First look at Winwing’s Ursa Minor Airline joystick – sim pilots get ready, this is an entry-level gamechanger

Winwing has long been in the sim peripheral game but until recently the focus on available equipment was all military for sim such as DCS.

That’s still going to remain but joining military hardware in the virtual cockpit is a new range of commercial flying sim gear, and oh my word is this going to move the needle.

At the recent Flight Sim Expo 2024, Winwing unveiled a lot – too much to mention here but some of the things that caught the eye the most was a new range of Airbus and Boeing-themed cockpit panels and controllers. What caught the eye even more was the price of this stuff. They are ridiculously low compared to existing gear on the market that has thrived on being sold to niche gamers playing niche games.

Now sims are becoming bigger business and Winwing has recognized that and is catering for people who might want to play a sim properly but do not want to drop $600 on a joystick and then end up selling it on eBay a month later.

Winwing has been kind enough to send the first couple of pieces over ahead of their launch in a month or so for us to have a look at and we are going to be taking a look today at the new Airbus-themed Ursa Minor flightstick.

Now don’t be confused, the Ursa Minor also comes with a variety of other grips available for mimicking various fighter aircraft but today we are playing with the more sedate commercial airliner side of things as this is the new area of interest for the company, even though they have been building commercial flight simulators for years.

If you are in the UK your pre-order time for this is the middle of August whereas our US readers can get this from the 25th of July. The price is a ridiculously low £82/$83 which for something of this standard is crazy.

Most flight sticks come with the base and grip separate and this is not the case here which is what drags it into the entry-level end of the spectrum, but if you are just starting out it is an ideal choice.

This isn’t a full review, we only got our hands on the stick late yesterday but we have used it enough to give a first opinion, and spoiler alert, it is a magnificent addition to Microsoft Flight Sim, especially if you fly an Airbus in that sim.

Of course, you can use it in other sims but the shaft of the stick is accurately modeled from the Airbus stick – far more so than Thrustmaster’s Airbus-branded offering, which while similar, differs enough to make a difference, so let’s dig in in a little more detail.

If it looks like an Airbus, and it feels like an Airbus…

The whole Ursa Minor assembly is weighty enough to not feel cheap and the smooth plastic feels lovely to the touch. It’s also not the type of plastic to attract annoying fingerprints either being constructed from industrial-grade ABS.

The base is a mixture of black and the Airbus-esque cockpit color of that lovely blue-grey and around this is a ring of white LEDS which accent everything when it is plugged in via a single USB C cable.

These LEDS can be tweaked in Winwing’s Sim App software to do cool things like increase in intensity as you move the throttle slider or push the stick on a certain axis. You can change all this quickly and simply for some customization.

The stick is, and this is where things get good, actually on a gimbal so it is super smooth like the far more expensive joysticks you might always have wanted. This elevates it over the Thrustmaster offering again. A secret trapdoor on the bottom opens up to reveal all the gimbal and springs inside encouraging the modder in me to whip out those springs and replace them with others, just to mess about. This is great for longevity if the stick ever starts to lose its zip, or if you just want it to show a little more resistance. Maybe Winwing is planning on selling springs? Seems weird to allow access to the guts if you are just meant to look and not touch.

The base has 14 programmable buttons on it and a long slider that can be assigned to your engines. On the grip itself we have a red button for disengaging the autopilot and a trigger which Airbus uses for press-to-talk but if you are flying a jet fighter, well that’s your gun isn’t it?

Because Airbus aircraft these days have auto trim there is no need for a hat controller on the stick, but what if you aren’t flying an Airbus – a highly possible event – well the smoother top section of the stick which doubles as a thumb rest can be removed – it’s held on with magnets – and under it, there is a lovely 4-way hat you can assign to whatever you want.

That’s it for inputs and outputs – there is a slightly unusual, er pocket at the front which has an Ursa Minor logo in there that looks like somewhere you might keep your house keys. I’m not sure what it’s for really but I am rolling with it.

On to the stick itself. Because of the gimbal, it is so very smooth, far and away above the feel of many entry-level controllers. Its return to center is divine and doesn’t boing around all over the place when you let it go. It feels premium even though the price isn’t.

Another thing to mention is the haptic feedback in the stick. It’s not force feedback like we are beginning to see now on the high-end sticks, more like the vibration in your DualSense or Xbox controller, but in Flight Simulator it just gives your palm a nice little tickle when you would expect. Events such as landing, or gear and flaps now give you that extra haptic signal and it makes a surprising difference.

More than just a commercial jet joystick

The stick comes in left or right-handed versions. On an Airbus you would obviously find it to your left with the throttle in the center console but we don’t all have the front of an A320 in our house do we so there is a right-handed option.

Don’t let the fact that the Ursa Minor is so heavily orientated toward Airbus flight put you off either. You could just as easily use this to fly a Spitfire or a more modern fighter in DCS or a spaceship in Elite Dangerous or Star Citizen, although if they are your main flight games of choice there is an Ursa Minor model that fits perfectly with those types of sim too.

And that’s all we need to say for a first look I think. You can probably tell you don’t need a full review to know that I am recommending this to all but the hardest of hardcore simmers who have already spent thousands.

Winwing is doing remarkable things in the flight sim space and should be commended for changing the game. These are exciting times for simmers.

The Ursa Minor Airline Joystick is available for pre-order at the Winwing site now.

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