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Hori HOTAS flight control system: one-minute review
If you want to take your flight sim experience to the next level, a HOTAS – hands-on throttle and stick – setup will make aviation a hundred times easier and more immersive than using a controller or mouse and keyboard.
Developed in partnership with War Thunder developers Gaijin, Hori’s HOTAS flight control system endeavors to provide exactly that solution. It’s marketed for combat flight sim pilots, but also just as useful for virtual commercial aviators who log their flight time in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and the like.
There’s a vast array of switches, buttons, hat switches, paddles, and dials here to play with and map to your preferred commands, so no one’s going to feel short-changed in functionality terms here. The included desk mounts for the throttle and flight stick are also very welcome additions, well-constructed and satisfyingly weighty, allowing a nice ergonomic angle once you’ve mounted the peripherals to the left and right of your seating position.
But there’s a really uneven feel to the actuation of all those inputs. Some feel great, others don’t come anywhere close to the $499 / £449 pricing. When there are such legendarily good alternatives out there for similar pricing like Thrustmaster’s Warthog HOTAS, that’s a real problem.
Ultimately the sensation of the flimsy plastics used at the contact points where your hands interact with them and the wobbliness of some inputs makes this Hori offering difficult to rationalize next to the Warthog HOTAS, or even Logitech G’s cheaper, more limited, but sturdier X56.
Hori HOTAS flight control system: Price and availability
- $499 / £449
- Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS now sells for less
- Much more expensive than the Logitech G X56
The price is the Hori HOTAS’s major problem. It compares very unfavorably to Thrustmaster’s best-in-class Warthog HOTAS, nor does it blow cheaper models like Logitech G’s X56 out of the water. In all fairness, there are mounting brackets included in this model that aren’t in the others, and a huge number of inputs, but that doesn’t completely compensate for the flimsy construction feel.
For a more budget-friendly option, consider Turtle Beach’s $120 / £120 VelocityOne flight stick, which features two throttle inputson either side of the joystick itself.
Hori HOTAS flight control system: specs
Price | $499 / £449 |
Weight | 20.7lbs / 9.4kg |
Inputs | 61 button functions, 5 axes |
Features | Mounting brackets supplied, twin throttle, Hall effect sensors |
Connection type | USB-A |
Compatibility | PC |
Software | Hori Device Manager |
Hori HOTAS flight control system: design and features
- Looks convincingly pro at a glance
- Sensible ergonomic layout
- Let down by cheap materials
So, what does the virtual aviator want from their HOTAS? Two things. Firstly you’re looking for a control layout that makes flying a plane easier than it would be when using a pad or mouse and keyboard. That’s fundamental.
Flight sims are among the most mapping-heavy pieces of software in existence, and it’s always been a challenge to even memorize the inputs required to get a plane off the ground, talk to ATC, engage autopilot and navigation systems, and control your view, let alone map them to a comfortable and intuitive layout.
Sim racers have racing wheels that offer just about a 1:1 recreation of the inputs and displays they’d have on a real racing car, but for pilots that’s not feasible unless you drop many thousands on a room-sized rig.
Secondly, you want to feel immersed in the experience. You can control a plane’s throttle input using an analog stick on your Xbox controller, just like Flight Sim 2024 expects you to by default, and in truth, the difference in precision that this Hori’s twin throttle allows is unlikely to ever be the difference between crashing or staying aloft.
Instead, it’s about creating a sensory environment that feels like flying a plane. A matter of passion for the enthusiasts, and a crucial point for aspiring pilots supplementing their real air time with a flight sim.
It’s important to lay these two objectives out because Hori’s HOTAS is perfectly good at the first – making planes easier to fly by offering a sensible and numerous layout of inputs – but just can’t deliver what you’d expect for the price when it comes to immersion.
Let’s delve into those statements. You’ve got three modes on each peripheral, and a total of 61 different button functions. That’s… probably enough. In both War Thunder and Flight Sim 2024, I found I was able to map every input I’d conceivably need and have it within close reach.
In fact, the reality was that I’d mapped a bunch of inputs that I didn’t end up touching. There’s a surplus of functionality here, and it does indeed make flying planes much easier, in both a combat and commercial environment. We can put a giant tick in that box.
Immersion, though, is elusive when piloting with the Hori HOTAS. That’s because despite it looking the part from a distance, when you’re up close and interacting with the throttle and flight stick, it simply looks and feels closer to a toy than part of an aircraft. Certain inputs hold up their end of the bargain, specifically the metal toggle switches on the throttle’s base, the rudder paddles on the throttle and the one on the flight stick.
The two-stage trigger has a nice mechanical-feeling actuation to it too, which makes firing weapons very satisfying. Elsewhere though, the surfaces feel too light and flimsy to be believable and the buttons and hat switches have too much play to them. For over $400 / £400, it’s surprising and disappointing.
The throttle actuation also leaves a lot to be desired. I found that mine was prone to sticking at the 100% point, and along the plasticky track of its axis, there’s a juddering, notched feeling. It’s almost as though there’s a deliberate notch to help you find 50%, except there are two or three of these sticking points on my unit… and none of them are at 50%.
There’s a saving grace, though. The mounting brackets supplied with this HOTAS are top-notch and added a lot to the overall experience once I mounted the throttle and flightstick to them on my left and right. The clamps are adjustable, with four different heights on offer, and I must say once they were fitted to my ideal position and the green backlights of the inputs were gently glowing in my cockpit, the pricing started to make sense for a brief moment.
Then I put my hands on it and the moment went.
Hori HOTAS flight control system: performance
- Hall effect sensors for precise joystick input
- Useful backlit input controls
- Useable default schemes in most sims
I enjoy the precise feeling of this Hori flight stick. There’s just enough resistance and centering spring strength for my tastes, particularly in War Thunder where inputs tend to be of a more severe nature since you don’t have passengers and the contents of their stomach to consider.
It’s a little trickier to achieve those tiny, delicate bank angles in a commercial flight setting due to the strength of that spring, but after a couple of hours of acclimation, I found myself flying a bit more smoothly. There are Hall effect sensors to keep track of exactly where the flight stick is on its axis, theoretically making for more precise input recognition. I’ll level with you – I haven’t busted into the game code to verify exactly what’s happening there or how, but I will say that the sensation feels immediate and smooth to track.
Fortunately, in a performance setting, the issues I have with the grainy throttle don’t translate to in-game problems with thruster operation, and the previously mentioned loose feeling on some buttons doesn’t actually affect them being registered as inputs when you press them. So when you’re up in the air, the underwhelming build quality isn’t a de facto disadvantage. Just a shame.
I’ve sung the praises of those mounting brackets previously in this review, but they really do hold each peripheral firmly in place and in an ergonomic position when you’re sitting in your cockpit. Anyone who’s used a HOTAS or joystick whose base is too light knows how irritating it can be for your inputs to translate as peripheral wobble instead of flight control, and happily, that just doesn’t happen here.
It’s a strong performer then, but that doesn’t go all the way towards negating the problems this HOTAS has competing against similarly priced but better-constructed rivals like the Thrustmaster Warthog.
Should I buy the Hori HOTAS flight control system?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Hori HOTAS flight control system: Also consider
If the Hori HOTAS doesn’t make your heart soar, keep these cheaper alternatives on your radar.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Hori HOTAS Flight Control System | Thrustmaster T.Flight HOTAS One | Turtle Beach VelocityOne |
Price | $499.99 / £449.99 | $99.99 / £89.99 | $122.99 / £119.99 |
Dimensions | 14.7 x 12.6 x 14.9in / 375 x 320 x 380mm | 10.43 x 10.39 x 9.53in / 265 x 264 x 242mm | 6.46 x 8.54 x 9.07in / 164 x 217 x 230mm |
Weight | 20.7lbs / 9.4kg | 5.73lbs / 2kg | 1.81lbs / 821g |
Buttons | 20 | 14 | 27 |
Axes | 5 | 5 | 8 |
Compatibility | PC | Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC | Xbox Series X|S, PC |
How I tested the Hori HOTAS flight control system
- Several weeks of regular use during testing
- Used on PC with and without mounts
- War Thunder, Flight Simulator 2024, and Elite Dangerous all tested
Since War Thunder’s all over the box due to that Gaijin partnership, this dogfighting sim felt like a sensible place to start.
I also logged plenty of flight time in commercial jets and prop planes in Flight Sim 2024, and sauntered around the Milky Way in Frontier’s infinitely impressive Elite: Dangerous. Functionality was great out of the box in all three titles and required just a few re-binds in the latter two.
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