Turtle Beach is best known for their headsets, but they entered the controller game last year with the Recon Controller. This was an impressive controller for Xbox and PC that had universal functionality. Their second venture into the world of game controllers is for a much more niche market. The VelocityOne Flight is a flight simulator controller. Going beyond flight simulators in general this is a controller that seems to have been designed specifically for Microsoft Flight Simulator. It's a controller that by design has a limited range of practical uses, but is intended to create the smoothest and most authentic flying experience across the virtual skies.

There's some assembly required with the VelocityOne, but it's nothing too complicated. The controller comes in two pieces that easily attach together. Basically the smaller piece just snaps into place on the larger one. There are two USB cables involved, one used to connect the parts together and the other goes straight into the Xbox or PC. All in all assembly takes under five minutes.

Once everything is together the user can appreciate how the design replicates actual flight controls. There's a realistic 180° yoke handle for smooth control during flights. The handle features integrated rudder controls to simulate true-to-life airplane controls. There's a dual lever modular throttle that can provide a realistic experience with any type of aircraft. This can be customized with interchangeable throttle tops. Lifting up the hatch is a fat Alan wrench that can be used to adjust the clamps located on the bottom. This allows the user to affix the VelocityOne to the their gaming desk so it remains securely stationed in place, but allows for easy removal for transport.

The VelocityOne Flight is compatible with Xbox Consoles and PC. There's one glaring inconvenience about this peripheral and that's that it does not work in the menus in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This also applies to a few of the tutorials. Initially this made it look like the VelocityOne was defective or at least not a good product, but after some research it was revealed that this issue is with Microsoft Flight Simulator and incompatibility with third-party controllers. This made starting a game of Flight Simulator annoying as it required switching between the VelocityOne and a regular Xbox controller, but that isn't exactly a defect with the VelocityOne, but a design choice on Microsoft's part.

Once getting past the menus of Microsoft Flight Simulator has been completed, flying with the VelocityOne is great. Without being an actual pilot it's hard to ascertain exactly how authentic the the flying experience is, but it responds the way one would imagine the controls in a real cockpit would. The controls are extremely responsive which does take some getting used to. Early on it's easy to over or undershoot how much movement is required to completed the desired task, but getting a feel for this comes quickly. Once the function and general sensitivity of the controller is known, navigating through mountains or over cities becomes almost second natures and the controller mechanics are intuitive.

This wouldn't be a modern gaming peripheral without RGB lighting which is included in the VelocityOne Flight. This is a feature that in general isn't of much personal interest, but will need to concede that in this particular case the lightshow does help make the controller come to life. Real cockpits do not have RGB lightshows running for the pilot's livestream (we're assuming this at least), but it helps create the illusion that this flight controller is part of a larger aircraft. There's an LED screen on the yoke that handles a few functions such as switching from single or double propeller modes, adjusting bindings and checking to see what the different buttons do which can be a handy cheat sheet when you're several thousand feet above ground.

The Velocity One Flight works wonderfully on Microsoft Flight Simulator, creating a feeling that the user is truly flying an aircraft. The flight stick controls are responsive and once the user gets the hang of their sensitivity level, flying becomes an intuitive process. Retailing for $379.95, this isn't a cheap piece of hardware, so one would expect that it has a quality level to match the price. The VelocityOne was specifically designed for Microsoft Flight Simulator and works amazing with it. Because of this factor, however, it may not be compatible with all flight simulator games on the market for PC and Xbox and mileage may vary with other titles.

Closing Comments:

The Turtle Beach VelocityOne Flight is the ultimate way to experience Microsoft Flight Simulator. The hardware seems like a true-to-life simulation of cockpit controls with a useful LED screen and nice RGB lighting effects. The intuitive nature of the controls and the high level of responsiveness brings a new level of immersion to Flight Simulator, making an already incredible game even more enjoyable. The downside is the hefty price tag. There's no dispute on whether or not this is a well-built, high-quality piece of gaming hardware, but even though it does a phenomenal job with the title, it was designed for it and is a peripheral with limited practical applications.