Posted December 31, 1969 by Scott Parrino

Throttle control for flight simulators is an important aspect of control. Without it, you can’t land or maintain a steady level of flight. We all know the dangers of a full-throttle landing approach or trying to stay level with low engine power. Now what if you wanted another level of immersion and control? Want to control your prop pitch and fuel mixture? How about a throttle for each of your four engines? Sounds like a lot to manage right? Well CH steps in with a nice little number that allows for direct control of whatever you want for your flight simulator with the CH Throttle Quadrant.

At first glance the CH Throttle Quadrant looks like something straight from airplane cockpit. The six levers have the same range and movement and if you want to change which levers have a different knob, a good pull can remove the knobs and move them around. My personal set up was designed for a twin-engine plane and if I wanted in a hurry, could configure it into a four-engine set up. The degree of customization and configuration for just the throttle levers is incredible and helps in the immersion factor.



On the front of the quadrant are six switches that can be pressed up and down for a total of 12 functions. From engine starts, fuel switches, lights, radio to opening a cargo door can be assigned to them. While their location means that you’ll have to move your entire hand (as compared to other throttles such as the CH Pro Throttle or X52), it isn’t that much of a hassle and I hardly doubt that you’ll be threatened from it. The CH Throttle Quadrant functions best for civilian flight simulators, so no worries on being shot down by a SAM emplacement while making your final approach on Midway Airport.

The CH Throttle Quadrant can be secured to a desk via two screw handles. This is a huge help since the quadrant itself isn’t very heavy and having it just rest on a desk without the handles will lead to the quadrant moving about. This could be a problem for some, as I know that all desks are different and some are not thin enough to accommodate for the handles. I believe that this is the only problem I have had with the CH Throttle Quadrant since my desk is just one inch too thick.

I mentioned before that the CH Throttle Quadrant would best function with a civilian flight simulator like Microsoft’s Flight Simulator 2004 but I also gave it a go on Aces High II and Pacific Fighters for kicks. On single-engine fighters the quadrant was a little overkill, but with bombers and twin-engine planes like the A-20 and Bf-110 it was a dream. The added number of switches helped in flaps and gear controls as well as selecting bomb loads.



The CH Throttle Quadrant, like the rest of its brethren at CH is built with high-quality plastic that is very tough and durable. It received a lot of abuse on and off my desk and worked without a hitch. Another plus is that the quadrant itself isn’t too big or too small. It takes up as much space as a CH Pro Throttle and won’t crowd up your desk with useless space.

As with all CH products, the CH Throttle Quadrant comes with Control Manager, which can allow you to customize the controls of the unit. The program adds even more customization for the user and is a great help when you need more complicated controls for your simulator.

Overall, CH has once again produced a great product. Cyber pilots who want to feel like they’re flying a Boeing or a Learjet 45 can now control it like one. The CH Throttle Quadrant would feel right at home with the CH Flight Sim Yoke and CH Pro Pedals at a desk or if you are talented and patient enough, a simpit.

For cyber pilots that want the immersion, control and quality of a throttle quadrant, you can’t go wrong with the CH Throttle Quadrant.