The CH Throttle Quadrant
By Kevin Glover
Think, for a moment, of the last hackneyed Hollywood film that you’ve seen with an airplane in it. I am willing to bet that film had a shot of the pilot grabbing the throttle levers and ramming them to the stop - and then, of course, the wing catches on fire. Well, you can recreate this scenario (minus the wing part) and much more with a throttle quadrant like that offered by CH.
First Impressions-
As usual, the CH Throttle Quadrant arrived attractively and securely packaged in a cardboard frame along with clamps, a CD, two red, two blue, and four black handles, and lastly a quick-start guide. This CD has an outdated version of the CH Control Manager, so you’ll need to get the latest version (4.51) from the CH website. The quick-start guide shows just the basic setup information and you can plug the quad in straight away, then install the Control Manager.
The product comes with two sturdy metal clamps which screw into the base and can be tightened to taste. These are a bit shorter than those of the CH Eclipse, but still work fine. I have a very inadequate desktop for this purpose - it has a bulge on the top at the edge and a narrow lip on the bottom. The quad won’t secure properly, so I just attach it to a TV tray and tuck it away under the counter. Keep in mind that clamp extenders that slide right onto the clamps are available from the CH Products online store for $5.00.
After everything’s set up, it’s time to venture into the wide world of the CH Control Manager. This is, in concept, a very simple program. In essence, you just assign a button or an axis to a key command that corresponds to a control that FSX recognizes. For instance, you can assign any of this product’s six two-position toggles to ‘G’, to lower and raise the gear, or you can set one of the axes to the key command to ‘increase prop RPM’ when you move the lever up and ‘decrease prop RPM’ when you lower it. However, there is a fairly steep learning curve involved in doing this, mostly from the monstrous manual. I daresay that a big portion of the CM’s download size comes from this document, which can be accessed by the button on the top right of the program window. This details all of the possible things you can do with this software, but it’s very difficult to absorb. I recommend breezing through it, then trying to program something to get familiar with the layout of the program, and then reading it all the way through. There is also a very good tutorial at the CH-Hangar which I highly recommend as additional reading.
I will not try to tell you how to use the Control Manager simply because there is so much to tell. It’s frustrating having to configure your devices before you can really fly them, but, once you understand it, the benefits are immense. the Control Manager is programming software, not device drivers, and is not necessary to operate the controllers. However, to get the most functionality out of your CH controllers, it is highly recommended that you spend a little time getting to know the software. For instance, when using the Control Manager, you can have up to three profiles set up if you're using an Eclipse yoke, allowing you to have three times the number of controls programmed.
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I will provide a fairly brief guide to using multiple CH devices with FSX, and programming them via the FSX menu rather than the Control Manager; first of all, go to the map wizard and select the devices that you’re using. This will create a custom map which makes it so that FSX recognizes all of your products instead of just one. However, keep in mind there is only a certain amount of buttons and axes each device can have. So, you need to change the separate devices to different CM devices. This done, you just select which CM device to program in the FSX menu, select a command and move the lever or push the button you want, and you’re more or less set. This is just a rough guide, so the manual is not just recommended reading, but essential knowledge which you need to have. Mind you, CH has some of the best tech support I’ve encountered, and I have no doubt that the inquisitive pilot will find an abundance of help at the CH-Hangar.
The Look-
As with all CH products, the Throttle Quadrant maintains a professional and modest appearance. It is a black prism with a green CH logo at the rear with the six levers protruding from the top, surmounting the six two-position toggles on the side of the base. The levers come with an assortment of handles as described above, and all of these have different textures: smooth and round black handles, wavy blue handles, and ridged red ones. This doesn’t necessarily matter, of course, but I suppose it’s that attention to detail for CH to mold the handles differently which makes the company stand out from its competitors.
The Feel-
Firstly, you must remember that the throttle levers on any aircraft will feel differently as far as texture and resistance from another. Realistically, this will even change over time as parts and lubrication conditions change. Therefore, it is illogical to try to expect this product to feel like the throttles on anything from a 747 to a Twotter, and the vast population of simmers (myself included) wouldn’t know the difference. For that matter, I don’t even know why I include this section. I could sum it up in a few words, but I always draw it out, albeit unintentionally. Anyway, let’s be short and sweet - they move smoothly with fairly little resistance and seem to be on springs rather than hydraulics. I have fairly large hands and I didn’t have any problems with bumping levers other than the one I wanted. The first detent is very stiff, but this helps if you have them calibrated so that the range beneath this activates the reversers.
Flying with the Quad-
Some people might think that this Quad isn’t for them simply because they don’t fly airliners requiring several throttle levers. However, the lovely thing is that you can assign this to any control axis that you’d like in the FSX menu. So, you can have one lever on flaps, one on spoilers, mixture, and then throttles. There’s an infinite number of combinations, and I’ve even known one guy who used them to move his view around. I fly a wide assortment of somewhat aging aircraft, and I can attest to the versatility of this unit.
CH VS. Saitek
Once again, CH and Saitek are in direct competition with each other. From a price standpoint, each Saitek unit costs $59.95US, so the total cost to equal the CH Quad is $120. However, the CH runs for about $125 and is one whole unit. Keep in mind that you can probably find better prices on both units with a bit of digging. Each unit is just about equivalent to the other- six levers and six two-position buttons. Both products also have interchangeable heads. The only remaining comparisons I can make are just speculation - the airline pilot might like the CH model since the range of travel and layout is closer to a modern jet, but the Saitek does have a longer range of travel as best as I can tell.
Conclusion-
After a yoke, many might view this as a luxury, and it is indeed a very luxurious feeling to be able to use differential thrust rather than the ridiculous ‘mousing’ of throttle levers. The interchangeable heads are a nice touch, as are the toggle switches which aren’t necessary, but still nice to have. Sooner or later I’ll have too many buttons and will do myself an injury trying to remember what everything does. As always, CH’s quality is very apparent and I won’t be needing a replacement for many years. I’m satisfied, and I daresay any person who’s building a cockpit down in their basement, or perhaps just looking to add that extra dimension of realism, will be too.
