Thrustmaster TCA Captain Pack X Airbus Edition - High-Precision Flight Stick and Throttle Quadrant for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC

Mapping the buttons is a real pain due to the manufacturer not listing their names in the same convention as xbox but i would still buy this again. Works really well. Robust and smooth. Really makes the game special and means Ive never got bored with it

I bought the pack with everything included, so received a Joystick, the throttle quadrant and both side-additions for the quadrant: the spoilers, flaps and everything else.(Disclaimer: I am not a qualified pilot and I am a newbie at flight sims - this was my entry-level purchase. I have just hit 100 hours in flight sim 2020.)First of all I love the appearance of this. It's very close to what the Airbus controls look like in pictures of the real ones and I'm aware that some real Airbus pilots have praised it for the same reason. The quadrant is primarily made of plastic, but the plastic feels high quality and sturdy given the price. It doesn't look like cheap plastic either, the paint is nicely applied and gives it a near-metallic look. The joystick is also plastic, but feels good in my hand and doesn't feel cheap; the movement is smooth and responsive, resets perfectly to centre every time and I've used it pretty heavily since I got it.I now want to talk a bit about the customisability of this product, primarily the quadrant side. Firstly, every lever on here (both throttles, the flaps and the spoilers) can be customised. You can tweak the resistance to make it harder / easier to move and you can also change whether each lever clunks into the "indents" marked on the side or whether they just move smoothly from top to bottom. The throttle levers can either stop at, and require the flaps to be lifted in order to continue past, the "IDLE" position into reverse OR move smoothly from 100% to -25%. You also get a small screwdriver which can be used to tweak all of these things and best of all, this can be used to stick both throttle levers together if you don't want to move them independently. This means you can even remap them to different axes and use them separately on one aircraft and then quickly transition back to a regular airbus setup by sliding the little stick into its hole - job done!The joystick has a left/right twist which can be used in place of rudder pedals. This axis can also be locked with the press of a button on the joystick, to completely prevent any twisting from happening. It's like a physical nose wheel lock! In addition you can remove both of the buttons from the top of the joystick (the red and black one opposite one another) and the joystick comes with spares, mirrored, which allow you to swap the sides and retain the same ergonomic feel of the buttons.Next, the amount of buttons! There are so many mappable buttons which was my primary deciding factor when looking for one of these. I'm happy to confirm that you can do just about everything you'd need on most small aircraft (which can be mapped correctly, some mods need tweaking or 3rd party apps to assist with this) but don't expect to be able to map all 575 (or so) A320 buttons & knobs to it! I'd hope that goes without saying. :)The quadrant and Joystick both connect via separate USB connections. The quadrant can be detached at the quadrant end, so you can leave the cable in and move the quadrant to / forth your desk if you wish. The joystick unfortunately does not come with this luxury so requires you to move it and its entire cable to / from its "home". It's not a huge problem for me, but if you want modular cables for some reason (i.e. if you have a custom setup and need the cables to be properly tidied away but also want to remove / replace the joystick) this doesn't have that option on the joystick, only the quadrant.Considering the price this was a lot better than I expected it to be, particularly in terms of build quality and customisability. I use this pretty heavily and so far it's not been disappointing in the slightest!My experience with Thrustmaster over the years has been relatively hit and miss, but this one is definitely a hit.5 / 5 as none of my "negatives" are worthy of reducing a star or really even complaining; I am merely pointing them out as part of my review.

It is actually hard to write an honest review about a product from Thrustmaster. It really is. I have been buying their products for decades, and barring some early hiccups eons ago their quality is usually well above their pricing. Thus, I have more often than not found myself reviewing their products when there is something that rubs me the wrong way, and that's not entirely fair. Back to the kit at hand; This kit is amazing. Absolutely amazing. Even the packaging had me shave 30 years off of my age and had me giggling in sheer glee. The quality is where I would expect from Thrustmaster at this price point, which is to say that sure, some parts are more "plasticy" than others, but for one we are not parting with Bentley money here - and for another, with proper care I fully expect to have years of enjoyment with the kit. And let me tell you - it is easy to forget that I don't have a pilots license as I taxi down the runway in a flashy Airbus 320 Neo readying myself for a pleasant afternoon flight. Considering you're reading this review I gather that the product tickles your fancy - tickle back and get it. You will not regret it.

I will try and keep this short. I would consider myself a flight sim veteran, having flown virtually for over two decades. I have used more sticks and yokes than I care to remember and spent an obscene amount of money on them in the process. Some have been good, some have been very good and there are those that have been a down right waste of my hard earned cash. However, I can safely say that this side stick and throttle combo have completely blown me away.I fly the Fenix A32O family and the PMDG 737-800 exclusively most days of my life and, whilst I was pretty proficient with the Boeing, I was struggling to nail a consistency of good landings with the Airbus. This has all changed. I have only had the stick and throttle a few days and have already flown a good 10 or so flights and am hitting that sweet spot of landing rate and runway position like never before. Not only that, but I am also using it with the 737 and it has made each and every flight an absolute joy now. There are great videos out there on how to set up the throttles properly with both the Airbus and the Boeing - and if you take the time to do so you will be rewarded. I swear, this has completely transformed my flying and given flight sim a new lease of life for me.The units themselves are extremely well made and the stick has a great amount of resistance making it feel “heavy”, but not too much - just enough to avoid it feeling like a cheap toy and more like an actual simulated piece of the real aircraft.The throttles have a nice resistance to them so you really feel like you are spooling up 2 honking great engines, and the reverse thrust gates and leavers just feel sublime to use on landing. Having proper throttles set up with reverse thrust on the Boeing is just an added bonus. Like I say there are videos on showing how to do this and it takes minutes to do.Having physical flaps (for the Airbus) and spoilers leavers is just game changing. The ignition, start switches, gear leaver and auto brakes buttons and switches are a great touch too and give a new level of satisfaction that clicking on a button on screen or hitting a keyboard short cut simply cannot do.All in all I am so happy with this purchase. Yes, it was expensive (even in the sale), but this is quality kit, make no mistake, and you are paying for a transformative experience like no other when it comes to flying these two virtual aircraft. Buy out, you will not be disappointed.