Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One review: a great beginner's flight stick

Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One: One-minute review

Can you believe the Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One has been around for years? The entry-level stick offers everything you need to get started in Microsoft Flight Simulator or something more exotic, with a throttle, a comfortable stick, and the option to attach each or keep them separate.

The entire unit is cheaper than many flight sticks you can pick up without an additional throttle, meaning you’re getting plenty of bulk for your buck, if not bang. The throttle is lacking in resistance, and the casing of both halves is made of a relatively cheap-feeling plastic. Thankfully that does make it lightweight, meaning it’s easy to haul between desk and sofa setups across PC and Xbox.

Still, 14 buttons and 5 axes are more than enough for you to earn your pilot wings, and more intermediate features like a tactile hat switch and a nice, springy trigger make it feel much more comprehensive than rivals at this price point.

PlayStation gamers will also need to look elsewhere, but the Hotas One will work on PC and current generation Xbox consoles and will go as far back as the Xbox One. If you’ve got one of those platforms, the plug-and-play nature makes it easy to get started, and the Xbox buttons replicated across the unit can make it easy to make the jump for traditionally console-bound flyers.

All of this makes it an attractive entry-level flight stick that lacks additional axes and controls but offers a more cockpit-adjacent split throttle and stick form factor that it’s easy to feel impressed by. It’s not getting any younger, but with Thrustmaster continuing to re-release it in fresh colorways (including a Microsoft Flight Simulator option), it’s clear the company is standing by it as a first taste of flight stick for beginners.

Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One: Price and availability

• List price: $99.99 / £89.99
• Available in black and Microsoft Flight Simulator options
• Launched in October 2017

The T-Flight Hotas One has been around for a while (there was a PS3 version at one point, which should tell you how long it’s lasted), and this particular model has been getting PC and Xbox gamers in the air since 2017.

It’s getting harder to find the plain black version now, but the Microsoft Flight Simulator version is the same product with a white finish, suggesting the stick isn’t going anywhere. That new color option is a lot brighter and makes the stick look more modern.

Regardless, you’ll find either for under $100 with discounts, making it more than competitive with some throttle-less options like the Turtle Beach VelocityOne. It’s drastically cheaper than mid-range options like Logitech’s X56 Hotas RGB, too, and it remains a great starter option because of its price.

Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One: Specs

Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One: Design and features

• Ideal for desk usage
• Plastic feels cheap
• Can collect dust on the throttle base

The Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One was the first official flight stick released for the Xbox One (a console that launched in 2013), so it’s had some longevity. Still, its design feels very much of its time - it’s relatively sleek in all black, with some silver accenting and a striped F2 button on the stick.

Still, it’s very plasticky, which can lead to it audibly creaking during use - thank goodness it’s not a real plane! On the one hand that’s likely kept the price down, but on the other, it feels far from premium in comparison to more expensive sticks like Thrustmaster’s own T.16000M FCS Flight Pack.

While buttons can be remapped in your game of choice within their individual settings since the stick is a ‘generic’ option, I’m pleased to see the Xbox buttons represented here. So many flight sticks cater to PC almost exclusively that it’s nice to see the face buttons here, in color, for easier recognition. There’s even the Xbox button to call up the Xbox menu on PC or console.

The rubber under the stick helps prevent dust from getting into the mechanism, but the same can’t be said of the throttle which has no shielding from dust or the elements underneath - if you’re using it regularly that won’t be a problem, but it’s definitely worth mentioning that it’s likely to collect dust.

The stick plugs in via USB-A, with a breakaway cable that’s ideal in case someone yanks the cable while you’re playing. It calls to mind the original Xbox’s cables, and you’ll be thankful for it if it stops your console or PC from toppling.

Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One: Performance

• Plug and play on console and PC via USB-A
• Splitting sections is easy, although cable management can get fiddly
• Hat switch is a nice touch

Setting up the T.Flight Hotas One couldn’t be simpler - just plug it in via USB-A. While the industry is moving away from it, it lives on here, so bear in mind you may need a USB-C adapter depending on your port selection.

Once it’s plugged in, it just works, both on console and PC. I enjoyed Elite Dangerous on each, and was barrel-rolling and nosediving with reckless abandon within minutes either at my desk or on the couch. The stick is responsive, and the Z-axis rudder can be used via the rocker on the throttle which I found to offer more granular control when listing left or right.

One of my favorite parts is the hat switch, which comes in a four-way version here. This nifty input on the top of the flight stick can act as a D-Pad, letting you do things like open the landing gear in Elite Dangerous with a press. It’ll be hard to go back to mouse and keyboard or controller, that’s for sure, but naturally eight-way hat switches will double the available commands that are a thumb flick away.

It’s easy to take the stick and throttle apart, but the two are connected by a cable. Once you put them back together, you’ll likely want to run the wire underneath through a trench on the underside, and that can be fiddly in my experience.

The relatively low price of admission can also be felt in the throttle. It’s not bad, it’s just lacking any resistance which makes it feel less like a piece of aerospace equipment and more like a toy. It’s hard to escape the feeling that this is where corners were cut, and when pushing to hyperspace in a space sim like Elite Dangerous, it feels lacking in any meaningly pushback. It makes sense at this price point but it’s worth mentioning.

On the flip side, I will say the trigger on the stick feels nice and snappy, springing back into place in a way that feels nice and tactile while also ensuring you can line up those laser cannon blasts in something like Star Wars: Squadrons and have the trigger ready to fire again almost instantly.

I’m also pleased to report the T.Flight Hotas One is great for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which might be to be expected with its officially branded version. The split design means you can position a keyboard in the middle of the throttle and flight stick which then allows for a much broader array of commands than the T.Flight Hotas One is able to provide because of its lower button count.

As I mentioned earlier, though, the plastic construction can cause the stick to creak a little, and it’s lightweight enough that it’s not too difficult to accidentally shift it about the desk with relatively minor effort.

Should I buy the Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One?

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Still not sold on the T.Flight Hotas One? Here’s how it compares to two similar products.

How I tested the Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One

• Tested over the course of two weeks
• Used both in split and singular unit modes
• Tested on multiple games across two platforms

I spent around 15 hours playing Elite Dangerous and Star Wars: Squadrons, both on PC and via an Xbox Series X.

I played each game for several hours, before switching platforms and switching back again to ensure consistent performance across games and platforms.

I also played Microsoft Flight Simulator on PC for a further five hours, splitting the Hotas One and using it as one unit to test its comfort in both configurations.

Read more about how we test 

First reviewed November 2024