Masters of the Air

    Slug made a good point - CH is basically on that edge where you can retire old stuff to the spare parts bin and buy new. That way should they go under, you have spare parts to keep things going down the road. A lot of components could probably be 3-d printed as well. Springs and pots are easily replaced.

    I swore by CH for years, told anyone I got into AH or flew with in squads that they were nuts for not using the Combat/Fighter stick - throttle didn't matter as much, nor pedals IMO, but I have 4 sets of full CH gear and 2 of their pedals still, one set being NiB, another has maybe 2 hours on the stick and throttle. Before busting my leg to shit and all the associated problems that came with it I was collecting HOTAS and buying new things monthly. Posted some pics on FW, once I get flying again I'll do some more. I have 5 Virpil bases including their very first one, CM2, CM3 and both new and old Warbrds. I have their collective (the good one) and 3 grips for it too. Also have 12 different grips for my Virpil stuff, F16 TM grip, F18 grip, and all of the grips Virpil has made including left and right hand Alphas for Star Citizen zooming stuff. 4 Virpil throttles too, their first and 2nd gen and 2 of their newest 3rd gen. A couple of their switch boxes too, both with the gear handle.


    I also have VKB stuff, which is what you should look at Slamfire. VKB Gunfighter and their new TECS throttle are both smaller footprints than Virpil and the Gunfighter sticks are much lower to the table surface, like CH gear equivalent IMO. Stick is fantastic, throttle is ok as well. VKB pedals are great too, very fine motor skill control point of the angle and not the leg/knee moves them, very precise, and cheap for what you get. As much as I'm team Virpil, I'd recommend VKB to anyone not planning on using desk clamp mounts and planning on playing off their keyboard/monitor surface or table. I have all my Virpil stuff except the collective set up with MonsterTech mounts and rails on my gaming tables/desks. VKB I use for AH as muscle memory is all CH pattern/height/etc, and I just shoot more accurately with my forearm resting on the table while holding the stick.


    I have a bunch of rudder pedals too, VKB pedals, Slaw pedals x 2, Virpil pedals, and 1/2 dozen others like CH, Saitek, etc.


    Oh ya, since the Ukraine war began, Canada has been assessing a 50% tax penalty on most of Virpil's stuff that is manufactured in Belarus or wherever. Most of their new stuff is now being made elsewhere, but some guys got crazy bills when their product arrived they weren't expecting. Glad I missed out on that.

    Got to episode 3/4 last night. As some of you know, my grandfather was a crew Chief in the Eighth. The scene with the ground crew fixing the mag and setting the points while riding the wheel really got to me. That alone is worth the cost of admission.

    Hats off to all the ground crews. Absolutely the unsung heros of the Air Corps. Countless hours of of sweat and no sleep to keep the fighters and bombers going on missions.


    That said....that magneto thing? Yeah, never ever happened like that.

    Buddy of mine worked on F4's in the early 80's in Germany. Apparently one of their traits was leaking hydraulic fluid. Fuck stick commander would inspect the airmen EVERY morning, making them wear their good fucking uniforms before working on those nasty planes--you'd wear overalls, but you couldn't avoid getting the shit on you, and repairing/replacing uniforms was done on YOUR dime.


    He got out of the chair force as fast as he could

    Well respected man about town doing the best things most conservatively

    Quote from Gman

    I also have VKB stuff, which is what you should look at Slamfire. VKB Gunfighter and their new TECS throttle are both smaller footprints than Virpil and the Gunfighter sticks are much lower to the table surface,


    ...


    Oh ya, since the Ukraine war began, Canada has been assessing a 50% tax penalty on most of Virpil's stuff that is manufactured in Belarus or wherever. Most of their new stuff is now being made elsewhere, but some guys got crazy bills when their product arrived they weren't expecting. Glad I missed out on that.

    Ok G. I'll check out the more-like-CH-form-factor line... my current CH stuff is ancient... I mean.. like +/- 15-20 years old isn't an exaggeration. 1000s of hours of use on Aces High back in the day, and MS Flight Simulator, and Falcon 4.0 etc. etc. Tired spring, worn plastic, old pots etc etc.


    Canada is bananas when it comes to importing anything. Like try importing a vehicle yourself... especially a US made one... WOW. Pretty much anything you ship is subject to having a Duty "Broker" Dude manage it - so like you have to pay a fee for some Revcan/CCRA Employee to act as your Duty broker. You can get around it by declaring it as a valueless gift (well sometimes). I seem to remember GG had to deal with it at a previous job - just outrageous... add $50-$60 as a flat fee to anything you ship there, regardless of the item's value, then of course add a % as Duty.


    One time I mailed my father's baseball cap back to him after he forgot it here - he was charged something like $70 when it was all said and done (an item he already owned). Crazy.


    Everything in Canada is a fucking Racket, with government running it like they are the mafia.

    Quote from Beej

    Buddy of mine worked on F4's in the early 80's in Germany. Apparently one of their traits was leaking hydraulic fluid. Fuck stick commander would inspect the airmen EVERY morning, making them wear their good fucking uniforms before working on those nasty planes--you'd wear overalls, but you couldn't avoid getting the shit on you, and repairing/replacing uniforms was done on YOUR dime.


    He got out of the chair force as fast as he could

    It wasn't just hogdraulics fluid, it was oil and fuel also. There was some stuff you could buy, it came in a spray can, that cleaned the oil, hogdraulic fluid and fuel out of your uniform really well.


    The Phantom always leaked something and that was what I missed the least about working on them when I went to Alaska and started working on F-15's. Until one day a pair of Phantoms stopped in and one of them had to go into the hanger for maintenance of some kind. We didn't have any T.O.'s on the base for working on the Phantom and since I was the only one on the shift that had ever disarmed the weapon stations I got volunteered to go do it and was told to be as quick as I could before QA came by. I wasn't under that plane for 60 seconds and had oil and fuel on my uniform and in my hair. :laughing

    We're a border state. Fucking pushy Canadians get irate when you tell them you won't ship to Canada. Fuck em. I had one guy call Polaris to complain. What did he think that would get him? I won't even get into the hows or why's. "Our cc system will not accept international sales, sorry." "Well, there must be something that can be done, eh?" "Nope. Sorry. Click."

    The best is when you're in Canada and you're trying to buy something online from the USA - then you get redirected to another website, to some Canadian distributor with a .ca internet address.


    Then you're like "Oh great, I'll avoid that $50 fee and Duty" - then you realize the MSRP is double what it is in the USA, and you get taxed %15. LOL.

    Canadians and their condescending fake politeness are the worst. And they fucking HATE Americans. The barely contained contempt boiling just below the surface... you don't like us, so figure it the fuck out then.

    All Government is Organized Crime.

    The worst are English Ontario people when it comes to the USA - the epicenter being Toronto. Think Milo - he's a standard make and model. They think they are much smarter in all ways than any American. Ignorant, Arrogant and basically Stupid by nature. Kind of like a British smart ass, but of a lesser cut. Anyways yeah Milo - a dumber version of Beet. You guys get it.


    The type that if they were socializing with an American visitor in a pub, they'd steer the conversation to American Over-reliance on personal Air Conditioning. Like the American guy would be like "What the fuck are you talking about ?". They they'd go on how their healthcare is better (LOL).


    Very Liberal/Socialist - they don't like the Freedom part of classic Liberalism, they really like the Elite/Control part of it. All of them think they are of the Elite Class in a perfect Socialist system. Like their dream job/position in the "empire" would be to have a desk job, where they can micro manage the daily decision of people's lives. In reality they're bottom of the rung pedestrian peons, who are delusional in their self importance.

    All of them LOVE Trudeau but won't admit it. They'll never tell you who they voted for, and will play word games rather than be up front. The good ones of that environment are outcasts and lone wolves (they were "cancelling" people there long before it became a thing here).. Some, like me, move to places like Texas and never look back.