mutley 4,487 Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 Just published is Brian Cowell's review of FlightSimPM-UK's 747 Lever kit. This kit turns your standard pair of Saitek throttle quadrants into a 747 quadrant lookalike. How easy is the conversion? Well, read Brian's report here... Link to post Share on other sites
hifly 925 Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 Thanks Brian for what is always a Damn Good Read. I could really sense your frustration in assembling this product, (think Ikea), and disappointment with the end result. Perhaps your review might make FlightSimPM-UK consider making some amendments. At over £100 this is certainly not on my wish list. Link to post Share on other sites
SEATAC 400 Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 Great job on the review. Thanks. Not on my wish list either. For that kind of money I would expect a better thought out product and better quality. I realize it is kit, but you should not have to do what you did to get it correctly assembled and it seems you can never revert the Saitek throttles to their original condition. Would have been nice if they could have thought of a way to make the reverser functional. Now I see why places like Throttletek charge so much money, although their products are outside my budget too. Link to post Share on other sites
Bruce (a.k.a. brian747) 142 Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 Many thanks, guys — I guess I had indeed been hoping for more for the price. Caveat emptor, and all that jazz. > "Would have been nice if they could have thought of a way to make the reverser functional." I had originally wondered whether the intention of having them movable was that pulling the reversers upwards would then force the levers down beyond the detent into the reverse position — but in practice unless the box is somehow fixed to the desk the box tips forward, instead. Maybe my detents have an unusually strong spring, or something.... However, you may be interested to know that their parent company in Italy does make a nice-looking (although not motorised) 737 TQ that does have all the bells and whistles, and at €610 / £437 / $656 (US) it seems like a relatively good price, too, compared to others. (If you want backlighting installed, it's an extra €40). The only slight snag is that there's a three-month lead time.... See http://www.flightsimpm.com/products#!/737-Throttle-Quadrant-PRO-v2-1/p/33600129/category=11158156 where there's also a video of it being demonstrated (scroll down to the bottom of the page to find it). When I visit that web page there's a line that says "We recommend that you visit our UK store also for this item", but when I clicked on that link it didn't take me to the UK store. So I went to the UK store via another route — but all I could find there about their Italian parent company's "big" TQ was a link to the video and a comment that "These can be purchased on flightsimpm.com store." Round and round we go.... <sigh> Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747 Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,283 Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 Well covered Brian, I have to wonder how many were returned to the company. Link to post Share on other sites
Bruce (a.k.a. brian747) 142 Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 Hi, Brett! The only problem with that scenario is that once you've "modified" your Saitek TQs there's no way back, really (short of actually glueing the Saitek knobs back on, I suppose). I seriously wanted to like the product, but having to rebuild it didn't give me the best "feel good" factor, quite honestly. Hopefully, though, that's unusual, so that most purchasers will feel more positive than I was able to do. But in a review I have to honestly report how It went for me, and I'm afraid that was it. I did tell the guy on the stall at Cosford that I was going to review it, and he was cool with that. But at roughly a quarter of the price of the Real Deal TQ (see my previous post in this thread), in addition to which you then have to add two Saitek TQs (thus bringing the price up to approximately half), I also have an uneasy feeling about the the cost, which seems.... I don't know, disproportionate? Hey ho, it's just my opinion, so others are most welcome to differ. Cheers, B. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
hifly 925 Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 Surprised the reversers don't work. I won't mention the old joke about Italian tanks having one forward and five reverse gears. Link to post Share on other sites
SEATAC 400 Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 Surprised the reversers don't work. I won't mention the old joke about Italian tanks having one forward and five reverse gears. ROTFL, that's a new one to me! Link to post Share on other sites
hlminx 301 Posted November 9, 2015 Report Share Posted November 9, 2015 When I visit that web page there's a line that says "We recommend that you visit our UK store also for this item", but when I clicked on that link it didn't take me to the UK store. Hummm... that UK link took me to VistaPrint ! Okay....not exactly brimming over with confidence here. On the positive side, the idea of having interchangeable covers for the TQs is a cool idea as you could change out the plates depending on which AC you want to fly, but definitely not at the expense of your existing hardware. I also liked the idea of the spring and the notches for the flaps, but it does look like some further development is indicated. The 'non-reversing' reversers is, regrettably, something that will put most people off ... If they don't work, then they're about as much use as handlebars on a skateboard. I also think the fact that you had to irreparably 'modify' two TQ's isn't the greatest endorsement. Very interesting review though.. I'm sorry that you had to cannibalise your TQs in the process. Can I suggest some Araldite ? Link to post Share on other sites
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