It may not look all that high-end, but its motion is extremely smooth and the moderate spring-based lets you make fine-grain movements with total confidence.

Flight controllers are not compatible with games in CLOUD GAMING or STREAMING mode (in particular those in GAME PASS, Xbox Remote Play, PlayStation®Plus, GeForce NOW, Luna, …). In CLOUD GAMING or STREAMING mode, only standard gamepads are compatible. However, this is different for the Windows firmware update software. For a common reason Thrustmaster doesn’t has any firmware software for macOS since Mac isn’t really a platform for games according to Hercules Thrustmaster. I do agree that Mac isn’t a gaming platform, but I don’t think that X-Plane is a game, but it’s a highly sophisticated flight simulation program and standard available for both Windows, macOS and Linux. Perhaps a firmware update will also be available for macOS in the near future. Connecting and Configuration : macOS/Windows One last thing: when it happens the unwanted combination of buttons, on the scanning mode, the button we want to assign is the first. So a workaround can be canceling the assignement, open the input menu, and choosing the button showed first. The operation of the thrust reversers is very nicely made. The lever in front of each throttle can be lifted and with the throttle in the IDLE position, you can move the throttle into the yellow arc area. Just in case; you can always lift the reverse lever, even when the throttle isn’t in IDLE, but that has no function. In real the reverser levers aren’t operable as long as the throttles aren’t in the IDLE position. Hidden underneath the throttle quadrant you find in a small plastic bag and a leaflet with on one size in very small letters the warrantee information, environmental protection info, and where to get additional manuals, drivers and software. This all in different languages.

TCA Sidestick Airbus Edition

Things that work differently “out of the box” are the AUTO BRK selector and its positions versus the JAR aircraft e.g. switch in BTV means LO mode, switch in LO means in the JAR aircraft MED and switch in 2 means MAX braking. SPEEDBRAKE lever in the RETRACT mode on the TCA quadrant means spoilers ARMED. With the SPEEDBRAKE handle on TCA between RET and 1/2 means spoilers RETRACTED. Spoilers HALF works correct however, SPEEDBRAKE lever in-between 1/2 and FULL means in the aircraft already FULL. It’s much like the Thrustmaster wheel family in this respect. But perhaps even better in this case as you could remap the throttle to do… something else. Planes aren’t exactly short of controls to map. You can swap the autopilot and brake buttons, which is a nice touch for anyone who prefers to fly right-handed. Thrustmaster takes pride in its core values, “Passion, Quality and Innovation”, and constantly strives to improve the realism and immersiveness in legendary game worlds by offering thrilling and truly exceptional experiences. From video game enthusiasts to casual gamers, Thrustmaster accessories for PC and gaming consoles bring everyone’s dreams to life.

Before writing this sentence, I fiddled already around and figured out how the TCA equipment works with for example the JARDesign A320neo, the ToLiss A319/A321. Besides a couple of small items you need to know or to find, it worked for the fully 100 percent, but more about that later although I’m not sure if I should explain all the required settings or changes for the twin engine Airbus X-Plane models. We’ll see. Thrustmaster Software : Windows 10 There is also effectively zero deadzone. In the Windows 10 setup app you have to move it with the force of a mouse’s breath to avoid any input the system recognises. Buttons change names from Xbox to PC; the parking brake is B16 for Xbox, but button 20 for PC, for example. Replicas of Airbus airliner controls (A320neo type), feel realistic sensations when using the throttle quadrant’s buttons, detents and other controls — just like a real aircraft captain. Ho ho, no worries for those who like to fly the Airbus A340 from JARDesign or ToLiss. You can use the Thrustmaster set also for the Airbus A340 Series by setting a switch on the lower front of the Throttle Quadrant to 3 / 4 engines but be honest with me, a much better solution in my humble opinion is …… buy an extra TCA Quadrant Airbus Edition and mount it in-between. Then you have 4 dedicated engine throttles.Make your existing Thrustmaster Airbus ecosystem compatible with Xbox via simplified connectivity thanks to the New Ecosystem Hub I personally find this a better way then seen with other hardware simulator developers who offer a large knob. The reason I bring this up is that turning such a knob goes much easier with the disadvantage in my humble opinion that you can easily over-tighten the friction while the way you do it on the Thrustmaster TCA equipment, you have a tiny tool to add more friction in a more gently way and prevent over tight the mechanism. Hold on, what about GA aircraft or other twin engine commuters and commercial aircraft? I didn’t test all available default or other manufactures, but overall can be said that for most aircraft all assignments work out of the box, at least all default X-Plane commands. And yes, I’m also aware that when you have a GA aircraft with a PROP and MIXTURE lever then you run into problems, but I may assume that when you decide to buy or bought already the Thrustmaster TCA flight equipment, you’re not going to use it with GA aircraft, right? Everything is working as expected, no, as I had hoped for, including the SPEEDBRAKE ARM mode or it’s better to say the GND SPLR ARM mode, but it took a bit more effort to get it so far, at least, when you compare it with the previous discussed aircraft. The moment I start with the taxi phase, it is playing a bit with the thrust levers. And, yes, I mentioned this before, remember that you set the friction a bit higher in a way that it feels more real and that some force is needed to move them. I’ve increased the friction to almost the maximum value. With the provided tool that’s not easy, but important to tell you, you can’t really over tighten the friction screw. So my tip is …. don’t use a Philips screwdriver to adjust the friction. Most likely you will then apply too much torque and that can damage the internal friction system. So use the included tool.

These are the small differences I noticed. Not a problem since the function works, but it is slightly different then in the modeled aircraft. Overall I can say that it works very well and when you’ve programmed as I tried to show you in our video the A320neo first, it will work also for their A330. There’s no difference except then that the throttles and their markings on the pedestal are different then on the A320. You’ll love using the wide variety of controls inspired by those found on real Airbus airliners: button feel and response times, resistance on the thrust levers, the sounds components make when activated, and even how they feel to the touch. Everything is right there at your fingertips for next-level replica flight sessions. FEATURES This way of assigniment clearly doesn’t work. I don’t know why this happens but we can solve it as mentioned in a previous post, thus by assigning via the input list. Further steps aren’t needed. As Eugeny Romanov from JARDesign said to me “it should work out of the box” and I can confirm that this is correct. However, a couple of things are different compared to what I saw with the ToLiss. Advantage of the JARDesign aircraft is that no other software or script is needed to get it working with the TCA equipment except from the steps above to perform.As mentioned before, the real size of the TCA components is a bit bigger but when Thrustmaster had made it the real size, then it will be too big on your desk. Besides that, is it really worth to have the same size? My personal opinion is that this size is perfect and all the buttons, selectors, switches and levers work smooth, detents are noticeable, so only one word is needed …. awesome!