Today, we are going to look at the cockpit sonic motorised throttle quadrant
and why I chose this one and not one of the competitors on the market.
When choosing the throttle I had mainly two things is mind, functionality and price.
For functionality I mean motorised, if I had to buy a non motorised throttle
I could have just has well stay with the sitek throttle I was using. In stead I wanted the ToGa function to work automatically,
the speed break to deploy at touch down and the throttle level to keep up with the mcp at all times.
For a price, obviously I wasn’t expecting to get it for free, however I also was not prepared to pay 4000 dollars or euros for the throttle.
One last this I also was not willing to go for, but this applies to any parts of the cockpit and not just to the throttle,
and that is get equipment that used SIOC which simply eliminated open cockpit products, even if I believe they make good quality hardware
at a good price, but this is a personal choice, I have no intention to get into much programming for this project.
The throttle itself looks and feels really sturdy, not at all plastic feeling,
the installation is a piece of cake, assuming you are willing to follow the instructions.
If you are like me and think you can plug the device and expect to work … well than you might have an issue.
The throttle was purchased at the aviation megaspore in the Netherlands, the staff there is amazing, they showed me the full installation and at the same time also showed that the throttle I was purchasing was fully functional.
When I came home I followed the same procedure from driver installation to calibration with prosim which also is extremely easy.
Once that is done you are ready to go.
The installation is simple, first make sure you have a couple of software ready.
The first is the testing software, this will allow you to use the throttle with the stock 737 800 Than from a different site, you need some other softwares, 2 different files, this will ensure full compatibility with prosim737
First plug the power, than the usb connection
Than check that your PC recognised a new device in device and printer window.
Than instal the testing program and test all the functionalities, if you are happy, you can move to the 2 other drivers. Once you downloaded the divers, you will need to send a mail to the owner of the site, with your personal info. He will activate the software and provide you with a couple of lines that need to be added in a config file. Everything will be explained in the mail that is send back to you.
At this point the last thing to do is to calibrate it in Prosim, assuming you use this software.
Launch the main module and than the MCP, this device is configured from the MCP, you need to be sure to add the correct ip address in the MCP, which is also provided. Than from the main prosim module you can calibrate the device, no explanations needed since is really straight forward
Overall I am very happy with the product and I would for sure recommend it.
I had forgotten to instal one of the two drivers and when I called the support I got immediate help.
I am going to leave you with some testing footage, I hope you enjoy it and see you soon.