Redbird Alloy TH1 Single-Engine Simulator Throttle

feels real. very solid.

Vernier throttle is one of the types of throttles used in general aviation aircraft. Notably, Cessna planes use vernier throttles. This type of throttle uses vernier and screw mechanism to provide the pilot a precise control over the engine operation. Thus unit has controls for landing gear, throttle, prop, mixture, and flaps. It is a fairly sizeable box. Mounting brackets are available as accessory ($79 plus shipping) but not included in the box. The unit uses real aircraft throttle, prop, and mixture controls (which cost about $80 each, if not certified for aircraft use) connected to linear potentiometers. The unit has a USB 2.0 connector. With X-plane 11, it is plug and play: the simulator recognizes this unit automatically, one only needs to assign axes. I did not try it with older simulators. The feel of vernier controls is very realistic.Included in the box are the unit, USB cable, and a very basic manual which does not even state what is the warranty of the unit. Maybe there is no warranty. Maybe there is lifetime warranty. Who knows? Would be nice to find out, but no way.This unit pretty much has a monopoly on the market. Realistically, if you want vernier controls, you do not have other viable alternatives. Saitek TPM module was produced between 2011 and 2016 and now is discontinued. It sometimes appears on auction site and sells for close to $500, which is absolutely not warranted by the quality of its internal design. It is worth $150 maximum. GF-TPM by GoFLight, available by $179, is not anywhere close to RedBird in terms of being even remotely similar to how verniers feel and work in real planes. Finally, TPM by Virtual-Fly, recently added to their collection of flight controls, is as good or better than RedBird unit (it is quite a bit smaller), but it is twice as expensive, for pretty much the same feel and features, which in my opinion makes it not price competitive.TPM stands for Throttle - Prop - Mixture.Some GA plane (Piper Cherokee, as an example), as well as most passenger jets, use a different type of TPM, with levers. RedBird makes one of those, too, by the way. There is no right or wrong, you need to pick which airplane you want to simulate, and go from there.$569 is not cheap, but this price reflects the price range of high end flight simulation controls. Good quality rudder pedals and yoke will also cost from $400 to $3000 each. Good quality generally means realistic feel, realistic range of motion, realistic resistance - the closer to the real plane, the more advanced the control is, and usually the higher is its price.If you are not after realism, there are much cheaper alternatives of TPM units which do not feel like plane controls but work just fine.