Unboxed – Thrustmaster T.Flight HOTAS One

Back in 2017 we took a little time to get hands on with the (at the time) only hands on throttle and stick for Xbox, the T.flight HOTAS One. Since then, the stick has taken an absolute battering with hundreds and possibly over a thousand hours of flight time logged. As well as running through the usual unboxing review, we’ve got a full write up for you here, with a retrospective 2 years on from our initial review

As you may be aware, the Pixel Bandits’ “PBSF Clan and Community” is almost hazardously addicted to Frontier Developments’ high-definition reimagining Elite Dangerous. For those who still haven’t caught up to 2014, This is a new title in the Elite franchise which has been running a little over 30 years since the time of the BBC Micro.

The latest iteration is available in glorious HD on PC, Xbox and PlayStation. While PC and PlayStation were previously covered with a T.Flight Option, it took until 2017 for the Xbox to get a look in. While there has been another HOTAS released since then (the HORI model HOTAS) the T.Flight is still the only one which is really compatible with Elite, and it’s our HOTAS of choice still today.

The Basics

The T.Flight HOTAS One is modelled, as we expected, on the T.Flight 4 / T.Flight X models previously available for PS4, PS3 and PC. The build quality for our HOTAS here has been solid, and while we had some initial concerns regarding the paddles on the rear of the throttle, it’s all held up rather well. With well over two years’ worth of play time, and a good few hundred hours in game, we’ve experienced minimal drift which is easily combated with deadzone settings in most titles.

In terms of ergonomics, the T.Flight HOTAS One looks and feels great for right handers. Sadly there isn’t a left-handed option currently which can make things very awkward for the 10% of folks out there (studies suggest) with a dominant left hand. This isn’t an insignificant portion of players so it is worth mentioning, and it’s definitely worth making voices heard to ensure that in future HOTAS options are available for everybody.

Overall it’s clear that while this was the first HOTAS available for Microsoft’s later-generation Xbox consoles, it’s certainly not the first crack of the whip for Thrustmaster. Themselves in business for over 30 years, Thrustmaster have a number of flight sticks, steering wheels and more under their belts, with official licences from a number of high-profile brands.

The Frontier team did a great job of creating the Elite Dangerous context menus which helped console pilots to fit all the functions they need (or most of them at least) on one control pad. It may seem at first that there are many more options on the throttle and stick here, but in reality the number isn’t drastically different.

While we have the seeming addition of the real paddles, B1-5 and previous and next buttons, bear in mind that we are missing what would be the shoulder buttons, as well as left and right analogue click. As you can see in the picture just below, we’ve got our first draft of our new control scheme up and running and while the improvement is not as huge as it may first seem, we definitely have enough room (and then some) to get in all the functions we need.

The stick itself has a good range of motion, and is potentially the biggest draw for pilots who’ve only played with a controller. The ability to have all ship controls at your fingertips without having to switch between standard and alternate controls is a huge pull here, and it’s one of the reasons why we can’t really see ourselves going back to using just a pad in the near future.

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The Run Down

Build Quality: 9/10: We’re very happy with the controller quality itself, and with a well crafted and ergonomic design this solid piece of kit feels like it will last us well enough down the line. We’d very much have liked to see a heavier material used on the Throttle’s rear paddles, but overall we’d say it is a well made piece of kit

Price: 7/10: The seventy pound price tag is a little high when compared to the Playstation and PC variants of what is essentially the same controller. we’re hoping that as time moves on away from launch, the T.Flight HOTAS One will fall down a little but on that one only time will tell. As it’s still the only HOTAS available for Xbox, it certainly has exclusivity, and it would be interesting to see what happened to the price not only after release, but if a competitor hit the market as well.

Satisfaction: 9/10: We’re very happy with the HOTAS One, and not just because it’s our only option. With the extra controls given, the great in game compatibility with Elite Dangerous (you may have heard us mention it) and a lovely quality in construction, we’re very happy with the controller overall. There aren’t many games compatible with it currently (in fact, the Thrustmaster website lists only Elite) but we’re hoping that changes soon. If not, it seems Thrustmaster will have their hands full already in keeping up with demand from the Xbox Elite crowd