Newcomer flight sim hardware company IIDB has released its new steering tiller, which is designed to look like an Airbus A3XX type tiller.
While flight sim hardware companies have focused on making new yokes, throttle quadrants, pedals, and even panels, few have ventured into making steering tillers. These are a pretty important part of the taxi experience for those who enjoy flying airliners, and it has left some simmers wondering why more companies don’t make controls for them.
IIDB is a new company that was founded by a former member of VKB, another flight sim hardware company that manufactures high-quality pedals, joysticks, throttles, and others. The company is headquartered in China, and it aims to create high-quality, authentic flight sim peripherals suitable for both cockpit builders and desk simmers.
The IIDB A3XX Tiller
As mentioned before, this product is styled to look like an Airbus-style tiller. As it is a standalone tiller, it is, expectedly, very simple, featuring one programmable button and an one axis. It’s designed to be compact, with very high-quality components and finish. The solid metal bottom base makes it heavy enough for tabletop use with no extra mounting equipment.
The internal components are built to last. It features a contactless sensor, which won’t wear out like cheap potentiometers and cause erratic readings. It also has an all-metal gimbal with two bearings and a return-to-center damper, which makes the tiller feel smooth to turn and prevents it from bouncing when it’s returned to the center position. Finally, an Arm Cortex-M4 32-bit chip provides highly precise readings with minimal latency.
Pricing and IIDB’s Future Plans
As you might expect for such a premium product, it’s quite pricey, retailing at $289 USD on IIDB’s own website. While the price may seem quite steep, comparing it to its competitors like the CAT3D Airbus tiller ($348) or the FSC B737 Tiller (€380) reveals that IIDB’s product is actually quite competitively priced in this hardware space.
As for future plans, IIDB is currently working on a First Officer version of the product, which will be more suited for use with the right hand. Later on, the company plans to release more Airbus-style devices and other devices in general, so stay tuned to FSNews to find out more about IIDB’s future endeavors.
