Winwing Orion Throttle F-16EX

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A Closer Look at the Winwing Orion Throttle Base

 

First off, let’s start with the base of the throttle before we get into the grip. The shell of the throttle is made from sheet metal and has some decent weight to it.

 

The Orion base has quite a few switches to keep your hands on or around the throttle and not reach for the keyboard. For those that have Thrustmaster’s Warthog, the Orion base is about the same size and the mounting holes are exact.

 

The Winwing Orion base is kind of generic in that it is not meant to simulate one plane but has switches that represent many planes.  Starting at the top, this row of switches more accurately represents switches that you’d find in the F-18 cockpit and are labeled to match. However, a switch is a switch and can be mapped to any switch in-game. If you’re flying a different aircraft, the labels won’t necessarily match, but they will still control the function that you’d like. At the top row, there are four 2-position toggle switches, one 3-positions rotary switch with push, and one 3-position toggle switch. When flipping the switches, they give a solid click when the position is changed.

 

In the middle of the Orion throttle, you’ll find the two levers that act as the throttle axis. One for the left engine, one for the right engine. In the case of this review, the F-16 only has one engine and I will focus on that.  Just next to each of the engine throttle levers is the friction adjust (covered by wire in the photo below). You’ll insert the included Allen key and turn left to increase resistance and right to decrease.  The throttle axis has built-in switches in positions called detents. There is an Off detent that when the throttle is put into that position, the engine shuts down. There is an Idle detent that when conditions are correct for engine start and the throttle is moved into that position, the engine will start. Moving to the right-hand side, there are two generic sliders that can be changed from an axis to buttons in the software. In between the sliders, there is an encoder with push. To the left of the top slider (A3), there is a red momentary push button. Below that there are two momentary push buttons labeled A/G and A/A. Manipulating the switches, sliders, and encoders gives a very solid feel. There’s no doubt when you’ve pressed a button.

 

At the lower edge of the throttle, you can see there are labels for F-15, F-16, and A-10. Here we have two red momentary push buttons, three 3-position toggle switches, and three encoders all with push.