Anyway, the components are made as far as I can judge of durable plastic – I can confirm this after I talked with many other simmers who own these TCA parts already for a while – while some visible parts are made of steel like the axis of the FLAP and SPEEDBRAKE handles. Although the ENGINE MASTER switches look like metal, they don’t feel cold so I assume these are made of plastic or a sort of plastic. All the rotary selectors including the PARK BRK lever have firm in-between positions or in case for the PARK BRK lever the end position. It feels solid. Before writing this sentence, I fiddled already around and figured out how the TCA equipment works with for example the JARDesign A320neo, the ToLiss A319/A321. Besides a couple of small items you need to know or to find, it worked for the fully 100 percent, but more about that later although I’m not sure if I should explain all the required settings or changes for the twin engine Airbus X-Plane models. We’ll see. Thrustmaster Software : Windows 10

Out of the box the throttle movement is in my humble opinion a bit too loose, so I need to tighten the screw on the front of the quadrant a bit knowing this is a personal preference. Before I forget it, this “friction” adjustment is also possible for the SPEED BRK and FLAP handle. To adjust the friction, use a small included tool with on one end the Philips screwdriver. Turn the screw gentle to more friction, and no need to over tighten. Perhaps half a turn or maximum a full turn is already enough to give the throttle lever a move resistent movement. You can swap the autopilot and brake buttons, which is a nice touch for anyone who prefers to fly right-handed. Join us from 8:00 P.M. (CET) on the official Microsoft Flight Simulator Twitch.tv channel to discover the new Airbus range compatible with Xbox Series X|S and PC! Led by our ambassadors and the great MFS team, prepare yourself properly to fly over the clouds aboard your Airbus airliner.

Firmware

Basically the steps to follow aren’t difficult, as long as you follow the instructions. When you do that, you can use the A350 with the TCA Captains equipment. The steps to follow are: Iconic Airbus Quadrant controls including trim, landing gear, autobrake, rudder trim and parking brake, for total immersion As mentioned before, the real size of the TCA components is a bit bigger but when Thrustmaster had made it the real size, then it will be too big on your desk. Besides that, is it really worth to have the same size? My personal opinion is that this size is perfect and all the buttons, selectors, switches and levers work smooth, detents are noticeable, so only one word is needed …. awesome! The PARK BRK lever normally has ON and OFF text on the sub pedestal panel, but in this design there’s not really space for that, so Thrustmaster left that out. The PARK BRK lever works very simple as it is now; when you can read the text PARK BRK then you’ve released the parking brake else the brakes are SET. Quadrant Part I : Throttle Alignment Calibration

The complete TCA Quadrant Airbus Edition allows for a super-lifelike and immersive gaming experience with its 4 axes and 31 ergonomic physical action buttons (including 13 virtual buttons on PC), specially designed for amazing control of approach and landing sequences. Further steps aren’t needed. As Eugeny Romanov from JARDesign said to me “it should work out of the box” and I can confirm that this is correct. However, a couple of things are different compared to what I saw with the ToLiss. Advantage of the JARDesign aircraft is that no other software or script is needed to get it working with the TCA equipment except from the steps above to perform. Things that work differently “out of the box” are the AUTO BRK selector and its positions versus the JAR aircraft e.g. switch in BTV means LO mode, switch in LO means in the JAR aircraft MED and switch in 2 means MAX braking. SPEEDBRAKE lever in the RETRACT mode on the TCA quadrant means spoilers ARMED. With the SPEEDBRAKE handle on TCA between RET and 1/2 means spoilers RETRACTED. Spoilers HALF works correct however, SPEEDBRAKE lever in-between 1/2 and FULL means in the aircraft already FULL. Automatically integrated into the game Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 (sold separately) on Xbox Series X|S and PC See the following movie that shows you more or less all the steps to perform, at least, I tried not to forget something. First you see the calibration process followed by the adjustments for the thrust reverser in the ToLiss ISCS and finally, the configuration of the SPEEDBRAKE ARM point. The SPEEDBRAKE lever on the TCA has no option to pull the handle when in the RETRACT position, so another way is provided to simulate this ARM position.You’ll love using the wide variety of controls inspired by those found on real Airbus airliners: button feel and response times, resistance on the thrust levers, the sounds components make when activated, and even how they feel to the touch. Everything is right there at your fingertips for next-level replica flight sessions. FEATURES These are the small differences I noticed. Not a problem since the function works, but it is slightly different then in the modeled aircraft. Overall I can say that it works very well and when you’ve programmed as I tried to show you in our video the A320neo first, it will work also for their A330. There’s no difference except then that the throttles and their markings on the pedestal are different then on the A320.

There is also effectively zero deadzone. In the Windows 10 setup app you have to move it with the force of a mouse’s breath to avoid any input the system recognises. It may not look all that high-end, but its motion is extremely smooth and the moderate spring-based lets you make fine-grain movements with total confidence. The markings near the SPEEDBRAKE handle, the throttle levers and the FLAP handle are unique for the modern Airbus aircraft. The Captains set may be initially mend for twin engine Airbus aircraft, but you can also use it with 4 engine Airbus models like the A340-500 from JARDesign, the A340-600 from ToLiss or the older A380 from Peters Aircraft. You can use it with these aircraft as it is – don’t forget to select the switch from ENG 1&2 to 3&4 – or even better, buy an additional quadrant throttle set and place it in-between the Captains set.As it is in real too, the A320 Family (A318, A319, A320 and A321), A350 and A380 throttles are only placed in specific positions which is IDLE – CLIMB – FLEX TO – MAX TO. It is not as old fashioned aircraft where each position means an amount of thrust. The real Airbus and TCA throttles have fixed positions on the scale and these are well felt when moving them. The same as with the SPEED BRK an FLAP handle, and there’s no cover or whatsoever that prevents any dust going inside. Hold on, what about GA aircraft or other twin engine commuters and commercial aircraft? I didn’t test all available default or other manufactures, but overall can be said that for most aircraft all assignments work out of the box, at least all default X-Plane commands. And yes, I’m also aware that when you have a GA aircraft with a PROP and MIXTURE lever then you run into problems, but I may assume that when you decide to buy or bought already the Thrustmaster TCA flight equipment, you’re not going to use it with GA aircraft, right? Hidden underneath the throttle quadrant you find in a small plastic bag and a leaflet with on one size in very small letters the warrantee information, environmental protection info, and where to get additional manuals, drivers and software. This all in different languages.

The moment I start with the taxi phase, it is playing a bit with the thrust levers. And, yes, I mentioned this before, remember that you set the friction a bit higher in a way that it feels more real and that some force is needed to move them. I’ve increased the friction to almost the maximum value. With the provided tool that’s not easy, but important to tell you, you can’t really over tighten the friction screw. So my tip is …. don’t use a Philips screwdriver to adjust the friction. Most likely you will then apply too much torque and that can damage the internal friction system. So use the included tool. One last thing: when it happens the unwanted combination of buttons, on the scanning mode, the button we want to assign is the first. So a workaround can be canceling the assignement, open the input menu, and choosing the button showed first. Replicas of Airbus airliner controls (A320neo type), feel realistic sensations when using the throttle quadrant’s buttons, detents and other controls — just like a real aircraft captain. Thrustmaster takes pride in its core values, “Passion, Quality and Innovation”, and constantly strives to improve the realism and immersiveness in legendary game worlds by offering thrilling and truly exceptional experiences. From video game enthusiasts to casual gamers, Thrustmaster accessories for PC and gaming consoles bring everyone’s dreams to life. Airbus replica feeling action buttons and 4 axes on the Quadrant for a multitude of possibilities in flight

TCA Sidestick Airbus Edition

Flight controllers are not compatible with games in CLOUD GAMING or STREAMING mode (in particular those in GAME PASS, Xbox Remote Play, PlayStation®Plus, GeForce NOW, Luna, …). In CLOUD GAMING or STREAMING mode, only standard gamepads are compatible. However, this is different for the Windows firmware update software. For a common reason Thrustmaster doesn’t has any firmware software for macOS since Mac isn’t really a platform for games according to Hercules Thrustmaster. I do agree that Mac isn’t a gaming platform, but I don’t think that X-Plane is a game, but it’s a highly sophisticated flight simulation program and standard available for both Windows, macOS and Linux. Perhaps a firmware update will also be available for macOS in the near future. Connecting and Configuration : macOS/Windows Buttons change names from Xbox to PC; the parking brake is B16 for Xbox, but button 20 for PC, for example. The operation of the thrust reversers is very nicely made. The lever in front of each throttle can be lifted and with the throttle in the IDLE position, you can move the throttle into the yellow arc area. Just in case; you can always lift the reverse lever, even when the throttle isn’t in IDLE, but that has no function. In real the reverser levers aren’t operable as long as the throttles aren’t in the IDLE position.