Thrustmaster T.Hotas ONE - a Cheap Upgrade for Flight Simulator Enthusiasts

Every virtual flight enthusiast knows how necessary it is to have the greatest number of controls to be able to control all the functions of the plane. Although in theory it is possible to play Flight Simulator simply with an Xbox controller, most of the functions are accessible via keyboard commands: in practice this never happens as you have to learn a large amount of key bindings to the various functions and this contrasts with the speed and action needed in flight.

For this reason all simulated flight enthusiasts equip themselves with multi-button joysticks and the Thrustmaster T.Hotas One is one of the most popular both because it can be used on PC and Xbox and also for its very affordable cost.

The T.Hotas One provides, in addition to the 4 fundamental maneuvering axes and the indispensable POV stick, a single additional axis and 14 buttons that can be configured as desired to implement the basic flight functions. However, you soon discover that these additions are barely enough while you would like to have more and more new axes and additional buttons.

Unfortunately, however, for those who want to practice flight simulation with a fully effective tool, its functions will soon seem lacking and it will be necessary to integrate them.The use of the keyboard, in addition to being particularly inconvenient, requires learning a large number of key associations to the various commands and functions and results in an inconvenient and inefficient solution. To fly effectively in a cockpit faithful enough to real conditions, a solution can be adopted using an additional programmable mini keyboard, costing just a few euros, which can very effectively integrate the functions of the Thrustmaster.

I present to you my experience which is proving to be particularly effective and flexible.

I welcome comments and proposals.

Supplies

• A "programmable macro pad" from any seller as AliExpress (or others) for around €20, in order to have 15 more keys and 3 more rotary axes. You can perform a search with "macro pad" on Aliexpress or Amazon or similar.
• A 3D printer with about 200g of PETG filament
• A bit of double-sided tape or glue

Step 1: Let's Get the Right Macro Pad

The first operation is to obtain the Macro PAD suitable for the purpose. I recommend purchasing a model that has a sufficient number of keys and also some rotary axis. There are many variants on the main e-commerce platforms but the one I chose for my Hotas is equipped with 12 buttons and 3 rotary axes. Furthermore, the three encoders are each equipped with the additional function with the click of the knob.

So I purchased for around €20 a "programmable macro pad" from AliExpress as in the picture, in order to have 15 more keys and 3 more rotary axes to my Hotas.

Step 2: Printing 3D Support

For the physical positioning of the new macro pad inside the Hotas group, to allow its stable and functionally integrated housing, I designed in CAD and then built an ad hoc support with the 3D printer.

This stand can accommodate the keyboard in a comfortable position during the flight, between the joystick and the accelerator, since these two parts in the Thrustmaster joystick are naturally separable.

In particular, this support is in turn also composed of two parts, the lower one capable of connecting directly to the two parts of the decomposable joystick and the upper container, capable of hosting the mini keyboard.

The reason for this choice comes on the one hand to allow greater simplicity of printing of the complex and, on the other, from the possibility of making any changes to the upper part, which physically contains the mini keyboard, to adapt it to a different model, if this is not exactly identical to mine.

I refer you to the digital model published by me on Thingiverse (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6528899) and on Prusa Printables (https://www.printables.com/it/model/802647-thrustmaster-thotas-one-upgrade-for-flight-simulated).

The 3D printing process of the lower part of the support does not require any special care other than applying the necessary supports. To reduce printing times, with a largely acceptable result, I recommend slicing in the model with 0.28 mm layers.

For the top, a normal layer size of 0.2 mm is recommended.

As a material it is possible to use both PETG and PLA, in my case I opted for PETG as it is more dimensionally stable in the long term.

Step 3: Mechanical Assembly

Mechanical assembly is very simple as the parts fit together by themselves. For dimensional tolerances, it may be necessary to make some modest shimming of max 1 mm using a tape of elastic material.

The upper part, which contains the keyboard, can be easily fixed to the lower support with double-sided tape.

Once assembled, the complex is very stable and does not require other fixings, however if it is deemed necessary, the project is designed to accommodate common M4x35 screws and related nuts for definitive tightening.

Step 4: Programming the Macro Pad

Once the assembly has been assembled, some steps are necessary to program the functions of the various keys and axes using the software that is generally indicated by the hardware supplier.

The first step will therefore be to decide on the key bindings that satisfy your needs and define the correspondence with the standard Flight Simulator keyboard commands in a table.

Generally, then, it will be necessary to move to a PC as the programming software is built to run in a Windows environment. Once the keys have been programmed, the macro pad will retain the associations you have defined even if you disconnect it from the PC and turn off the power.

I use the pre-programmed keyboard on the PC with Flight Simulator 2020 in the Xbox environment. In the attached file I show you, by way of example only and for initial orientation, what my associations were for general aviation aircraft.

Step 5: Good Flight!