STECS Throttle System - Mini

I'm going from a twcs to stecs mini. I also went from a t1600m to a gunfighter mcgu a year ago.
It took me a few days to adapt to the high quality changes, but a week or 2 on and im finally really happy and comfortable with the button layouts etc.
It would work best on a proper mount. As i am semi disabled, i can only sit in a recliner so i am unable to mount my gear to the vkb mounts.
It is a large throttle grip so be ready for that, trying to reach the final thumb roller down the bottom is a bit hard, but you have more than enough buttons to work with here and they all feel high quality. Like all VKB products, you are getting AAA, and the customizability far exceeds any expectation (turning axis into buttons, turning buttons into axes etc AFB detents the list goes on.

Technical considerations:
As i am unable to mount the throttle low enough (stuck in my recliner) my wrist has to kink when pushing to middle power or afterburner making the 2 buttons that i use constantly (mb1 and mb2) harder to depress, and i found that the pressure to depress these buttons was to hard for me making my tendons get stuck when depressing. In the end i took the buttons (modules) off and de-soldered the buttons and tried to use easier to press buttons but it didnt work out, so i soldered the original back on. I did however finally find out after damaging 2 single press modules that i could have just used a very tiny pin to lift the top of the button off revealing a silicone rubber button and i could put a few cuts into the base of that making the button much easier to depress. I did buy a stecs button module addon kit for this to compensate with the 2 buttons i inadvertently destroyed in the process of modifying, but that was my fault. I would love to have 2 single press modules sent to me to compensate, but understand it probably isn't an option.

A fantastic throttle with good weight and feeling, however one of the most critical parts of the detent system costs an additional $40. Only 'end' detents are included with the STECS mini, leaving out the 'w' or centre detent from the package.
Despite the website claiming VKB will be "happy to place a special order for you", they will not sell a centre detent unless you buy a full $40 package of 20+ extra parts.

This is my first VKB product and I am very impressed by the build quality and how solid it feels. It feels like it should be much more expensive than it is. On a whole other level compared to the t.16000m I used to have.

The precision of the thrust controls means that air to air refueling and carrier landings in DCS have become achievable and no longer a source of dread.

My one gripe is that the configuration software feels quite clunky and antiquated, as well as not having much of a manual provided. Though I was able to eventually set it up by reading through the VKB Discord.

Just be aware that this isnt really compatible with tabletop use straight out of the box. I made the mistake of not realising, so I've had to make a temporary wooden platform to mount it to for stability (my mistake).

There isn't too many reviews online yet for this product, meaning I did somewhat take a plunge in buying this.

In saying so, I couldnt be happier with my STECS Mini and would 100% recommend it if you dont mind a little tinkering to optimally configure it.

I have been using flights sims since 1991, and gone through quite a few brands of gear. When choosing new equipment, I try to balance between price, capability, build quality, and ease of use. In my opinion, the STECS line is yet another home run for most of the attributes mentioned.

From my perspective (post-grad aero engineer, commercial pilot & aerobatic aircraft owner), I have no complaints. I honestly don't think it's necessary for this sort of hardware to be metal and therefore more expensive. Engineering plastics can be extremely sturdy (think of polymers used in real aircraft - eg canopies, light housings etc).

The modular ecosystem is innovative and therefore allows reuse of individual modules for different use cases. So for example, I only had to changeout my THQ with the STECS Mini to enable me to fly DCS instead of IL2GB. I reused my SEM-V, Gladiator NXT and T-Rudder.

For me, there is one big negative but it's software related. I wish there was a much simpler way to program the hardware. While the device configurator app is powerful, the app and user manual aren't user friendly. As a consequence, this offsets the otherwise overwhelming positives of the hardware.

I look forward to the day when some sort of GUI interface is added to the device configurator to cut the overhead required to program the hardware.