Thrustmaster F-16C Viper HOTAS Add-On Grip (Windows)

I am a big fan of flight sims (primarily DCS) and getting a joystick grip that mimics the jets I fly in the simulator adds a tremendous amount of immersion. The grip feels to be the same level or high quality than the Thrustmaster Warthog grip. The head of the grip is significantly larger which can be a pro or con. The hat switches all have a distinctive 'click' when activated so there's no ambiguity around when a button has been depressed. Speaking of buttons, the level of force to activate the main trigger, pickle button feels significantly heavier which I find to be a positive -- they don't feel like toys with very little resistance.The grip is not 100% metal as with the Warthog grip but it's not a detractor. The parts of the handle that you interact with is metal and it feels solid. One other thing to note is that the Hornet grip has fewer buttons than the Warthog grip, so if you were looking for a single grip to cover all your bases, the Warthog grip may be a better option.The grip pairs nicely with the Warthog base or with the higher end Virpil base. While the grip is expensive, it is worth the price and I'm glad Thrustmaster continues to make products to cater to our niche flight sim market.

It's kind of overkill for video games, but wow! This stick is very solid, tight, heavy and realistic. When paired with a Thrustmaster or Verpil base you will feel like you have to upgrade your other peripherals to match. I think the buttons and the very top (hood shaped) section are plastic, but it's hard to tell. The coupling is metal and designed so you really can't misalign it when attaching it to the base.This stick has all the same buttons as the genuine item (and can be mapped exactly the same in DCS) with one or two extras. Size and shape wise, it's just about an exact replica. I understand the weight is the same, too. Some other users feel like it's a bit large for average sized hands, but it seems perfect for me. I wear gloves sized L or XL.I really can't imagine any way to "improve" on this stick, except to lower the price, but for me it's worth every penny.

I have gone through the cheaper (flimsey, loose, plastic) flight sticks/throttle control devices and when I bought the F16-C Viper offered for DCS World, I bit the bullet and purchased this flight stick. This product is packaged very well, and the construction is not cheap and flimsy at all. It was plug and play, no problems at all on Windows 11. It just worked. There is quite a bit of mapping to do if you want to fly using DCS World. There are about 21 or more buttons that need to be mapped to functions for the aircraft you are using.I would definitely recommend this flight stick.

The joystick itself is excellent, but the pins they use to connect it to the base are weak and very easy to bend. This can make your joystick unusable if you do not know how to repair the pins (which fortunately we could as electronics engineers). If you are wondering how the pins could get bent, the answer is that in a battle, the player could twist the stick which could make the connection loose and possibly bend the pins. It really does not make sense to use this weak array of pins when much better connections would be possible such as USB from the stick to the base. USB would provide a single stronger connection point that is easier to repair or replace if it gets damaged.

Thrustmaster for the longest time was known as the best of the best when it came to flight controls, for a little while however they have faced stiff competition and sort of scrambled to compete leaving the quality behind. This stick is proof that they learned from their mistakes and quality first priority. You simply will not regret this stick if purchased. Pair this with their new AVA base and AVA Adapter, and you’ll get the most authentic F/A-18C experience possible.

The screws are very, very tight and the screws themselves are very flimsy. I broke the screws on the housing the first time I tried to remove and replace the damping spring. The hexagonal buckle is badly damaged and the metal is flipped out to the sides like it was hit by a bullet, indicating that the screws are very low in hardness. As a result, I can't perform any modifications at all and I have to use a power drill to destructively remove them. The default damping force is very high, so high that the base can't stay stable when I pull the rod full, so removing the screws to replace accessories is inevitable. Very unbearable default adjustment and screw quality.

I’ve had this grip for about 1-1/2 years now and I must say Thrustmaster did an outstanding job on it! No issues so far with it. Really adds to the immersion in game and the1:1 replica is a real game changer. If you have this and the F-18 throttle another company sells, it makes for some pretty fluid HOTAS functions like selecting the Litening targeting pod on your right DDI with the castle switch followed by a double press of the undesignate/nose wheel steering button on the control stick to un-stow the pod and then using the TDC slew on the throttle to look around and then designate a target. Really makes you feel like you’re flying the really thing! Apparently some people actually replace a few of the factory switches with real mil-spec switches, those things are a bit expensive lol. Maybe I’ll look into that some more down the road. Definitely worth the price!!

The Viper is the exact same grip that comes as standard on (newer) Warthog sticks. Older Warthog grips didn't have a "press" switch built in to as many of the 4-way hats as the Viper, but I was surprised to learn that this is simply a more affordable way to get the Warthog grip (maybe for use on a 3rd party base or something?).