Aerotronics
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I reached out to Aerotronics to learn about pricing and availability of their TQS and received the following information -
Bottom Line Up Front - They are $4500+ and controlled by International Control in Arms regulations. A real bargain when compared to a $30m jet, but sadly out of my budget.
“Our products are geared towards military simulation as well as for real world tactical battle use.
Some of the Flight grips and Throttle grips are of such fidelity that they were controlled by International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), now transferred to the Dept. of Commerce. As such they are not inexpensive items, and require the end user be identified. (Please identify end user primary contact, name of institution, address, country of origin and contact phone #). Once identified, an export Licence may need to be issued, which costs a minimum of $275, or 2.5% of the shipment total.The components themselves are quite robust. For instance, some of the four / five -way trim switches run between $275-$650. The radar cursor slew switches on the F-15, F-16, F-18, F-22, F-35 throttle cost $2500 alone. Our grips, transducers, throttle quadrants and rudders run between $4500 - $12,000 depending upon the model and quantities.”
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OMG.
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This doesn’t surprise me one bit (pricing or Export Controls), but I have to ask if $4500 is for a whole throttle grip/arm assembly, just a grip…what? Given what a real F-16 grip costs and how hard they are to even find, I’ll continue to consider one from these guys - all I need/want is the grip.
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Still…. I want one!
I hear ya!
I doubt I could ever afford any of this Aerotronics gear, but it sure looks beautiful. That F-16 TQS with the choice of switches is a beautiful thing to dream about :love: