The CEO of Honeycomb Aeronautical Nicki Repenning has taken to the state at Flight Sim Expo 2023 to unveil a range of new products and offer an update on the company’s existing offerings for flight simmers.
The presentation at FSExpo kicked off with a product update – acknowledging criticism from the community that Honeycomb takes “way too long to make products”. Nicki says that delays, particularly concerning the Charlie Pedals which went on pre-order almost a year ago, are down to supply chain issues – but also says that getting the product just right is paramount to the company’s mission. “Every product we make has to have a reason to exist” he says. With Alpha, that reason was a gap in the market for a yoke priced above Saitek’s entry level offering, but lower than the more sophisticated kit which will cost you four figures.
Well, that product had been completely discontinued in favour of the Alpha XPC. Going forwards though, the XPC yoke will be discontinued as well in favour of a whole new product like – the Alpha Pro and Alpha Lite.
Introducing: The Alpha Lite! It’s a stripped back version of the existing Alpha Yoke. Same feel and finish, internally it’s the same product. The only difference is that it comes without the battery, avionics, magnetos and light switches. It will ship for $199 USD, about 25% off the current Alpha XPC model.
And introducing: the Alpha Flight Controls PRO. Starting at $299 USD, this new yoke is still fundamentally the Alpha which you’re used to, but it will come with better Hall effect sensors up to 16096 resolution. It’s a lot more advanced than the original Alpha.
Moving on – another new product! The Flap Kit for Bravo. Some inventive types had already made detents which slotted into your Bravo throttle and sold them on third party websites like Etsy, but now Honeycomb are making their own version following community feedback. This one is fairly self explanatory really. The rubber plate sits in the fifth slot on your bravo and contains gaps which your flap lever will fit into. The flap kit ships with three bracket covers which offer different increments, so if you want to fly both Boeing and Airbus planes then you will be covered. It will ship for $29.99 USD, or $69.99 USD as a bundle with the existing Airbus throttle lever kit.
And then… ANOTHER new product! Honeycomb are also releasing a USB hub for all your USB hardware add ons. It contains six USB A slots and a 30W power supply, and has been designed and with all major add ons and manufacturers. It will ship at $49.99 USD. Designed and tested specifically to support the data and power requirements for flight sim equipment.
Then Nicki turned out attention to Honeycomb’s Lima Chair. This is not really new because it had been teased before, but for those unaware it is basically a gaming chair. It’s designed to feel more like the seats that are found in airliners and comes with one feature in particular which is very useful. If you want to use rudder pedals but your desk chair is on wheels, you will know the pain of having to anchor your chair to the ground somehow. The Lima chair also comes on 5 wheels, but these wheels are lockable!
It is made from high-end Alcantara type fabric, features traditional armrests, and should be comfortable seating for both flight simulation and office work.
It will ship for $300USD. Nicki suggested to me after the seminar that this should be shipping to customers in October, with the first container arriving in the US in August.
Next we got an update on Tango and Foxtrot, Honeycomb’ upcoming HOTAS system. It was very brief and we didn’t really learn anything we didn’t already know, but we did see that they will come with the option to clamp onto your desk via a telescopic mount. We also saw previews later in the presentation of a HOTAS which was using the same mounting platform, suggesting that multiple different stick and throttle combinations will be possible with the product.
Following that, we moved onto the final and by far the biggest announcement of the day. Introducing: Honeycomb Delta Panels.
Without showing images, it’s quite hard to explain what this is and how it works, but if Honeycomb are able to deliver on what they’ve promised then this should be truly revolutionary. The panels will clip onto of your Alpha and Bravo, as well as in-between should you wish. There are two models – a 12 inch and a 7 inch. Both of them have 1080p displays. They are fully modular – you can buy as many or as few as you want. But what’s really revolutionary here is the versatility. Do you want to fly with a G1000? You can do that right now, but you would need to invest thousands of dollars in a setup which only works when you want to fly a G1000. If you wanted to fly an Airbus the next day, your cockpit add-ons simply wouldn’t work.
Because the Deltas are essentially just LED displays though, you can customise your custom setup depending on whatever you want to fly that day. Each panel comes with a knob which you can twist and turn, so you can also operate the various switches and dials in your plane by either using the touchscreen functionality, or by using the physical knob on your delta. The placements are a lower right corner dual rotary knob, an upper right corner single rotary knob. There is also a Motion sensor to change to for example autopilot on the 737 or A320 when the hand is moved up to the screen.
We got to see the Deltas arranged in a number of configurations. Namely, a G1000, a 737, an A320, even a fighter jet. Nicki confirmed that you will even be able to use the Deltas as semi-transparent HUDs in the fighter jet, and this has been made do-able thanks to changes in the SDK and source code in MSFS which he has pushed Asobo to implement.
There is both the 12” 1080p vertical 16:9 and 7” 16:10 1080p vertical and their MSRP $349.99/$249.99 respectively.
We’ll bring you more news on the Deltas, as well as all the product updates from FSExpo as and when we get them!
Edit: updated the article with correct pricing for the USB and also added information on the delay screens.
