You can’t have idle hands if you keep them on your throttle and stick, and Thrustmaster wants to keep the devil away from your mitts if you play games on PC or Xbox One. The peripheral maker is launching the T.Flight Hotas One on October 7 for $80, and it is the first HOTAS (hands on throttle and stick) controller that works with Microsoft’s home console. You can of course also use it with Windows 7, 8, or 10. That’s right, Vista — get the hell outta here!
Not a ton of Xbox One games are compatible with the T.Flight, but Thrustmaster is promising full compatibility out of the box with the space sim Elite Dangerous. Developer Frontier worked with Thurstmaster to ensure the joystick will immediately function with Elite Dangerous as part of a patch that rolled out on Xbox One today. Thrustmaster also partnered with Microsoft to design the T.Flight HOTAS One specifically for use with the console.
While the T.Flight is launching with Elite Dangerous in mind, it should work fine with any game that you want to try — especially since Xbox One has system-level button mapping. And since it is also compatible with PC, you can plug it into your Windows machine for even more HOTAS experiences.
Thrustmaster also claims that the T.Flight provides both realism and ergonomic play. It has wide hand rests so that you don’t feel like you’re gripping a toy and the plastic doesn’t dig into your palms. The joystick should always feel like the real thing, and it can also hold up to long play sessions out in the depths of space in terms of comfort. You can also detach the throttle, which is a signature feature of Thurstmaster’s HOTAS devices. This enables you to position each of the pieces of the T.Flight where they would go inside the cockpit you are trying to simulate.
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Finally, the T.Flight HOTAS One is modular. You can pair it with other devices in Thrustmaster’s lineup, like the T.Flight Rudder Pedals.
I’m planning to try this stick out myself, and I’ll report back on whether or not it delivers the performance that both PC and Xbox One players are looking for.
