Advanced Versatile Aviation System
A recent update to an icon
When Thrustmaster replaced their HOTAS Cougar with the Warthog HOTAS System in 2010, it set a new standard in quality and design for PC Flight Sticks. Yet, it has taken 14 years for them to improve on the Warthog, with this latest base component that is built on a totally new yet more compact design.
Announced as the Thrustmaster A.V.A. (Advanced Versatile Aviation) it’s said to overcome some of the shortfalls of the Warthog, with much more customisation and configurations for all types of aviation. The idea (I’m guessing) is to provide a product that will appeal to a wider range of pilots.
Out of the Box
Similarly to the last Thrustmaster peripheral I reviewed, the AVA comes extremely well packed in a photographically descriptive outer box. This contains the familiar preformed cardboard liner that protects the product from any mishandling by the various delivery services. Inside this is the AVA base unit itself, a 1.8 Metre plastic USB A to USB C cable, (I prefer the braided type myself and they only cost a few pennies more), you also get 2 x Allen Keys, 2 Adapter rings and 2 sets of tension springs with their associated CAM plates... (More on these later).
