, making it heavier or lighter. Perhaps it is the same for this one. I also recently got the quadrant. Took me a while to get it working right (its awesome you can calibrate it in the software and on the hardware itself). Placed it on a thick rubber mat and now it also won't move around. Pretty happy with it and great to use when flying with VR goggles. Now i just have to try to get the quadrant addon...

[@pauljohnson9260]

I have had this a while for msfs2020. My review is the joystick is superb. The throttle quadrant fully works now in msfs2020 using the default a320. If I went back in time I’d get the joystick but get the Honeycomb Aeronautical Bravo Throttle Quadrant instead. Reason it’s far more flexible and not limited to the a320.

[@geoffashden2]

This kit is not limited to the A320, if you make adjustments to the assignment in MSFS you can fly any palane with it!

[@mettrose]

2:30 you are going to see the a380 ! Flybywireteam is working on a 380! :)

[@cjmillsnun]

It's a long way off, and bear in mind it's a freeware product. I hope they see it through.

[@tomstravels520]

So are inibuilds and Toliss is doing the A340-600

[@mettrose]

@@tomstravels520 im waiting for the a350 to be honest

[@alfieinnit6859]

you can get the ribber grid to out over it as well

[@vutti2893]

What it is to be a man of influence you lucky devil😂 Hope you enjoy it. I thought it wouldn’t be long before a sensible marketing person at TM thought it might be a good idea to send you a sample 👍👍👏👏

[@320SimPilot]

Hi Vutti! Thanks for watching as always. I purchased these from normal stock completely as a consumer, Thrustmaster had no involvement. So you will get my honest opinions! The only reason I managed to get them was thanks to kind people in the community messaging me as soon as they saw them in stock!

[@Wraith0925]

Recently found your channel and I really enjoy it! Would you consider a series where you do tutorials on starting up from cold and dark, how to plot your routes etc?

[@JoergA74]

I just received mine today! Great fun

[@Pilot.0101]

I literally wrote a couple days ago on here how I couldnt believe you found one only to be messaged by Amazon to say they're now in stock. Mine has just been despatched! It's back on lads lol

[@320SimPilot]

Excellent, enjoy Gavin!

[@antsgamingvideosn2b]

Bought myself the TCA sidestick from JB Hi-Fi, it’s awesome!

[@benw7601]

Got mine the other day, it's brilliant!

[@avrahamramati6883]

I believe much of the dampening and resistance in the real A320 sidestick comes from the rubber piece at the base. Had they put one in this sidestick it would have been more realistic but they would have to give up the buttons as it would consume all that space.

[@avrahamramati6883]

I hope someone will manufacture a rubber add-on for this joystick for those who want more authentic feel

[@xcxltx]

Goddamn you could make a frickin asmr video with that throttle quadrant

[@jeanoulie69]

I have to switch to the experimental version and do all the manipulations to make the detents work perfectly..

[@Capone78]

You mind telling me how you managed to get the quadrant accurate. Mine was working fine until an update. Pushing up the thrusters to 50% in the Sim is like 2-5 mm on the quadrant. Using the latest Flybywire Dev.

[@kerucutgaming2216]

You'll need fly by wire experimental version. The custom FBW version have custom throttle settings. Also you'll need to calibrate your throttle quadrant.

[@Marc456]

Hahaha. I was the most excited to see the choclate point siamese 😍. Well I can say that I have all three the items you showed in the video ;)

[@320SimPilot]

Excellent! She has been the star of the video for sure. Thank you for your comment!

[@mrwick7961]

waiting for these and the addons to come bk in stock in a few months, great review :)

[@animatedchristmascollector3754]

I’d love to see an review of the Hotas warthog. Heeps of people have been saying it’s really similar to a real aircraft. But it’s very expensive at 899

[@rogermoore52]

What lovely hands. 😂 the annoyance for me is the detent positions that leave very little travel for the throttle and thus becomes over sensitive. In MSFS I have only got it to work with the FBW custom version and then setting the detent positions using the text file listed by a kind gent on the MSFS forum. Good luck.

[@aviniysh203]

Would you mind doing a video on how your setting to get the throttle work on custom fbw.

[@anthonyholland5197]

Got my quadrant today got the same problem as the throttles dont lineup, to overcome this i changed the deadzone from a default 4% to 7% to overcome this problem.

[@rob_smith]

I've had the Officer Pack for a couple of months now, and finally got the flaps and speedbrake addons recently. Overall I agree with your first impressions: great kit, but a few unfortunate issues. I have the same problem with the throttles not quite lining up, so it seems this is a consistent issue and not just a defect in my unit. My biggest complaint is something you'll discover as soon as you try to taxi: the throttle travel has been divided into equal-sized segments for reverse, cruise, climb, and flex/toga. My understanding is that the real aircraft doesn't work this way: there is a larger amount of travel between idle and the climb detent, and then the remaining detents are closer together. Thrustmaster had to crank the sensitivity settings way up so that their evenly-spaced detents would correctly match the detents on the throttle in game, so it is impossible to hold a reasonable thrust while taxiing. If you breath on the throttle it jumps from idle to 60%+, it is extremely difficult to hold anything near 30-40% throttle. The plastic piece that controls the detents is customer-removable so you can disable the detents for flying other planes, and I'm planning to 3D print a replacement that moves the detents closer to the end of the travel (once I get access to a 3d printer). It should make a huge improvement to the usability of the throttle. It would also be nice to make custom detent modules for other planes I fly, like the CJ4 which only has a TOGA and climb detent, without the Flex option. If you can get the speedbrake and flaps addons they make a huge improvement to the throttle quadrant. They add a lot of weight and width which really helps keep the throttles in place on my desk, and of course having dedicated levers for these functions is awesome. They also provide switches for the parking brake, landing gear, and auto-brakes which is awesome. My only complaint is the spoiler lever doesn't let you arm the spoilers for landing, there is no button for this on the throttle. They included rudder trim and rudder trim reset which I personally never use in airliners, I wish they had added a arm spoilers button instead. I ended up remapping the rudder trim reset button to arm my spoilers and it works well enough. Glad to hear from a real pilot that these are similar to the actual plane, and look forward to your comments after you have some more time to test them out.

[@muhammadfawzi1145]

where did you purchase it from? I've been trying so long to find one in stock.

[@pauljohnson9260]

I agree . I use the throttle slider on the joystick for smoother taxiing a320. But I shouldn’t have to do this if the quadrant was working more precisely out of the box

[@holobolo1661]

Can you adjust the sensitivity in game to counter the short travel distance?

[@otacon5648]

I’ve just picked both of these up from Amazon for £95 for the pair! Can’t wait to get these dialled in 😁

[@Petereoooo]

I managed to get the quadrant in my home country and got ahold of the add-on from Spain!

[@essbe7158]

Looks great. One day, they'll make enough so people can actually get them, lol. :)

[@320SimPilot]

I hope so! There was some stock added as a bit of a surprise so hopefully the same happens again in the near future. Thanks for watching!

[@joshrogers7818]

I just bought mine from Amazon and they were in stock for at least a day

[@Pilot.0101]

Amazon messaged me yesterday to say they were back in stock...just messaged again to say it's been despatched. Thrustmaster are back up and running.

[@JoeDelaney64]

Nice video, I got the airbus sidestick last week, set it up as per the Fenix web instructions, Found it impossible to control plane on taxi and take off, sent it back, after reading lots of complaints about an internal wiring issue, Just wondering was it just a faulty stick, has anybody else had any issues like this?

[@kaiprzadka6896]

I think the Throttle is 8/10 of the real scale. I personally like it myself, but would really have liked the ignition switch to be a bit higher quality. Also I'm expriencing more and more left yaw drift on the sidestick. It's getting worse and worse I hope you're not having those issues and won't have them

[@Benjamin-ii3ke]

So basically a T16000M with airbus stick design

[@noiserrr]

the detents on your quadrant seem much firm than mine. i wonder if they made changes since the batch i got. there's barely any click sound and very easy to slide through for me. either way, great review and content as always!

[@xdiver01]

Exactly! Same here, I can´t barely hear any click sound and very easy to slide through for me too.

[@symol30872]

Thanks for the impressions. I picked this up recently to replace my aging Logitech one, really happy with it in MSFS2020 after making some tweaks to the controls.

[@muhammadfawzi1145]

where did you purchase it from? I've been trying so long to find one in stock.

[@symol30872]

@@muhammadfawzi1145 Got mine from the Microsoft Store online, they had it on sale.

[@muhammadfawzi1145]

@@symol30872 I ordered mine from there in October, but it still hasn't come. When did you buy yours?

[@symol30872]

@@muhammadfawzi1145 ordered mine end of Nov, got it within 2 days. I'm in Australia though

[@stevecarter529]

So jealous I am still waiting for the opportunity to purchase from way before Christmas. I will not buy from other site that have upped the price to astronomical levels.

[@Dan-pv7cu]

A380 is coming to MSFS2020 later on in the year :) FlyByWire are releasing it

[@deliriumghs9253]

Wonderful video as always! Keep it up, you're giving everyone the desire to become a pilot! Would you please share your sensitivity settings on the quadrant for the A32NX? I have been trying to align the detents in the sim with the quadrant and failed miserably. Also if you could possibly share your sensitivity settings for the custom FBW that would be an extra plus. Keep it up!

[@adamfarkas5327]

"After the necessary inspection from the house cat..." Cat thinking: - Hey! You must address me properly as your captain!

[@AlecsBricks]

Where did you get the airbus officer pack? Great video as always!

[@paulvanderhaegen761]

very nice only it is virtually impossible to get hands on at the moment trustmaster as underestimate the demand obviously.

[@stricklandgarageaviation2864]

Very nice video. I retired on the AB320 and this throttle quad is the closest set up I've seen to date. Now who sells them?

[@jameswarner5224]

Nice summary review- thanks

[@sparkymarky68]

Good review and very fair. I was slightly more excited to see the cat as many others have commented on! :)

[@kanga1234567]

Great review...thanks

[@Beniell-Khoshaba]

Definitely purchasing when I get my pc

[@al3xuk]

Great you got one Love the Cat

[@320SimPilot]

Yes thanks to the discord community and a few kind notifications from viewers!

[@Anton_B_08]

Great video. Ps. I know 320 pilot is really the cat

[@amundjones9319]

Wish I could get my hands on one for MSRP, but all the ones I've seen have the price jacked way up.

[@davidpringuer3553]

Thanks for this. It would be great to get your opinion of how it feels to fly with the stick.

[@invertedflatspin9676]

Great review. Now, the question is if the general public can ever get AHOLD of one. FS hardware is either hard to come by, out of stock, will be in stock in like, say 20 years:-)), or has been mass purchased and resold for twice as much as retail. Just saying.

[@infinite2246]

Just ordered them. Cant wait!!!

[@muhammadfawzi1145]

where did you purchase it from? I've been trying so long to find one in stock.

[@infinite2246]

@@muhammadfawzi1145 go ASAP to the Thrustmaster official website. There are three left on stock

[@infinite2246]

@@muhammadfawzi1145 too late. Sold out mate. It was in stock from last Friday

[@muhammadfawzi1145]

@@infinite2246 I live in the US and I don't think Thrustmaster directly ships here. Thanks for your help anyway, have fun flying

[@infinite2246]

@@muhammadfawzi1145 ohh well. Thanks a lot

[@JeanitteBuyser]

Wow so really amazing lalabz,,,I'm so proud of you❤

[@shanemcgrath6270]

Impressed with your cable management on the Corsair rig! What CPU you got? I have same RAM and cooler.

[@320SimPilot]

Thank you! It is not perfect but seems to be good enough after a few re positions! I also got a big case to make it as easy as possible when building it. I have an i7-10700K in there.

[@eeen8513]

Thanks for another great review 320 Sim pilot, can you let us know when you do a setup of the Sensitivities on the joystick, something certainly I struggle with. Thanks.