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Virpil MT50 Updates or better upgrades


Heinrich

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So, what is to happen to the WarBRD base?  I thought it WAS the successor for the T-50 base....

 

Regardless, that is what I have and I'm very happy with it.  It has more degrees of movement than the T-50 did....

 

So if want you want is a LONG stick, you'd be better off with less degrees of movement.

 

I'm very happy with my original T-50 grip, mostly because I figured out a great way to use the POV hat to do FOV zoom.  That function is paramount to me.

 

However, I will admit that what I really wanted is a grip that was like my old one, that had a 4-way hat under the thumb, that I could use as FOV zoom.  There is no real substitute for that kind of ergonomic convenience.

 

So I have a sticky note to (try to) order the new grip at 2:00 pm EDT on March 15.  Yeah, it's a lot of money; and it's also a lot to bank on that it's actually in a position that works and feels natural.  You can't tell that kind of thing from looking at a picture.  But honestly, it's what I originally wanted.  Too bad they didn't have it back then.

 

If I am lucky enough to be able to order one, I'll have an original T-50 grip available for anybody who might want one (Vonrd?).  It may not work out, who knows.  But I am going to try.

 

Thanks for the links, Heinrich!

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This is indeed excellent news! Wow!

 

The WarBRD base was intended for desktop flying with out extensions. The T-50 was definitely always the go to for folks wanting an extension. I've had a lovely time dealing with Virpil and I really love their customer service and products, so I am definitely highly interested in this. The new extended desk mount is absolutely a must have in my opinion, because with the full extension the stick sits pretty high as is.

 

Very exciting news indeed. Thanks for the heads up!

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If I am lucky enough to be able to order one, I'll have an original T-50 grip available for anybody who might want one (Vonrd?).  It may not work out, who knows.  But I am going to try.

 

If I can order a base I might want to buy your grip Luft... thanks!

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I thought it felt EXACTLY correct the first time I grabbed onto it... I have absolutely NO complaints. If they want to take it to the next level then I guess it would be force-feedback but I don't see that much demand for it....  more of hand candy than anything else... but it would be interesting.

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Well, I failed to get an order in today for the new grip.  The "restock" that was scheduled for today at 18:00 GMT (2:00 pm EDT) suddenly didn't include the Mongoose T50 CM2 grip.  The site went down at 30 minutes prior to the scheduled restock with a message saying that they were restocking, and that when the site came back up in a few minutes, the restock would be complete.  The site came back up about 2 minutes prior to the hour....but still showing no availability for the grip.

 

After about 15 minutes of refreshing with no changes, I went to the forum news section.  Now it said that the grip I want wouldn't be restocked.  The only way now is to preorder it on the 17th.

 

The 17th.....when?  It doesn't say (no way to reply to the news posts, either).  My experience is that once pre-orders open, so many people pre-order that they only take so many, and very soon the site will just say "pre-orders closed" or something to that effect, until many weeks or months later, when they take another batch of pre-orders.

 

I hate the way you have to play this stupid game to try to get these products.

 

Come 0000 GMT on the 17th (8:00 pm on the 16th, my time) I'll have to start checking the site for pre-order availability.  I'm not going to stay up all night trying to order something.  I'm willing to put some effort into it but it's BS how this stuff works.

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Well, I got the new grip on pre-order.  It was lot more complicated than I thought.

 

I was glad to see the "pre-order" button active on the site; but when I got to checkout, I was in for a surprise.  The only option for payment was direct bank transfer.  Really?  So I looked around the website for the payment options section, and it said there that if you have a pre-order, the only option for payment is going to be direct bank transfer.  Then they give you all the following information, and you have 72 hours to make the successful transfer, or your order is cancelled.

 

 

Payment Method Bank Transfer Payment Transfer Instructions:

SWIFT (BIC): CBSBLT26 (CBSBLT26XXX)
IBAN: LT497181200027467803

Account Name: UAB VIRPIL
Bank Name: Šiaulių bankas AB
Bank Address: Tilžės g.149, Šiauliai, Lithuania, LT-76348

Currency: EUR

Please enter your order number as the payment reference.

All fees relating to the transfer must be paid to ensure the order balance is paid in full. If you are unsure, please enquire with your bank for guidance.

Note: If you have a pre-order item in your basket, Bank Transfer Payment is the only available payment option. Please review the pre-order terms here:
 https://virpil-controls.eu/payment-info

 

 

So I'm looking at all that and wondering if my bank is even capable of doing an international transfer.  Then I see somewhere on the site that they say they use "Braintree" in cooperation with Paypal.  Braintree I have no idea, but Paypal I know.  So I went into my Paypal account and started looking at all of the different options for sending money to.  One of them was interbank transfer, and once I selected that, it had about 3 different choices, and one of them, believe it or not was transfer to a bank in another country.  So I chose that.   Well, all of a sudden it's taking me to a new company called "Xoom".  It's affiliated with Paypal.  The thing is it already had all of my bank account info; it must have gotten it from Paypal. 

 

So the first thing it asks me is what country I want to transfer to, and Lithuania is in the pull-down list.  Then it asks me the bank I want to transfer to in that country, and up till then I was worried, because looking at the info Virpil gives, I know I can't even type a lot of those characters.  But it was another pull-down list, and it only had about 4 banks listed, and sure enough, the bank from the Virpil info was in there; so I chose it.

 

Then it asked for the IBAN number (20 characters).  I entered that from the info above, and it gave me the green check mark, like it was good.   Next it wanted to know who I was sending the money to.  The fields were set up for a first and last name, and address, like it was a person.  I wasn't sure what to do.  So in the first name field, I put "Virpil Controls EU".  I don't know if that's the best thing.  I was afraid that the money might go into their account, but they wouldn't be sure who sent it.  After all, there must be a lot of these transfers happening now.  If I had to do it all over again, I'd put "UAB Virpil (Virpil Controls, EU)", since I think UAB Virpil is what their account seems to be listed under at that bank.

 

The next source of worry is that the order info says you have to show your Order Number as the "payment reference".  Well, there is no field for purchase number or anything like that, not even a note or additional info line.  So, I crossed my fingers and wrote "Order Number: #VPCEU-xxxxxxxxxx" in the "Last Name" field.

 

Then I had to choose the currency, and they say they want it in Euros, so I entered the amount shown on the order, and it automatically converted it to US dollars and cents.   After that I got to review the entire transaction, and hoping for the best, I hit send.

 

It gave me a transaction number, and also a way to track the progress.  That was a nice surprise.  I figured, if it doesn't go through, I'm no worse off.  My worst fear was that it WOULD go through, but the company would say that they didn't associate it with my order.  Still, I had a lot of transaction receipts and summaries that I had copies of, so that I was reasonably sure I could prove that I sent the money for that order.

 

About an hour later, I checked the status of the transaction.  It had already progressed about 3 steps....and it was Sunday!  That was encouraging news.

 

Round about 9:00 this morning, I checked my online banking for a withdrawal.  I wasn't really expecting anything.  It showed one made for the correct amount related to a "Xoom" debit.  Amazing!   Then I checked my email, and guess what? I had a Virpil invoice that said "Payment received 2019.03.18", with my order number on it.  Whew!  That went pretty well.  

 

So now I have "Estimated Dispatch Within 90 Days of Payment", although I seriously doubt it will be that long.  One thing I can also add, I chose the faster shipping through TNT Express Courier, not because of the speed, but because of the tracking ability....and it's expensive!   63.95 Euros ($72.45)!  As if the grip wasn't expensive enough!  Well, I could have chosen Lithuania Post, and it would have been around 23.00 Euros.  Takes longer too, but probably not that much longer.  It's something to think about.  

 

I hope if any of you guys are going to pre-order something, that there will be a more convenient way to do it by then.  Anyway in many weeks, I'll have my original grip version for sale (original box, etc.)  But if nobody wants it, I'll just keep it for a spare.  

 

Oh yeah.  It cost me $4.95 fee from Xoom to do that direct bank account transfer.  There was an option to use your credit card, and I think it was $7.95.

 

S!

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I had problems with payment in the past... my card kept getting denied and my bank insisted that there should be no issue. I was going to try a wire transfer but it was a $50 fee. I think I'm going to give Virpil a hard pass even though I would really like to get their base and stick. The situation needs someone in North America / USA to become an agent.

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Why not just go with TM Warthog?  I really think there's a majority here who use it, and if you checked, I predict most of them are very pleased with it.  Hell, the guys that beta-test the FC planes use it....what does that tell you?

 

If it wasn't for the "sticktion" issue with the base, I would have bought one myself.  However, they may have solved that issue a long time ago, for all I know.  One thing's for sure, I've seen videos on how to fix it, and yeah, there's some disassembly, some cleaning, some sanding, some lubrication....right up my alley.  If I had one, I know I could make it work and keep it working like it was intended to.  I also know you're at least as capable as I am Vonrd; very likely more so.

 

With regard to Virpil, I'm in for a penny, and in for a pound now.  Also, I don't mind waiting, and have been able to overcome these financial inconveniences.  None of this is an emergency.  But it is pretty expensive.  A lot of people consider TM Warthogs expensive (especially in the EU).  The difference between what I have and that is a lot less there, I would guess.  But for me it's more, and is maybe not worth it except to those who are willing to overlook the extra money.

 

I will say that every single time I've ordered something from Virpil, the process has been different.  This time is no exception; maybe that's just my bad luck.  Perhaps it's because the company is evolving or growing.  One thing I like about them is at least they give you a chance to order something; unlike VKB.  That company doesn't seem to care if you're ever able to get one of their products.  I will say that Virpil has never failed to give to me what I ordered, in what can only be considered a reasonable time period, considering the distance, and the demand for their products.  Also, they've never failed to answer in a timely manner, any support ticket that I've submitted, when I've been unsure of what was going on.  Beyond that, I've never heard any other customer of theirs say anything other than that they give very good customer support.

 

S!

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  • 2 months later...

OK, the new grip I ordered on March 18 is here!!!  They say that the pre-order will be fulfilled within 90 days of the pre-order date.  They beat that by almost a month.  Not too bad!

You know, you can see and hear about differences to some extent on their web pages; but to have both versions of grips in-hand is very exciting.  Some differences that they DO tell you, and some things that they DON'T:

The analog brake axis lever is longer, closer to the grip, and angled for your hand.  Nice!  More ergonomic.

Russian lettering.  Who cares?  😏

Every  hat switch now has a push function (even the 8-way POV and the 2-way).  Use them if you want, but you don't have to!

The big one is that the single thumb button is now a 4-way hat + push.  The reason I bought this grip!  Also, a major thing is that the area by the thumb has been made more ergonomically conducive to actuating the hat switch that is now there.  I was a bit worried about this since that area before would not have been the best for thumb movement, the way that it was.  This and the other additional features is going to make me have to make a serious rethink and remap of my controls....which will have to wait for a while.  The system I have right now is working extremely well.

The shape of the pull-down trigger is more ergonomic and has a tab on the side to help facilitate pulling it down.

I'm really happy with what I'm seeing.  They managed to improve on something really, really good.

IMG-20190521-141416.jpg

 

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  • 1 month later...

Yesterday just before closing I ordered the CM2 stick (thx Luftritter), the new throttle and rudder pedals.
I use now the 'old stick and throttle' and the MFG Crosswind, so I'm very curious how they will handle.
Remembering the button lay out will be the biggest challenge
The 90 days delivery time is perfect in my case.
Besides that I can't sit for to long in my chair, twisting and kicking is not funny either. 

Enclosed links to files with drawings (old and new items) for button assignment.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/yvalj3juv3orakn/VPC_Templates.zip/file

http://www.mediafire.com/file/f56omyfdxe070z9/VPC_Physical_Button_Mapping_2.zip/file

http://www.mediafire.com/file/le811a7p9ppcf4y/VPC_Physical_buttons_numbering.pdf/file

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Wow you're going to replace your Crosswinds! I haven't gone that far and don't see any reason to right now. I'll bet there's somebody in this unit who would be interested in buying them, if you plan to sell them. But I wouldn't be surprised if you handed them down to Carl.

Thanks for the files, I'll get them when I'm off my phone and on my PC.

S!

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Main reason for buying the Virpil rudders is that with the Crosswinds I always skidded off the pedals and applying brakes was also not natural (it must be my ankles😉).
I hope with the Virpil's wagging the tail becomes more easy. 

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I am looking forward to a review you may write about those Virpil pedals after you receive and try them out!

It took me a while to get my MFG pedals tweaked to the way I like them.  I actually moved the foot pads to their most inboard position, and replaced the stock spring with a lighter one.  Although the foot pads are as close together as they can be, they are still farther apart than most other pedals and still have very accurate control. I don't know if that eliminated any chance of foot slippage or not, but I don't experience that problem. I even fly wearing moccasins (no soles) 😁. Also my pedals are screwed down to my chair mat. Maybe that helps too?

As for the brakes, of course they're adjustable, but I can't remember if it's the pedal angle, or spring tension, or both. Although I've not had a problem using the pedal brakes, the truth is that I really don't seem to need to use them.  Once I bound analog lever on the stick to the proper function in BoX, I seem to be able to use it for every plane that I've flown. This was confusing to me at first because I thought it would only work in certain planes like the Spitfire that had a "differential" braking system; but it works for everything, as far as I know.  I find it far more controllable.... you can apply tiny amounts of pressure very accurately and of course use the rudder to vary the differential.  So, the foot brakes don't concern me much anymore.

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Today got the message from Virpil that I'm in for the presale. Hoping to get them as fast as yours would be early September. I figure that by than I'm much fitter. Right now I revalidate at the house of my girlfriend, because I can't take care of myself. 

Since my game chair has wheels the fun part of the MFG was that I used wheel chockes, rubber friction pads and at last tight the chair to the wall to prevent pushing myself backwards. Even with the lowest spring tension. When I'm Back home I will try out your settings.

[Bought a new chair with wheel brakes for use at home, the old one is here with me as it was the only chair I could sit in without pain]

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Yeah, I just have an office chair without wheels. Not too big of a selection of those, but they do make them. It's not adjustable nor is it super comfortable if you want to fly for hours on end. But it doesn't move a millimeter and that's what's most important to me.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Last Tuesday, Virpil has started a vote competition for control panels (jet, spaceship, piston and helicopter).

Nice entries, although to I had hopes that in the Piston category their would be panels for 2-4 engines.  Why 5 or 10 buttons/switches on a panel?

Ahhh now I understand just have to buy either 4 or 2 panels. Very smart.

 

I'm not (yet) familiar with jet or helicopter controls, no real idea what I should vote. Suggestions?

 

NB: Poll closes on 10/30/19 at 09:59 PM (probably Moscow time: GMT+3)

Edited by Heinrich
Duplicated the post because I was afraid that not all interested in Virpil would see this post down here.
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  • 2 weeks later...

Tomorrow the VPC T50CM2 grip, T50CM throttle and ACE-1 rudder pedals will arrive which I ordered on the 5th July. I’m especially curious about the pedals. Of course I hope that they are for me an improvement over the MFG Crosswind. I will write a review after some testing.

Maybe also an unboxing review? Written of course 😎.

I’m thinking about using the old T50 throttle next to the new one, in order to have more buttons and of course the extra throttle axel in case of 2+ engines. No idea if the software can manage that. Has anybody tried this already?

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