Paccus HAWK-First joystick with hydraulic feedback

[engadin]

Originally Posted by proton45

P.S. Oh, and $600(?), I dont think I could spend "that" kind of cash....any day.

$600? Mate, look better, that's what you save, my friend, while the actual price is 1.872,86$ for the FFB Hawk and 1.570,86$ for the FFB less Falcon.

And given those prices, no, this product is a thousand miles away from being vaporware. Not at all. This people at Paccus are currently focused on industrial and surgical 'relatives' of the above mentioned.

Engadin.

[Forged]

Originally Posted by engadin

$600? Mate, look better, that's what you save, my friend, while the actual price is 1.872,86$ for the FFB Hawk and 1.570,86$ for the FFB less Falcon.

And given those prices, no, this product is a thousand miles away from being vaporware. Not at all. This people at Paccus are currently focused on industrial and surgical 'relatives' of the above mentioned.

Engadin.

No kidding! The price is pretty unrealistic, though people do sell and buy similarly expensive items, like helicopter collectives/cyclics.

But I can't help being curious how it feels compared to the current "top dog" in FFB - the MSFFB2 .

[Forged]

Curiosity got the better of me, and I emailed them a couple times with questions. I also posted this over at simhq, but I thought I'd post it here too since there was a thread discussing the paccus hawk.

SO... they've shown extremely good communication, taking my questions seriously and giving full answers to them.

I spoke with Bart Sikkens via email.

(note - I'm not in any way affiliated with them, I just wanted some info, and thought I'd share it with you guys!)
Some of what they said (paraphrased by me):

They are currently creating their first batch of joysticks (paccus hawk), which is aimed at universities and institutes. They will have this batch done by the end of the year, after which they will work on updating the website. They plan on sending a few sticks out to get reviews (to universities and magazines). The target market for the hawk is not the simulation crowd - which explains its cost. It's mainly targeted for industrial use (though it could be used for flight simulation). There is no dead band or play in the motion of the stick and the movement is almost without friction. It does not have the "ratcheting" feel of the g940. It also has no center notch, though a "spring" function can be created using the force feedback. Helicopter pilots said it really felt like the real thing. The grip communicates with the base using a microprocessor, so it would be easy to add new functions/buttons to the grip, or switch out the grip altogether. They have the hawk, which is meant for desk mounted applications, but will also have a floor mounted option.

Some of their long term goals are to create high end quality sticks for simulation consumer products. These would not be priced like the g940, they would not be competing with that market - theirs would be much higher quality, and higher priced - but MUCH more reasonably priced then the paccus hawk. They would allow users to create custom grips with an easy way to interface it to the base (such as USB). They would possibly make their own grips (they've already experimented with an F16 replica) and eventually throttles/etc. These are long term goals, and it's really too early to give price estimates or time estimates.

If anyone wants I suppose I could post the actual email response - but this gets to the heart of the matter much faster .

-Forged

[VO101_MMaister]

Well, 1800USD is a lot. But if you take a look at the technology they put into this system, it is reasonable (not affordable). Precision, high pressure hydroulics with tiny motors, pumps, valves, cylinders, hoses, sealings and special electronics. Not cheap stuff I can tell you, especially when we are talking about development, prototyping and low production numbers, all made in the Netherland.

It is a very innovative FFb system, and I wish the best for Paccus, to reach their goals! If they really come up with a floor mounted version at a below 1000USD pricetag, then I willl sign up and risk that my wife will kill me!

[5./JG27.Farber]

Originally Posted by VO101_MMaister

If they really come up with a floor mounted version at a below 1000USD pricetag, then I willl sign up and risk that my wife will kill me!

5./JG27 will send a Wreath........

[VO101_MMaister]

Originally Posted by 5./JG27.Farber

5./JG27 will send a Wreath........

sounds good to me

[engadin]

Hi,

I have been following the Paccus FFB joystick story from the very beginning [http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthr...ghlight=paccus & http://forums.ubi.com/showthread.php...FFB-joystick?] and, IMHO, I am afraid their 'long term' project means what it really looks like: a very looooong one. They have once faced the usually high wordwide patent and initial development costs and it looks it all has force them to totally decelerate the Hawk and Falcon promotional process in the web. Almost no items have been handed over to PC simulation mags for testing or the expected ads on these have shown up. Therefore, apart from their blog and the participation in some hardgamers fairs, only our comments in this and other forums is all you can find in the web or the real world.

Price is high, yes, quite high, [a high quality car is usually also very costly] but sure it deserves every single euro. And if Hawk delivers what it still promises, you have a joy for a lifetime. I guess they will deliver a durable quality at least equal or superior to CH products - also producer of industrial and professional joysticks - but equipped with FFB and better components (hall effect position sensors [no wear] instead of mechanical ones) apart from the hidraulic piping.

I must admit I once seriously thought about purchasing a Hawk - they invited me to visit their stand at the last London fair - to substitute my ageing MS Sidewinder FFB2. But I swear I was doubtful about spending such a huge ammount of money on a stick I could not test or even touch before emptying by wallet, and, important, coming from a newbie company in simulation HW like Paccus. Had I to fly to the fair in London or the Netherlands before to see how their FFB feels? was that the additional price to pay to get a decent substitute for the Sidewinder? Ouchhh!

Nevertheless, lets hope for the best not too far in time.

AA_Engadin.