The Honeycomb Aeronautical Bravo Throttle Quadrant is perhaps one of the most anticipated pieces of hardware for flight simulation. Following on from the hugely successful, and frankly incredible, Alpha Flight Controls, the Bravo has a lot to live up to. When Honeycomb first entered this space with their initial proposals, it had the community excited for what could possibly come from having such varied controls at price points that appealed to the masses.
We feel a true review can only come after an extended period of time with the controls in a variety of simulators, but we also know that many of you are keen to learn about our first initial impressions of the new hardware. With that in mind, we’re going to cover the fundamentals of the controls, our first thoughts and the overall look and feel.
Unboxing and Set-Up
If you haven’t watched our unboxing video, go check it out now. As you will see, the box is well presented and the controls are packaged up super nice. Inside, you will find the two sets of throttle handles (GA and Commercial), 2 clamps, the suction pad and of course, the main Bravo hardware itself. There are a series of leaflets about Aerosoft and various partners, as well as the instruction manual. I’m mostly impressed at how compact the box was, yet the product was nicely protected throughout with some very premium feeling foam. If you own the Alpha Flight Controls, then you will already be familiar with the quality.
Setting up the controls was very straightforward. Again, if you have the Alpha Flight Controls, you will already know the drill. You can either clamp down the central suction pad and then attach the Bravo unit or if your desk is too thick, you can use just the central suction pad to hold it in place.
It’s worth noting that the clamps are exactly the same as the ones included in the Alpha Flight Controls. If you have had issues using those clamps previously, you will encounter the same issue. That said, with the Bravo Throttle Quadrant, you will need to put less force into using the controls compared to the Alpha unit. This means the product is more stable with just the suction pad without the need of the clamps.
I will caveat that with the fact I have only used the product for a week so there will be the question of how it performs over a period of time.
Once the Bravo unit is on your desk, you can attach any of the included controls from the GA or Commercial boxes. Doing so simply requires you to pull off the rubber protection and slide on the handles you wish to use. You can’t make a mistake as each one is designed for a specific fit, so if you’re forcing it, try another attachment. Once in, they make a satisfying click sound and you’re good to go. To reassemble with different controls, you simply need to pull them off (a little force is required) and replace them in a configuration you desire. This level of versatility is unique which means these controls can appeal to simmers who enjoy GA flying as well as the heavy fliers. For someone like me who casually flirts between both, it’s a matter of making minimal changes to my set-up to get the experience I desire.
The Aesthetics
With the unit set-up, let’s take a moment to admire the Bravo unit as a whole. It is immediately noticeable that the Bravo unit shares very similar design characteristics to that of the Alpha Flight Controls. Sat side-by-side, you can see they extend the same depth into the desk and share the same height. I appreciated this as it meant my keyboard can easily perch on top without toppling over. There is also practicality to this as well. When I spoke to Nicki, CEO of Honeycomb Aeronautical, he told me that the reason it shares the same depth is to also help ensure the Bravo doesn’t topple under the pressure of the weight at the front. As the bulk of the unit sticks out off from your desk, having more depth on the unit means it is much more stable.
Starting from the top of the unit, we have the autopilot controls. With two rotary knobs either side of a selection of buttons. This functionality will enable you to interact with the aircraft’s autopilot controls. These buttons are modelled on the real-world Genesys 55X autopilot system with similar feel and functionality to the actual unit. The left semi-rotary knob enables you to select which autopilot functionality your right rotary knob will adjust. This works well in the simulator with immediate one-to-one changes visible right on the aircraft displays. The buttons, of course, interact with the control functionality turning on/off various autopilot elements. I was told they do light up when pressed but at the time of writing, the drivers to enable this were not yet made available to us. I was told this would be ready upon release of the first units to customers.
Moving down the unit, there are seven additional on/off binary switch (configurable by yourself) and an array of indicator lights (e.g. Master Warning, Engine Fire, Vacuum and so forth). Again, we haven’t seen these light up yet, but we are assured this will be the case.
To the right, is a flap lever which acts just as you would find in various GA airplanes. Flicking it up will move the flaps up, whilst flicking it down does the opposite. According to Nicki, this piece alone was one of the more complex pieces to get right due to how the inner mechanisms work. “They hate me in Hong Kong”, Nicki said. “However, I knew this was something we had to get right and I’m pleased with the results”. He’s not wrong, as it does indeed feel real with the spring-loaded action moving it back into place.
My favourite elements of the whole unit sit on the left side. Both the gear and trim wheel provided me with the best feeling on the controls as a whole. Using the gear lever has a truly satisfying click after you push it above the half-way point. There is a little give on it initially, but that only adds to the level of immersion and makes it feel much more immersive. In fact, the various pilots who helped test the product during production added how similar it feels to the jets they operate in real life. Whilst there is no pull-out, push-in motion on the gear lever itself, this is recognised by Nicki as a compromise to ensure that both GA pilots and airliner pilots get the overall feeling of retracting/extending their landing gear.
Below the gear lever is the trim wheel. As I mentioned, this is one of my favourite elements of the product as a whole. Whilst the Alpha Flight Controls had trim switches, having a trim wheel finally allows for a level of precision I’ve never had before when controlling the trim of an aircraft. Simply put, it has changed my entire experience when flying in the simulator. It’s smooth to move, with a nice amount of freedom in the movement to make quick and sudden changes. I’ve never been able to trim an aircraft so precisely as I have with the Bravo and I couldn’t imagine flying without it, moving forward, even though some may find it’s a bit too light and easy to move. This again, is part of the compromise that Honeycomb had to make to ensure it appealed to as many people as possible.
Finally, let’s look at the main throttle panel itself. Scanning along with the unit, you will see there is different text all relating to different types of cockpits and control types. This is there to assist with the flexibility of using the controls for commercial set-ups alongside the GA side of things. Whilst the commercial set focuses on Boeing controls, there is also text and decals that relating to Airbus. In preparation for the upcoming Airbus controls, and to keep to costs down for customers in the long-term, there are other small features that could go unnoticed to the common eye. Nicki pointed out to me that in the central two sections, where the Airbus throttle will go in the future, there are two small detents already moulded in.
Using the Bravo Flight Controls
I want to kick off this section with some expectations.
1 – I have only used the Bravo Flight Controls with Microsoft Flight Simulator.
2 – My time has been divided 80/20 favouring GA aircraft.
3 – The drivers for the hardware are still being produced and an update for Microsoft Flight Simulator will also include the final details to ensure the unit works 100%. We do not have access to them yet.
Stepping into the simulator, I noticed that Microsoft Flight Simulator instantly recognised the control set-up with a bunch of pre-assigned controls. This made the experience much easier with everything already configured. With my GA controls all set up, I hopped in to try some circuits around the training mission in the simulator. Pushing the throttles forward, instantly moved them forward in the simulator with no delay. Even being a bit more aggressive with them saw little to no latency between my input and the simulator. Once airborne, I adjusted the trim wheel to maintain a comfortable climb speed and rate. It was all very natural and meant I could focus my attention on actually flying, rather than messing about with camera movements or second-guessing my current trim status.
With the circuit complete, I plugged in the second controls and tried some of the turboprop challenges in the simulator. I immediately noticed a little bit of movement between the two power throttles. As the throttles are made from plastic, they aren’t as sturdy as I would like them to be. It’s a little more prominent on the mixture and prop, but this is slightly offset by how little you’d use them in comparison. I addressed this issue with Nicki during our preview chat, to which he said he understood. It’s again a case of finding a compromise between cost, and overall quality. It is possibly the cheapest feeling component but considering this entire piece of kit is geared around the throttles, it’s a little disappointing. I hope one day we’ll see an add-on for some full metal throttles for those who do focus on GA flying but want a little more durability from the plastic throttles.
One noticeable thing, and something that is not even present on high-end throttles, is the consistent smoothness of pushing and pulling the throttles through the hardware itself. Pushing it from idle to full power is a smooth and consistent feeling throughout, which I cannot say the same for other hardware. It’s surprising that a $250 piece of hardware does something like this better than something somewhat more expensive.
Without the appropriate drivers available just yet, I haven’t spent too much time in the commercial aviation side of things. That said, plugging them in and playing with them did feel really nice – in particular, the two-throttle (e.g. 737, 757, 787) set up. My medium-sized hands fit between the slots wonderfully, and the smooth motion of pushing them from idle to full was sensational. The commercial set also features a reverse thrust section, which has the most satisfying spring and click functionality. There’s a little force required before you then add reverse thrust, but it’s seriously satisfying. For those wanting to fly the four-engined jets, Honeycomb has engineered a minor but innovative way to reuse the 2nd throttle as the 3rd throttle for the quads. You simply need to twist the number on the throttle and you’ll reveal that it doubles up as throttle number 3. A small sticker placed on the side makes this obvious, but it’s a nice touch which adds more versatility to the controls. Essentially, Honeycomb found a way to make a quad-jet work without the need to pack an additional throttle inside the product.
The spoiler and the flaps then sit either side of the throttle controls giving you even more options for your virtual flying. For some I imagine the lack of detents for arming the spoilers or for each flap increment may be problematic, for the many that can look beyond it, will enjoy the added controls to make the simming experience more enjoyable. As mentioned, there are compromises throughout to ensure maximum versatility and accessibility, whilst retaining the price point the controls retail for.
Overall, there is a lot to enjoy about using the controls for all types of flying. Whilst I’ve yet to truly experience the commercial side of things, the control I had during my GA flights took my immersion to a whole new level.
Wrapping Up
The bottom line is, I think the Honeycomb Aeronautical Bravo Throttle Quadrant has the potential to be the perfect blend of cost and quality. Whilst there are compromises to keep the product sub-$250, the versatility of the unit and the sheer number of control options enhance the simulation experience unlike other products in the market. For me, the trim wheel alone makes the experience totally worthwhile, but the added functionality of the gear lever and autopilot controls really help.
The question is: will it stand the test of time, and will the upcoming drivers and updates ensure that the product works as described? We’re going to give it some more time before we can definitively say. That being said, if you have managed to pre-order one, and you love your Alpha Flight Controls, you will absolutely love this.
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Our full Honeycomb Aeronautical Bravo Throttle Quadrant review will come in the near future. Honeycomb Aeronautical provided us with this press unit. Some features or functionality may still be work-in-progress before the final units arrive to customers.
