Flight games are ridiculously fun, but some folks always have to take things too far. Some create replica Boeing cockpits, others buy the Echo Aviation Controller. The gamepad, a product of Honeycomb Aeronautical and its suspiciously Channel Islands-like logo, is designed with rabid flyers in mind.
Only not the sort of flight simulator nerd that has a full-scale 747 reproduction in their garage. We can’t all be as obsessive as Bruce Dickinson, and even the hardcore presumably like to relax with a spot of HAWX or something similarly lightweight. But when you’re used to controlling all the different aspects of a virtual aircraft, switching to twin thumbsticks seems tame. That’s where the Echo comes in.
There’s an Echo in here
The new controller replicates many of the flight functions in a purely gamepad form factor. The traditional sticks and buttons are bulked up with a selection of extra gubbins that offer control over pitch, yaw, and throttle. These are designed to be within reach of a questing thumb, while a few extra bits around the back let players control their rudders.
The Echo Aviation Controller is for PC gamers, ostensibly for flight simulators, but there’s also a market for hardcore Mechwarrior players that Honeycomb hasn’t identified yet. Whether you’re piloting a Shadow-class WHK-C Warhawk or dogfighting in a MiG-29A Fulcrum, the gamepad should offer extraordinary control for a gamepad.
Now for the bad news. As far as we can see, this R2,600 controller, set for a December launch this year, won’t ship directly to South Africa. It seems that the next-best option — Amazon — won’t stock it either. Still, if you’re enough of a flight junkie for the controller to pull your attention from that digital runway for a moment, you’ll find a way to get it. Perhaps fly an actual plane over to someplace that’ll sell it to you?
