Having the right controls can make a big difference when it comes to the flight sim experience and I want to share some hardware related stories in this third year of the Stormbirds blog. My newest purchase is VIRPIL’s MongoosT-50 Throttle Control System which has just arrived and I’m excited to tell you more about it.
Replacing my old X-52 HOTAS
Well over 10 years ago I bought a Saitek X-52 system which served me reliably for many years. The X-52 stick’s Z-axis sensor eventually started to fail but the HOTAS soldiered on and in-fact it still works. But I wanted a little more from my hardware than I used to.
As I dive deeper into simulators like DCS and IL-2 there was something that the X-52 didn’t have that I wanted. More buttons, more hat switches, and generally more controls and customization for me to setup and use have become more of a priority than ever before. That’s where VIRPIL comes in.
VIRPIL’s MT-50 TCS went into production in February 2018 and it has been available in limited numbers ever since. Despite those limited quantities I decided that I wanted to try and get one. Reviews from YouTuber’s like the Noobifier (see video below) also helped convince me that this was a piece of hardware that I wanted to have for myself.
It’s arrived!
Late this past week my MT-50 TCS throttle arrived! It arrived double boxed and was very well packaged. The box was in great shape which is always a relief when shipping hardware. I should note that I did have to pay some customs fees (about $65 CDN) to get it into the country, however, once that was out of the way things happened rather quickly and suddenly it was at my door.
So far I’ve only had few flights with it so I don’t want to comment too much on it yet except to say that it’s absolutely solid, it has a ton of buttons, and I’m very much looking forward to writing up a full review. That will be coming soon!
I do want to give back as much as I can to you as well. Is this kind of hardware something that you’re thinking of purchasing? Are there features you want more information on? If you have any questions that you’d like me to try and answer either now or in the review please let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to address these.
Stormbirds 
Hey Shamrock, Your timing couldn’t be better. I am just now starting to look for a replacement of my own X52 Pro (Mine is developing calibration and recognition issues) and the Virpil stuff is quite interesting to me. But clearly, a huge investment. My questions are simple; are they worth all that money and how is the build quality?
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Great timing for sure! I’m also hoping to review the WarBRD series from VIRPIL in the future so look out for that as well.
Those are two excellent questions and I will attempt to answer both in my full review.
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Do you already have a stick or are you hoping to get one?
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Do you already have a stick with the BRD base or are you still hoping to get one?
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I don’t have either yet but I am hoping to try one soon!
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Congrats! I have been using this throttle since like November and couldn’t be happier. The whole customization is truly amazing, I made the throttle friction feel just tight enough to force me to make smooth movements on it (I kept damaging engines of my prior Hotas) and I also adjusted it so that there would be a detent at 80% and another at 50%. The 80% one lines up perfectly with emergency mode on the WW2 planes in IL-2 and also the point just before afterburners kick in on DCs planes. It is simply perfect for my requirement
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That’s great to hear JP! I haven’t adjusted the detents yet but I really want to do something like what you’ve suggested.
Thanks for sharing!
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Nice, JP! I want to do the same with mine. Do you just adjust the detents, see what they register as in the game and keep adjusting until you have it right?
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Looking forward to your full review, Shamrock! I got my MT-50 about two weeks ago, but haven’t had a chance to fly with it yet due to a work trip. I am definitely looking forward to testing it out this week.
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I have been waiting for VKB’s throttle, but, after watching the video and learning that the Mongoos will fit on the same Monster mounting plate as my aging Warthog throttle I may have to re-evaluate that decision.
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I was going to wait as well but there’s no telling when it may appear and I was getting anxious to upgrade. The T-50 is a very feature complete option.
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