Looking for "no center indent", not just "soft center"
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 12:50
Hi
I'm currently looking for a new HOTAS and need to decide between VKB and Virpil. So far the slightly larger deflection of the VBK looks attractice to me as I also want to fly aerobatics. However I need a stick with zero indent at the center axis and I am not sure whether the "soft" cams in the VPK do this.
I never understood why flight sim joystick makers are so paranoid about including the unrealistic center axis "lock" which does not exist in real planes (ok slight correction: I kow one real plane where there is an intentional slight center indent in the elevator axis and it feels just silly). I find such indents annoying, no matter how soft it is, because it prevents precise corrections about the center point. Yes I know some might say it's so little you almost don't notice it, but it is completely unnecessary and takes the immersion away. So far I used a Cougar with the u2nxt mod which removed the original indents by two pairs of springs which were always under tension and no cams, so there was no center "lock" whatsoever and the joystick always centered precisely even without detent. The argument that the detent is needed for precise center is unrealistic; real planes don't have it and can still be flown precisely. In real life, control friction and boundary layer effects add to the center characteristics, so there is no such thing as an "always 100% precise recentering" anyway.
So does the VKB has a "zero indent" cam and if not, will one be released?
thanks,
Marc
I'm currently looking for a new HOTAS and need to decide between VKB and Virpil. So far the slightly larger deflection of the VBK looks attractice to me as I also want to fly aerobatics. However I need a stick with zero indent at the center axis and I am not sure whether the "soft" cams in the VPK do this.
I never understood why flight sim joystick makers are so paranoid about including the unrealistic center axis "lock" which does not exist in real planes (ok slight correction: I kow one real plane where there is an intentional slight center indent in the elevator axis and it feels just silly). I find such indents annoying, no matter how soft it is, because it prevents precise corrections about the center point. Yes I know some might say it's so little you almost don't notice it, but it is completely unnecessary and takes the immersion away. So far I used a Cougar with the u2nxt mod which removed the original indents by two pairs of springs which were always under tension and no cams, so there was no center "lock" whatsoever and the joystick always centered precisely even without detent. The argument that the detent is needed for precise center is unrealistic; real planes don't have it and can still be flown precisely. In real life, control friction and boundary layer effects add to the center characteristics, so there is no such thing as an "always 100% precise recentering" anyway.
So does the VKB has a "zero indent" cam and if not, will one be released?
thanks,
Marc