Thrustmaster TCA Officer Pack Airbus Edition VERDICT

Take to the skies and look the part

THRUSTMASTER $349

5Thrustmaster unveiled its collaboration with Airbus in 2020, introducing a new flight accessories line under the aerospace icon’s name. The partnership birthed an officially licensed range combining a legacy in accessories with iconic A320 signatures under the “Thrustmaster Civil Aviation” series. The Thrustmaster TCA Sidestick Airbus Edition headlines the range, replicating the real-world sidestick used in the Airbus A320 and A320neo. The TCA design takes influence from its existing T.16000, bolstered with features and design improvements, alongside its blue-tinted makeover. That came at a relatively affordable starting price, flying off shelves ahead of the Microsoft Flight Simulator launch. The fundamental features of the T.16000 translate to this sidestick, including the same HEART technology, promising the precision of 16-bit resolution, also seen in its more expensive products. It also features 17 assignable buttons distributed across the stick and the base, and an eight-way hat switch to look around the cockpit. One of the most notable changes comes with considerations for Airbus craft, including left-handed and right-handed capabilities, as seen in an A320 cockpit. It delivers this through a modular head, with four included modules to customise the buttons, with aid from a crosshead screwdriver. This makes it an ambidextrous stick in the process, as reflected by a physical switch underneath to change between left-hand and right-hand modes. Thrustmaster plans to launch a replica throttle quadrant, providing more control over engines. But it doesn’t drop until the end of the year, making it best to use the stick’s integrated throttle control instead.

Feels great to use 95 Impressive features geared to Flight Simulator