Any Cougars for sale? Or forget it and go for the warthog?

[Scotters]

I recently got burned trying to buy one on ebay, though it does look like I will get a refund. (I received an F-22 stick and a damaged f-16 tqs throttle.)

I have an x52, but I would love to have the more realistic cougar stick, since its a replica of the F-16, and I think that is awesome.

On ebay they have ones that are supposedly in mint condition for $699 which is ridiculous. There is a used one on amazon for 344, just missing paint, but who knows how long it will last if its been used that much. Another one is on ebay for auction at $300 last I checked, but who knows how high it would go, and I did just get burned.

Any ideas for how to get a good Cougar? Any price recommendations?

Or do you recommend just going for the warthog?

[l3crusader]

Well, it really is up to you : basically, the choice boils down to whether the Cougar throttle compared to the Warthog’s is worth the 15 years of use of any used Cougar. I personnally went for the Warthog : easy to find/buy, and I pretty much know it is going to last 10 years.

I find the Warthog throttle lacking when it comes to the antenna elevation, which you must map on buttons rather than axis ( for the range knob, it doesnt matter much) if you want it to be hand’s on. On the other hand, you get more buttons than on the Cougar’s throttle, which is useful for misc. functions like zoom, padlock, stuff like that. And you have a ton of switches on the base as well, so easy to map stuff like Master Arm/Laser Arm/CAT switch to avoid looking in the pit.

[Scotters]

I don’t think I would like the antenna elevation on buttons, I really like it on a dial like it is on my x52.

[Stevie]

Check EBay for a Cougar throttle and go with a Warthog stick. Then get a TUSBA R2 for the Cougar TQS. Best HOTAS combo you can have for BMS/F-16 simming, IMO.

I have three Cougar TQSs (one in a full up Cougar set, one with a TUSBA R2, and one that I converted for use with Mac FAF using a Bodner USB board), one Warthog stick/throttle set, and am planning to buy at least one more Warthog stick. There’s simply no beating the quality improvement on the Warthog stick.

[Scotters]

I agree that would be a great plan, but I really do not see any Cougar TQSs being sold by themselves on ebay. So I was planning on getting the Cougar, then later getting the Warthog stick.

I keep looking at that cougar on amazon that is used, but the paint is worn off the throttle, so I just wonder how long that cougar would last if I bought it for $340. The one on ebay jumped to $400 which was the maximum I plan to pay for a cougar.

What do you guys think, should I jump on the used cougar at Amazon for $344?

Would a warthog joystick work with an x 52 throttle? I could just buy the warthog joystick now, stick with the x52 throttle until a cougar throttle appears on ebay. However I don’t think that a x 52 throttle would work with a cougar stick, and if they did the setup would probably be a nightmare.

[Guest]

Fourth thread down on the For Sale & Swap sub-forum.
The FSSB one is still available and should be no issues with pricing

[Dee-Jay]

I still have my Cougar bought in 2001 modded FSSB and using a Warthog grip on the Cougar+FSSB base. But I am still dreaming and hoping for an F-16 COUGAR MkII based on Warthog quality with force sensors in series.

[Scotters]

Me too Dee-jay!

[Darkman]

I think the only people not dreaming about that are Thrustmaster :roll:

[Guest]

Well, TM have been dreaming about something… just not Cougar Mk II.

[Stevie]

Keep watch on EBay…there are a few surplus Cougar sticks/throttles/sets coming up from time to time. In fact I think one of my TQS’s is USAF surplus, and as I recall I got it for $80. But you have to monitor and be ready to grab.

[Icarus]

@Dee-Jay:

I still have my Cougar bought in 2001 modded FSSB and using a Warthog grip on the Cougar+FSSB base. But I am still dreaming and hoping for an F-16 COUGAR MkII based on Warthog quality with force sensors in series.

Same here.

[Stubbies2003]

@Scotters:

I don’t think I would like the antenna elevation on buttons, I really like it on a dial like it is on my x52.

It’s actually not that big of a deal using TARGET to set up things like Ant Ele and trim on the WH. I would prefer it to be on a rotary as well but you can program it to just hold the button in one direction and it will continually make the input until released so IMHO it is a suitable substitute and add in the other bonuses l3crusader mentioned earlier myself I wouldn’t go any other way now.

[Scotters]

Stubbies, thanks for the advice. I just bought a warthog. Thanks to everyone for the info and advice. I should get it on Thursday or Friday. Can’t wait. Plus I bought a 3yr warranty for 17 bucks. Just feels better than risking a lot of money on a cougar that can break any day.

[AV8R]

Congrats and welcome to the Thrustmaster family.

I use a Cougar-FSSB-R1/WHogStickGrip and TQS-TUSBA-R2/Miles-HallThrottlePotMod for BMS, and a Stock Warthog for DCS with Baur WW2 KG-13D Me109 grip. Switch between the two controller sets with a hardware data selector with push buttons.

Because the Cougar is no longer sold or supported by TM, over the years I’ve stashed away a few extras. Never can have too many backups I always say. Also have the Cougar-FCC3 force mod and it’s just as good as the FSSB.

Buying used Cougars or WartHog’s off eBay or elsewhere, one has to be very careful as there are good, bad and ugly sets and sellers out there. I’ve had great success and a few lemons. You have to ask all the questions upfront about the condition and functionality. Then, packaging is everything to receiving the set undamaged.

[Guest]

I think I scared him away from the Cougar by giving him the complete picture. And he’s got the wrong impression that the Cougar “can break any day.” Oh well… can’t go wrong with a Warthog!!

Welcome to the TM family and the WH is a great HOTAS! Enjoy!

[Scotters]

Ice I may still buy that off of you one day if no one else snatches it up. Its just that about $500 with no guarantee is a lot of money. I just feel better with a 3 year warranty from assurion that cost 17 bucks to go along with the warthog, which I know is brand new and currently supported by thrustmaster.

And actually you helped me with all the info. I really appreciate it. I think that this community is just fantastic.

[Guest]

No worries at all Scott, and like I said, I totally understand where you’re coming from!

However, there is a reason why Cougars are advertised as “100% working” because most of them would need a little love. Some sooner, some later – THAT is the guarantee. But with the right mods, these things can be bulletproof!! Ask any UberNXT-, Evenstrain-, FSSB-, FCC-, and HALL sensor-modded Cougar owner. Heck, I’d even rate the UberNXT mod to be way better than the WH stock gimbals… And then there are some mods that the Cougar just HAS to have, like the HALL sensor mod for the throttle… Long story short, the Cougar is not for someone who expects to just sit down and play, but if the time is spent to iron out the flaws…

This project was what I wanted to do with the Cougars, but unfortunately didn’t have the skill or more importantly, the time…

[Scotters]

Very cool video. Once I win the lotto I’m buying a cock pit, unless I can buy a real F-16 from Turkey or something! ��

So Ice, what do you use now, a stock warthog?

[Stubbies2003]

@-Ice:

This project was what I wanted to do with the Cougars, but unfortunately didn’t have the skill or more importantly, the time…

Never mind the money investment for something like that. The throttle working in that video is pretty darn close to matching the real jet.