Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One review: a great beginner's flight stick

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Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One: One-minute review

Can you judge nan Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One has been astir for years? The entry-level instrumentality offers everything you request to get started successful Microsoft Flight Simulator aliases thing much exotic, pinch a throttle, a comfortable stick, and nan action to connect each aliases support them separate.

The full portion is cheaper than galore formation sticks you tin prime up without an further throttle, meaning you’re getting plentifulness of bulk for your buck, if not bang. The throttle is lacking successful resistance, and nan casing of some halves is made of a comparatively cheap-feeling plastic. Thankfully that does make it lightweight, meaning it’s easy to haul betwixt table and sofa setups crossed PC and Xbox.

Still, 14 buttons and 5 axes are much than capable for you to gain your aviator wings, and much intermediate features for illustration a tactile chapeau move and a nice, springy trigger make it consciousness overmuch much broad than rivals astatine this value point.

PlayStation gamers will besides request to look elsewhere, but nan Hotas One will activity connected PC and existent procreation Xbox consoles and will spell arsenic acold backmost arsenic nan Xbox One. If you’ve sewage 1 of those platforms, nan plug-and-play quality makes it easy to get started, and nan Xbox buttons replicated crossed nan portion tin make it easy to make nan jump for traditionally console-bound flyers.

All of this makes it an charismatic entry-level formation instrumentality that lacks further axes and controls but offers a much cockpit-adjacent divided throttle and instrumentality shape facet that it’s easy to consciousness impressed by. It’s not getting immoderate younger, but pinch Thrustmaster continuing to re-release it successful caller colorways (including a Microsoft Flight Simulator option), it’s clear nan institution is opinionated by it arsenic a first sensation of formation instrumentality for beginners.

Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One: Price and availability

• List price: $99.99 / £89.99
• Available successful achromatic and Microsoft Flight Simulator options
• Launched successful October 2017

The T-Flight Hotas One has been astir for a while (there was a PS3 type astatine 1 point, which should show you really agelong it’s lasted), and this peculiar exemplary has been getting PC and Xbox gamers successful nan aerial since 2017.

It’s getting harder to find nan plain achromatic type now, but nan Microsoft Flight Simulator type is nan aforesaid merchandise pinch a achromatic finish, suggesting nan instrumentality isn’t going anywhere. That caller colour action is simply a batch brighter and makes nan instrumentality look much modern.

Regardless, you’ll find either for nether $100 pinch discounts, making it much than competitory pinch immoderate throttle-less options for illustration nan Turtle Beach VelocityOne. It’s drastically cheaper than mid-range options for illustration Logitech’s X56 Hotas RGB, too, and it remains a awesome starter action because of its price.

Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One: Specs

Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One: Design and features

• Ideal for table usage
• Plastic feels cheap
• Can cod particulate connected nan throttle base

The Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One was nan first charismatic formation instrumentality released for nan Xbox One (a console that launched successful 2013), truthful it’s had immoderate longevity. Still, its creation feels very overmuch of its clip - it’s comparatively sleek successful each black, pinch immoderate metallic accenting and a striped F2 fastener connected nan stick.

Still, it’s very plasticky, which tin lead to it audibly creaking during usage - convey goodness it’s not a existent plane! On nan 1 manus that’s apt kept nan value down, but connected nan other, it feels acold from premium successful comparison to much costly sticks for illustration Thrustmaster’s ain T.16000M FCS Flight Pack.

While buttons tin beryllium remapped successful your crippled of prime wrong their individual settings since nan instrumentality is simply a ‘generic’ option, I’m pleased to spot nan Xbox buttons represented here. So galore formation sticks cater to PC almost exclusively that it’s bully to spot nan look buttons here, successful color, for easier recognition. There’s moreover nan Xbox fastener to telephone up nan Xbox paper connected PC aliases console.

The rubber nether nan instrumentality helps forestall particulate from getting into nan mechanism, but nan aforesaid can’t beryllium said of nan throttle which has nary shielding from particulate aliases nan elements underneath - if you’re utilizing it regularly that won’t beryllium a problem, but it’s decidedly worthy mentioning that it’s apt to cod dust.

The instrumentality plugs successful via USB-A, pinch a breakaway cablegram that’s perfect successful lawsuit personification yanks nan cablegram while you’re playing. It calls to mind nan original Xbox’s cables, and you’ll beryllium thankful for it if it stops your console aliases PC from toppling.

Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One: Performance

• Plug and play connected console and PC via USB-A
• Splitting sections is easy, though cablegram guidance tin get fiddly
• Hat move is simply a bully touch

Setting up nan T.Flight Hotas One couldn’t beryllium simpler - conscionable plug it successful via USB-A. While nan manufacture is moving distant from it, it lives connected here, truthful carnivore successful mind you whitethorn request a USB-C adapter depending connected your larboard selection.

Once it’s plugged in, it conscionable works, some connected console and PC. I enjoyed Elite Dangerous connected each, and was barrel-rolling and nosediving pinch reckless wantonness wrong minutes either astatine my table aliases connected nan couch. The instrumentality is responsive, and nan Z-axis rudder tin beryllium utilized via nan rocker connected nan throttle which I recovered to connection much granular power erstwhile listing near aliases right.

One of my favourite parts is nan chapeau switch, which comes successful a four-way type here. This nifty input connected nan apical of nan formation instrumentality tin enactment arsenic a D-Pad, letting you do things for illustration unfastened nan landing cogwheel successful Elite Dangerous pinch a press. It’ll beryllium difficult to spell backmost to rodent and keyboard aliases controller, that’s for sure, but people eight-way chapeau switches will double nan disposable commands that are a thumb flick away.

It’s easy to return nan instrumentality and throttle apart, but nan 2 are connected by a cable. Once you put them backmost together, you’ll apt want to tally nan ligament underneath done a trench connected nan underside, and that tin beryllium fiddly successful my experience.

The comparatively debased value of admittance tin besides beryllium felt successful nan throttle. It’s not bad, it’s conscionable lacking immoderate guidance which makes it consciousness little for illustration a portion of aerospace instrumentality and much for illustration a toy. It’s difficult to flight nan emotion that this is wherever corners were cut, and erstwhile pushing to hyperspace successful a abstraction sim for illustration Elite Dangerous, it feels lacking successful immoderate meaningly pushback. It makes consciousness astatine this value constituent but it’s worthy mentioning.

On nan flip side, I will opportunity nan trigger connected nan instrumentality feels bully and snappy, springing backmost into spot successful a measurement that feels bully and tactile while besides ensuring you tin statement up those laser cannon blasts successful thing for illustration Star Wars: Squadrons and person nan trigger fresh to occurrence again almost instantly.

I’m besides pleased to study nan T.Flight Hotas One is awesome for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which mightiness beryllium to beryllium expected pinch its officially branded version. The divided creation intends you tin position a keyboard successful nan mediate of nan throttle and formation instrumentality which past allows for a overmuch broader array of commands than nan T.Flight Hotas One is capable to supply because of its little fastener count.

As I mentioned earlier, though, nan integrative building tin origin nan instrumentality to creak a little, and it’s lightweight capable that it’s not excessively difficult to accidentally displacement it astir nan table pinch comparatively insignificant effort.

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Still not sold connected nan T.Flight Hotas One? Here’s really it compares to 2 akin products.

How I tested nan Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One

• Tested complete nan people of 2 weeks
• Used some successful divided and singular portion modes
• Tested connected aggregate games crossed 2 platforms

I spent astir 15 hours playing Elite Dangerous and Star Wars: Squadrons, some connected PC and via an Xbox Series X.

I played each crippled for respective hours, earlier switching platforms and switching backmost again to guarantee accordant capacity crossed games and platforms.

I besides played Microsoft Flight Simulator connected PC for a further 5 hours, splitting nan Hotas One and utilizing it arsenic 1 portion to trial its comfortableness successful some configurations.

Read much astir really we test 

First reviewed November 2024