Honeycomb user opinions?

[Will]

I have been using my USB flight controller for about 10 years, believe it or not, and although it still works well, I thought it might be time to try something new. Just for fun. Change things up every decade or so.

I've been flying with the Warthog HOTAS joystick, which as most of us know, is heavy, all metal, and robust. But it's a joystick.

I thought about the Honeycomb Alpha, which gets good reviews for the Microsoft flight sim. I read everything on this forum that shows up with a keyword search for "Honeycomb" and similar entries, but I'm still looking for a few user opinions.

For those who have used the Honeycomb Alpha, is there anything that makes it a particularly good user experience? Any serious limitations or deal-breakers? Does it feel "serious" or light and plasticky?

Thanks everyone.

[Iadbound]

Will – I have a Honeycomb Alpha, and it is NOT my favorite.  I retired it.  When flying the 747, I have opted for the Thrustmaster Boeing TCA Yoke, and for GA I'm using a Yoko+.  The Honeycomb is nice, but I grew frustrated with the action in airliners and the overall feel in GA. There is just something cumbersome about it to me.  Thus, I made the switch I describe above. 

I also have a Thrustmaster Warthog with an Airbus stick (instead of the standard stick), and that is obviously a different beast.  But a good option is you prefer a side-stick.

I am, however, a big fan of the Honeycomb Bravo – the flexibility is just hard to beat.

[Will]

ladbound,

Thanks. With the Honeycomb Bravo, do you use an axis for speedbrakes and an axis for flaps? If so, are there detents along the way, or just smooth travel?

Also, do you have any opinions about the Honeycomb Bravo throttles versus the Thrustmaster Boeing throttles? (I guess you would need two of these to get 6 axes.)

Thanks.

[Iadbound]

Yes. On the Bravo, I do use an axis for speed brakes and flaps. There are no detents. I have some aftermarket handles and inserts that add detents, but that won't work for the 747 because the inserts for the detents would block two of the four throttles.

I don't have the TM Boeing throttles. My impression from reviews is that they are mediocre compared to other options, but without having used it, I'm just guessing.

[akatham]

I have both the Alpha yoke and the Bravo throttle and sadly i must say that the build quality is bad. Both are already faulty.

On the yoke the the control is connected to the base via a short cable with cheap plastic rj45 sockets which are simply not up to the mechanical stress. I replaced the cable with a longer one and the plugs with professional metal plugs, but the damage was already done and they often lose the connection so that the buttons on the control no longer work.

On the throttle the contacts on the levers are connected to the control board with really flimsy wires that are prone to snap. Of the 5 lever that have contacts 3 are already broken for me. On top of that one of the potentiometers gives false readings, when it goes to the max value, it suddenly sends 0.

So overall, i can NOT recommend them.

[Will]

That's very helpful to know, thanks.

[JRBarrett]

I used a Honeycomb Alpha for almost two years, but I was never satisfied with its action and response. Unlike others, I never had any issues with the RJ45 cable - but the yoke is now retired.

I am now using a Fulcrum yoke, and it is superb. It has noise-free, high-precision Hall Effect sensors and a long "throw" in both the pitch and roll axis, so it is easy to make small control corrections when hand flying. It is rather expensive and there is a long lead time to get one, but it was well worth it.