Honeycomb Aeronautical is well-known for its premium flight-control trio: the Alpha Yoke, Bravo Throttle Quadrant, and Charlie Rudders. Now Honeycomb has released the Echo Aviation Controller. Taking the most used functions from all three of its premium units, the Echo shrinks everything down into a single all-in-one PC controller. Brimming with knobs, dials, and sliders on every surface, the Echo controller puts all of your most-used controls in the palm of your hand, but how well does it perform? Read on to find out if it flies high or crashes and burns.
Unboxing
Like other Honeycomb products, the Echo Aviation Controller comes in a premium package. The thick cardboard has a magnetic flap that opens up to reveal the Echo’s carry case. Unzipping and opening the clamshell-shaped case, you’ll find the Echo controller, a USB-A dongle, nine interchangeable lever caps for different plane configurations, and a USB-A-to-C cable used to charge the controller.
The quality of the shell is better than I’ve seen with most controller cases. The outer shell is made of a semi-hard material that is slightly larger than the controller itself, yet still small enough to tote around in your backpack. The inner shell is contoured to snugly hold the controller in place, and the microfiber lining will keep it scratch-free when not in use. Below the controller, there is a small rubber piece with cutouts to hold the extra lever caps – it doesn’t do a very good job, and the caps fall out with minor shaking – and a mesh pocket along the top of the case to hold the charging cable.
Controller Features
The Echo Aviation Controller is similarly shaped but larger than a standard Xbox controller – 6.53 x 6.96 x 2.71in, compared to 6.02 x 4.01 x 2.4in. The extra space is put to good use, with almost every surface of the controller packed with extra buttons, levers, and knobs that make the Echo an all-in-one device that replicates most of the controls found on Honeycomb’s Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie controls combo.
On the front of the controller, a single Hall Effect thumbstick is positioned at the bottom-left and is easily reached by your left thumb. The use of a Hall Effect stick ensures that you will never encounter stick drift, giving you accurate control of pitch and roll for the life of the controller.
Directly above the thumbstick are four small programmable buttons, and up and to the left of the stick is an 8-way hat switch. At the top center of the controller is another cluster of four programmable buttons, with default labeling similar to the Xbox controller’s menu buttons.
To the right of the stick are four vertical sliders, each with a detent at the bottom end. The controller’s labeling designates the left slider as a speed brake, the middle two with generic hashing for throttle control, and the far right as flap control. All of the sliders are programmable, allowing you to configure them to your liking, from a single-engine GA craft with throttle, mixture, and prop control, up to a four-engine airliner.
The levers have removable caps, and Honeycomb has included three distinct sets for some of the most common applications. There are four Boeing-style throttle caps for up to a 4-engine configuration. The set also includes Boeing-style speed brake and flap caps, along with an Airbus-style speed brake for single and twin-engine commercial craft. And finishing up the set are blue and red caps for GA prop and mixture controls. The caps can be mixed and matched however you like, and are more visually realistic than the generic labeling on the controller.
Rounding out the controls on the top of the Echo controller is a small trim wheel located at the far right. Unlike the smooth linear trim wheel on the Honeycomb Bravo, the wheel on the Echo has detents similar to a mouse wheel, with each click recognized as a button press. I would have liked to have the granularity of a linear wheel, but given its small size, having each click represent a specific amount of trim (the exact amount can be configured within the flight sim) probably provides better control.
At the top of the controller is a USB-C port that is used for charging only, flanked on each side by two digital bumpers. I personally would have preferred a standard trigger/bumper combo so that I could set the triggers for variable braking. Still, more buttons are always a positive, and the bumpers provide you with additional inputs without having to take your hands off the controller.
The bottom of the controller has three switches. Although they can be configured however you want, they are obviously meant to be used as a push-pull parking brake, an up/down lever for landing gear, and a two-way switch for flaps. I found these switches to be a genius-level addition that adds functionality in a rarely used portion of the controller.
Finally, you’ll find mechanically-linked, self-centering Hall Effect rudder pedals on the bottom of the Echo controller. This is another inspired addition that helps put every major in-flight control into a single controller.
In-flight Use
Overall, I was pretty happy with the Echo Aviation Controller’s performance. I was able to get it set up and configured in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 relatively easily, and Honeycomb provides basic control setups to download and import into the game if you don’t want to do it all yourself. However, since the controller is so versatile, you will need to spend some extra time creating different configurations for each of the aircraft you fly, but it’s a one-time investment.
Even with so many controls packed into a tight space, the controller is more intuitive than flying with a generic controller. Once you get the thumbstick sensitivity dialed in, you get smooth, accurate control. The four levers add a sense of realism, and although they aren’t as accurate as a full-sized throttle quadrant, they are leaps and bounds above using bumpers or buttons to control your throttle.
Having the parking brake, landing gear, and flap control on the bottom of the controller is a nice touch, and the rudder pedals on the back of the controller are a game-changer. Again, they aren’t as precise as a full-sized unit, but it’s fantastic not having to reach for a keyboard or set up your flight with auto-rudder enabled. And I understand that adding brakes to the rudder system would be difficult, but I wish the controller had analog triggers that could take over that duty.
My biggest complaint is the hat switch’s location. Since it’s on the left side of the controller, you have to take your thumb off the thumbstick to use it, making it nearly impossible to change camera views (if that’s how you have it set up) while performing any maneuvers besides level flight. I know it’s more realistic to have the trim wheel next to the throttle controls, but I would prefer the two controls swapped so that you could use the hat switch and the thumbstick simultaneously
Final Thoughts
The Echo Aviation Controller is an economical way to move past keyboard and mouse controls, and although you might already have a controller that you can use, the immersion and added features you get with the Echo are well worth the $149.99 price tag.
Although flight sim enthusiasts will prefer full-sized desktop controls, the Echo Aviation Controller fills a niche at a reasonable price. Anyone who currently uses a controller to fly will find the extra controls add a new level of immersion to their flights. It’s also a good choice for someone with limited desk space or who doesn’t want to deal with the setup and removal of desktop controls when they aren’t flying.
I already mentioned the lack of precision compared to desktop controls, but that is to be expected, and even though I didn’t find the layout perfect, I would still recommend the Echo to almost anyone looking to upgrade from a basic controller. But there are still a couple of glaring issues that may turn you away.
The real flaw with the Echo is its lack of connectivity options. Unlike most modern wireless controllers, the Echo can only be connected via its USB-A dongle. There isn’t any Bluetooth connectivity, and the USB-C port is only for charging. So, if you are playing on a laptop with limited ports or the battery dies, you are grounded. I don’t play flight sims on the go, and my desktop PC has plenty of open ports, but the lack of connectivity options is a huge miss, especially considering a large portion of the target audience may be looking at the Echo for its mobile footprint.
Speaking of the target audience, if you use a controller to fly while playing MSFS on console, you are out of luck. The Echo is currently PC-only, leaving console players out in the cold. It is well known that dealing with Microsoft can be a pain, but making a niche product like the Echo unavailable to the large console market further reduces the pool of prospective buyers.
