Flight Sim Gear for Sim Racers: The Complete Buyer's Guide (2026)

I’m a sim racer and amateur racer with a passion for Motorsport, good racecraft and the technical and setup aspect of sim racing.

Featured image: Sim-Lab Flight Sim Collection

I spend most of my time in sim racing, but over the past year I’ve been bolting flight sim gear onto my rig and flying everything from DCS combat missions to long-haul MSFS 2024 routes. If you already own a sim racing cockpit, you’re closer to a proper flight sim setup than you probably think. Your PC, your VR headset, your seat, your 8020 rig – all of it transfers. You just need the right input devices and a way to mount them.

This guide covers everything from budget HOTAS sets under £60 to force feedback flight sticks that cost more than some direct drive wheelbases. I’ll explain what each piece of kit does, which brands are worth your money, and how to mount it all to the rig you’ve already got.

The flight sim hardware market has grown massively in the past couple of years. MOZA Racing – a brand most sim racers already know – has launched a full flight ecosystem. Winwing and VKB have pushed mid-range build quality to levels that would have cost twice as much five years ago. And force feedback flight sticks are now a real thing, not just a novelty. If you’ve ever wondered what it’d be like to feel turbulence through your stick the way you feel kerbs through your wheel, the technology exists.

The good news for sim racers is that you already understand the fundamentals. Sensor types, force feedback, build materials, diminishing returns – it all maps across. The gimbal in a flight stick is the equivalent of the motor in your wheelbase. Hall effect sensors matter here just as much as they do in pedals. And the upgrade path follows the same logic: start affordable, find out what you actually use, then spend where it counts.

How Do I Choose Flight Sim Gear?

The first question is simple: what do you fly? Military combat sims like DCS World and IL-2 Sturmovik need a flight stick and throttle (called a HOTAS – Hands On Throttle And Stick). Civil aviation in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 or X-Plane 12 works better with a yoke and throttle quadrant. Space sims like Star Citizen often use dual sticks (one in each hand). Your software dictates your hardware.

The second question is budget. You can get flying for under £60 with a Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS X, and honestly, that’s not a terrible place to start. I’d argue it’s the smart move – buy cheap, find out if flight sim grabs you the way racing does, then upgrade with purpose. One of the best pieces of advice I picked up from the flight sim community: dumb purchases are worse than seemingly dumb questions. Ask first, spend later.

MOZA Racing Flight Gear

If you’re already running MOZA on your sim racing rig, their flight ecosystem makes the crossover straightforward. They cover yokes, throttle modules, rudder pedals, and panels – and the AB9 force feedback stick base is genuinely impressive. Prices start at £39 for basic throttle modules.

Loading products...

Thrustmaster Flight Range

Thrustmaster has the widest range from budget to premium. The TCA Airbus and Boeing lines are popular with MSFS players, and the TPR rudder pedals are genuinely premium. Their budget HOTAS sets are the universal “try before you commit” recommendation.

Loading products...

Cheapest Flight Sim Gear Sorted by Price

Loading products...

What is a Gimbal and Why Does it Matter?

The gimbal is the mechanism inside a flight stick that translates your hand movements into pitch and roll inputs. It’s the single most important component in determining how a stick feels, and it’s the first thing experienced flight simmers look at. Think of it as the equivalent of the motor type in a sim racing wheelbase – it defines the fundamental character of everything you feel through your hands.

There are four main types, and the progression maps neatly to what sim racers already understand:

Ball-and-cup is the cheapest. A plastic ball sits in a cup with springs pulling it to centre. The problem – and this is the bit that surprised me – is that it creates the strongest centering force right in the middle of the stick’s travel. That’s the opposite of what you want. Fine movements around neutral become a fight against the spring, and the edges of travel feel loose. It’s like a gear-driven wheelbase with notchy centre feel. You’ll find this in the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro and Thrustmaster T-Flight sticks.

Pincer gimbals use two opposing arms gripping the stick shaft, with spring tension adjustable separately for each axis. Much smoother centre feel, more consistent force across the full range of travel. VKB’s Gladiator NXT EVO uses a glass-fibre reinforced pincer gimbal with ball bearings – it’s a big step up. Winwing’s Ursa Minor copies this approach at a lower price point.

Cam-and-spring is the premium mechanical option. Precisely machined cams control the force curve as you move the stick, with interchangeable cam profiles for different aircraft types. This is what the VKB Gunfighter IV and Winwing Orion 2 use. The Orion 2’s cam system is, as one reviewer put it, “buttery smooth and wildly customisable.” Metal construction throughout. It’s the direct-drive equivalent in terms of precision and customisation.

Force feedback is the newest category. Motors actively push back against your inputs, simulating turbulence, control surface loading, stall buffet, and trim forces. The MOZA AB9 and Winwing Cyber Taurus are the current options. If you’ve ever felt the difference between a belt-driven wheelbase and a direct-drive unit, the jump to a force feedback stick is that same leap of immersion.

Force Feedback Flight Sticks – The Direct Drive of Flight Sim

This is where flight sim hardware gets properly interesting for sim racers, because the engineering parallels are almost exact. A force feedback flight stick uses a motor to create active resistance and vibration through the stick – just like a direct-drive wheelbase creates active forces through your steering wheel. The MOZA AB9 produces 12Nm peak torque (9Nm continuous), which is roughly comparable to their R5 wheelbase. The Winwing Cyber Taurus goes up to 60Nm in its highest variant, which is more than most sim racing wheelbases on the market.

What does this translate to in practice? In DCS World, you feel the air resistance increase on your control surfaces as you gain speed. In MSFS 2024, turbulence becomes something you fight against rather than something you see on screen. Stall buffet vibrates through your hand before the aircraft drops. It’s the same principle as feeling kerbs and tyre slip through your wheel – the physics engine talks directly to your hand instead of just your eyes and ears.

The trade-off, just like in sim racing, is cost. The MOZA AB9 base alone runs £479-588, and you still need a grip on top of that (it’s compatible with Thrustmaster grips, which is a neat touch). The Winwing Cyber Taurus ecosystem is newer and still expanding. For most people starting out, a quality cam-and-spring gimbal gives 80% of the experience for 40% of the cost. But if you already own a direct-drive wheelbase and you know what force feedback does for immersion, you’ll understand exactly why these exist.

Mounting Flight Sim Gear to Your Sim Racing Cockpit

This is the section that most flight sim guides skip entirely, and it’s the one that matters most to sim racers. You’ve already got a rig. The question is how to attach flight controls to it without building a second cockpit in a room you don’t have.

The mounting challenge depends on what you’re attaching. A HOTAS (stick + throttle) needs two side mounts at armrest height. A yoke needs a front mount where your wheelbase normally sits. Rudder pedals either replace your racing pedals or need their own dedicated plate. The key insight: think about how quickly you need to swap between racing and flight configurations.

8020 aluminium rig owners (Sim-Lab, Trak Racer, Next Level Racing GT Track): You’re in the best position. Sim-Lab sells flight sim accessory plates for the P1-X and GT1 Evo. Trak Racer has similar options. T-slot aluminium is endlessly configurable – you can bolt MonsterTech joystick mounts directly to your rig’s side profiles. Budget around £80-150 per mount for MonsterTech aluminium brackets, or look at Predator Mounts for rig-specific options.

For desk-mounted rigs or quick solutions: J-PEIN and Hikig desk clamps on Amazon run £30-60 for a pair and work well enough for lighter HOTAS sets. They clamp to your desk or rig frame. One thing to plan for – heavy sticks like the Winwing Orion 2 with suction cup mounting on a smooth desk is a terrible experience. The stick slides around mid-flight. You need proper clamps or bolted mounts for anything above budget tier.

Rudder pedals: If your sim racing pedals are on a quick-release plate, swapping rudder pedals in and out is straightforward. Otherwise, VKB’s T-Rudder Mk.IV is compact enough to sit beside your racing pedals without interfering. Some sim racers mount rudder pedals on a sliding tray beneath their normal pedals.

HOTAS vs Yoke – Which Setup Do You Need?

This comes down to what you fly. It’s not really a quality question – both can be excellent or rubbish depending on the specific product. It’s a form factor question, and the answer depends on the software in your library.

HOTAS (Hands On Throttle And Stick) is for military flight, space sims, and arcade flying. DCS World, IL-2 Sturmovik, Star Citizen, Elite Dangerous – these all want a stick in your right hand and a throttle in your left. You need lots of buttons, hats, and switches accessible without letting go of either hand. The stick handles pitch and roll, the throttle handles speed and weapon systems.

Yoke and throttle quadrant is for civil aviation. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, X-Plane 12, and anything involving airliners or general aviation. The yoke mimics the control column in a real Cessna or Boeing. Push/pull for pitch, rotate for roll. The throttle quadrant sits beside it with multiple levers for engines, mixtures, prop pitch, and flaps. It’s a very different hand feel to a HOTAS – more deliberate, less twitchy.

Plenty of people fly MSFS with a HOTAS and it works perfectly well. But if you’re into airliner flying and procedures, a yoke and quadrant gets you much closer to the real thing. I’d say start with whichever matches your main sim, and add the other setup later if you branch out.

Factors That Matter When Choosing Flight Sim Hardware

Sensor type: Hall effect sensors are contactless and don’t wear out. Potentiometers are cheaper but degrade over time and develop dead zones. The interesting detail – and this is worth checking before you buy – is that some mid-range sticks advertise Hall effect on their main axes but quietly use potentiometers on secondary axes like twist rudder. The Thrustmaster T16000M, for example, has Hall effect on pitch and roll but the twist rudder axis uses a potentiometer that’s prone to drifting over time. Check which axes have Hall effect, not just whether the product mentions it somewhere.

Button and hat count: This matters more than you’d think, especially in DCS. Military sims bind dozens of functions to HOTAS buttons so you never need to look at the keyboard. 12 buttons might sound like plenty until you’re trying to manage radar, countermeasures, weapons selection, and radios. More buttons on your stick and throttle means fewer moments fumbling for keyboard bindings mid-combat.

Build material: Plastic gimbals flex under load and develop play over time. Metal gimbals (aluminium or steel) hold tolerances and last for years. The price difference between plastic and metal construction is usually where the jump from “budget” to “mid-range” happens – and it’s the single best upgrade you can make for longevity.

Axis count: Budget sticks have 3 axes (pitch, roll, twist for rudder). Premium setups separate rudder to dedicated pedals and add analogue ministicks, rotary dials, and slider axes. More axes means more direct control without modifier buttons. For space sims especially, dual sticks give you 6 analogue axes across two hands – full six-degrees-of-freedom control.

MOZA AB9 Force Feedback Base

The MOZA AB9 is significant because it brings force feedback to flight sticks from a brand that sim racers already know. If you’re running MOZA wheels and pedals, the AB9 fits into the same ecosystem and software. It produces 12Nm peak torque and 9Nm continuous – enough to feel every detail of the flight model without tiring your arm. The aluminium build keeps the form factor compact, and it doesn’t need active cooling.

The grip compatibility is worth noting: it accepts Thrustmaster-pattern grips, which opens up a wide range of aftermarket options. From what I’ve seen, the consensus in the flight sim community is that the quality is top-notch for a first-generation product. The price – £479-588 depending on retailer – puts it squarely in enthusiast territory, but sim racers who’ve already gone direct-drive know what force feedback is worth.

No products found matching your criteria.

VKB Gladiator NXT EVO

The VKB Gladiator NXT EVO is the stick that the flight sim community consistently recommends as the best long-term base to build on. At around £167-204, it sits in the mid-range but punches well above its weight. The glass-fibre reinforced pincer gimbal with ball bearings gives a smooth, precise centre feel that makes the budget sticks feel like toys. All axes use contactless Hall effect sensors. It’s modular, so you can upgrade grips and add accessories as you go.

The caveat for UK buyers: VKB sells through their FSC Europe store, and you’ll need to factor in shipping and potential import duty. The listed EU price looks competitive, but by the time it lands in the UK you might be paying 20-30% more than the sticker price. Worth it, in my view – the build quality and gimbal feel are in a different league to anything else at this price. But budget accordingly.

Winwing Orion 2 HOTAS

The Winwing Orion 2 is where flight sim hardware starts feeling properly serious. The metal dual-cam gimbal with ball bearings is, from everything I’ve watched and read, buttery smooth and wildly customisable. You can swap cam profiles for different resistance curves depending on whether you’re flying an F-16 or a transport aircraft. Multiple grip options are available – the Viper Ace for DCS, the F-15EX for twin-engine military.

At around £270-383 depending on configuration, this is the point where flight sim HOTAS quality catches up with what sim racers are used to in wheel hardware. One reviewer described the stick as feeling “like it’s been ripped out of an actual airplane” – which is probably the highest compliment you can pay a flight stick. The only practical consideration: the included suction cup mounting is rubbish. Plan on desk clamps or rig mounts from day one.

Winwing Ursa Minor

The Winwing Ursa Minor has become the budget darling of the flight sim community, and for good reason. At roughly £105, it uses a pincer gimbal with contactless sensors and lockable twist – the same fundamental technology as sticks costing twice as much. The value here is hard to overstate. It genuinely blows everything else out of the water at this price point.

There’s a clever budget trick that the HOTAS community uses: buy the Ursa Minor Fighter stick and then buy a second Ursa Minor as a throttle (the Space Stick variant works well in the left hand). For about £210 total you get 34 buttons, 8 hats, 2 ministicks, and 6 analogue axes – a dual-stick setup that covers military flight, space sims, and most other configurations. That’s extraordinary value for what you get.

Honeycomb Alpha Yoke and Bravo Throttle Quadrant

If you’re flying civil aviation, the Honeycomb Alpha and Bravo are the combination that everything else gets measured against. The Alpha yoke uses Hall effect sensors on a metal shaft with 180 degrees of rotation and an integrated switch panel with ignition, avionics, lights, and gear controls. The Bravo throttle quadrant has 6 configurable axes with swappable lever handles, an autopilot panel, and a gear lever.

What makes the Bravo special is the aftermarket. ProDeskSim makes over 40 different aircraft-specific lever sets – Boeing 737, 747, 777, 787, Airbus A320, A380, and plenty more obscure types. You can configure your throttle quadrant to match whatever aircraft you’re flying. It’s the best option hands down for anyone into procedures and realism.

At roughly £200-250 each, the Alpha and Bravo represent excellent value for the quality. Real pilots use these for home cockpit practice. Mounting is straightforward – the Alpha clamps to a desk or cockpit crossbar, and the Bravo sits beside it.

Loading products...

MOZA Flight Ecosystem

MOZA’s flight range is worth highlighting as a complete ecosystem, especially for sim racers who already know the brand. They offer the MFY yoke from £149 (a solid budget alternative to the Honeycomb Alpha), throttle modules starting at just £39 for the TQB and TQA units, the MTQ throttle quadrant at £199, and the MRP rudder pedals at £329. There’s also the MTLP takeoff and landing panel at £149 for the full procedure experience.

The standout in the MOZA range is the AY210 force feedback yoke at £699-798 – a premium piece of kit that brings the same force feedback concept from the AB9 stick to yoke-style inputs. For MSFS 2024 enthusiasts who want to feel the flight model through their controls, this is currently one of very few FF yoke options on the market.

Loading products...

Thrustmaster Entry Level and TCA Range

Thrustmaster’s flight range splits into two distinct tiers. The budget T-Flight series (HOTAS X, HOTAS One) runs under £60-90 and uses ball-and-cup gimbals with basic sensors. They’re fine for testing whether flight sim is your thing. Don’t expect the stick feel to impress you – it won’t. But the throttle unit on the T-Flight HOTAS X is surprisingly usable, and the package gets you in the air.

The TCA (Thrustmaster Civil Aviation) line is more interesting. The TCA Quadrant Airbus at £170-180 is a proper throttle quadrant with detachable engine levers and an add-on panel. The TCA Boeing at £200 mirrors the 787 Dreamliner throttle. These pair well with any yoke or stick and add genuine procedure depth to MSFS flying. Worth noting that the TWCS throttle at £200 is actually excellent as a separate throttle for HOTAS setups – the paddle throttle axis is smooth and the slider works well.

Loading products...

Rudder Pedals

Rudder pedals are the piece that many flight simmers add last, but they make more difference than you’d expect. Without them, you’re using a twist axis on your stick for yaw control, which means your right hand is doing pitch, roll, and yaw simultaneously. Dedicated rudder pedals free up your stick to handle just pitch and roll, which is noticeably more precise. They also give you differential toe brakes for ground handling and formation flying.

The Thrustmaster TFRP at £190 is the standard entry point. The S.M.A.R.T. sliding rail mechanism works well enough, though it’s not the most precise option out there. MOZA’s MRP at £329 uses Hall effect sensors and is the mid-range pick. The Thrustmaster TPR at around £430-470 uses a pendular mechanism (PENDUL_R) with H.E.A.R.T. Hall effect sensors – it’s genuinely premium, but that’s still a significant outlay for pedals.

For sim racers on 8020 rigs, the VKB T-Rudder Mk.IV at around £150-200 is worth considering if space is tight. It’s compact, has no toe brakes (uses a rocker design instead), and fits beside your sim racing pedals without interfering. The MFG Crosswinds at £300-400 are well-regarded in the enthusiast community for precision and durability.

Loading products...

Flight Sim Gear Compared – My Recommendations

If you’re a sim racer testing the flight sim waters, start with a Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS X from Amazon for under £60. Fly for a month. If it grabs you, your second purchase should be the Winwing Ursa Minor at £105 – the value jump is enormous and you’ll immediately feel the difference a proper gimbal makes. From there, the path depends on what you fly: civil aviation pushes you towards a Honeycomb Alpha and Bravo, military simmers will want a Winwing Orion 2 or VKB Gladiator NXT EVO.

Don’t overlook mounting. A £400 stick bolted to a MonsterTech mount on your 8020 rig will feel better than a £600 stick suction-cupped to a smooth desk. Your sim racing cockpit is a genuine advantage here – use it. And add rudder pedals earlier than you think you need them. The precision improvement is immediate.

For force feedback enthusiasts who’ve already gone direct-drive on the racing side, the MOZA AB9 represents the same philosophy applied to flight. It’s early days for the FFB flight stick market, but the technology is real and the immersion benefit is substantial. If you’re the type who went from a Logitech G29 to a Simucube and never looked back, you already know whether this is for you.

Looking for more guides? Check out our direct drive wheels buyer’s guide, VR headsets for sim racing, best sim rigs on the market, or the MOZA Racing buyer’s guide for more on their ecosystem.