ThrustMaster HOTAS Cougar Computer Joystick

This post is a review on the ThrustMaster HOTAS Cougar Flight Stick.

The ThrustMaster Cougar is widely praised as being the most realistic computer joystick and throttle available (It's actually modeled after the real F-16 joysticks). Its design does not outshine its performance though. This thing looks and feels like the real thing and if your looking for high quality joystick, look no further. BTW, if your wondering what the "HOTAS" in the joystick's name stands for, its "Hands On Throttle And Stick."

The computer joystick software that is included with the Cougar makes it possible to use it for almost any application, even though its obvious main purpose is for flight simulator type games. The Cougar uses a simple connection that uses full speed USB
response time that is 8x faster than traditional USB ports and is compatible with all flavors of Windows but not Mac. It has 28 buttons in total and multiple hat switches which make customization easy (especially with the included easy to use computer joystick software).

This flight joystick features a full metal controller that collaborated upon with US Air Force. The Air Force uses this joystick for simulated pilot training and has many endorsements by flight simulation enthusiast groups. Some of these include:

-Endorsed by the Virtual Thunderbirds in the U.S.
-Endorsed by the Russian Knights in Russia
-Already large community of flight simulation fans (awarded worldwide)

Overall this is a great joystick for those who are really (and I mean really, because this puppy ain't cheap) into flight simulators and games that incorporate them. Though, if you do have the cash to buy one of these you will not be displeased. This is an excellent computer joystick and will serve you well.