Page 4 - Conclusion
If you play Microsoft Flight Simulator using the Turtle Beach VelocityOne Flightdeck enough, will this HOTAS system give you real pilot skills? To be honest, I have never flown a plane in real life, so I cannot tell you how it compares against the actual thing. But what I can say is the VelocityOne Flightdeck will provide a much better experience than playing with a keyboard and mouse or gamepad. The stick is well-sized, grips naturally and comfortably, and functions well. The throttle lever is nicely weighted, has position-based haptic response, and has the ability to have the left and right unlocked or locked together. Both the HUD on the stick module and Flight Touch Display on the throttle module are quality screens, where the latter can add functional touch controls, too. Both modules have lots of buttons that are logically laid out and easily accessible, and the customizable RGB LED lighting zones further enhance the usage experience. I am also happy to say at the time of this review, button mappings are loaded out of the box with Release 15 of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. In terms of areas of improvement, all auxiliary buttons, knobs, and levers, while acceptable in feel, are only of average quality in my opinion. Improving the switches and changing the knobs to metal will make it better in this area. The HUD on the stick is mainly a settings menu, so it is not very useful. The HUD is also not very intuitive to use, since you have to navigate through different screens to get the Chrono timing to work. Lastly, the firmware update process was a frustrating experience. For about $400 at press time, the Turtle Beach VelocityOne Flightdeck costs a pretty penny. It is a good entry-level HOTAS system for the casual flying enthusiast, but I feel like at this price point, there can be a budget to refine the feel and quality of the hardware.
Turtle Beach provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH:Renewal Award | APH Networks Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks, but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Networks Numeric Rating is 7.3/10
Please note that the APH Networks Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other publications.
The Turtle Beach VelocityOne Flightdeck is a good entry-level HOTAS system for the casual flying enthusiast.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Software and Usage Experience
4. Conclusion
