The Ultimate Jank Helicopter Collective

This is my ultra simple, and surprisingly robust, flight sim collective for helicopters.

The goal was to make something I could use as a collective without having to make an elaborate pvc apparatus with custom sensors and such. My Thrustmaster TWCS Throttle was working ok as it was but I wanted a bit more control and realism without breaking the bank.

The result is a collective that is decently smooth, sturdily mounted to my regular office chair, and took an afternoon to make.

-This project was designed to be the most affordable and effective collective based on what I had. You may not have the random materials or tools that I have, which might make a different build more efficient for you. Obviously if you don't have a throttle to convert then there may be better options depending on your budget.

-Thrustmaster TWCS Throttle or some other throttle you have lying around that you are confident can have a 2cm hole drilled in the area where the bar will insert

-Somewhere around 1-2 feet of 3/4" PVC pipe or another rod type thing

-A way to cut PVC pipe

-A drill and a hole saw bit. I used a 26mm but slightly smaller probably would've worked better

-Something to make the collective snug in the throttle hole. You'll want it to be rigid to minimize flexing on use. I cut up thin sheets of copper that I fit around the pipe

-Hot glue gun or another type of glue that is decently strong when dried in open air

-Drill bits and longish screws

-An office chair like mine or some other way to mount it

Get the throttle secured with this side facing up. It needs to be held decently secure in something like a vise without breaking anything.

Use the hole saw bit right where I have it drilled. The circuitry and wires can all be avoided if you drill just through the outer shell. Luckily there's a good amount of plastic inside the shell just far enough in to stop any over drilling. This is why using a different throttle may not work!

Clear out the hole and get all the plastic shavings out of the casing. Make sure the PVC pipe can be inserted

This step will probably take the most time depending on your materials.

Because you are essentially attaching a lever where all the torque is on this janky connection you need to make the pipe snug with something rigid. I hastily molded some cut sheets of copper. Using something like duct tape wrapped around a cylinder is usually an effective way to make a janky connection snug but that would be too flexible in this case.

Ultimately I shortened the collective much more than planned because its length made it nearly impossible to raise or lower it. This is because when you try to move the collective it will apply rotational force instead of linear how the throttle operates.

Hot glue the outer parts of the connection. Wrap something around the handle to make it comfy. I had some tennis racket wrap I used.

The four corners of the TWCS throttle have no vital components that drilling small holes could damage. Feel free to take the back cover off like I did or just reference my picture.

I attached the collective to the chair on just two corners and it is very secure. Depending on your chair or mount setup you may have to attach it differently.