Hardware is the key, if you want to reach the higher levels of simulation. But it’s not the device itself, that makes things look and feel different. It’s also the rigg for it. Where would you find the joy in simming with the best HOTAS system, the most realistic yoke, the best rudder pedals without proper fixation? Look at the picture above. This is not really a simmers dream, is it?
Well, some of our simming friends in Poland thought similar and here you are: Wheel Stand Pro offers a variety of solutions both for racing and flight simulation enthusiasts.
German simFlight.de reviewer Stefan Benzinger took a ride – see here, what he knows to tell:
First, please apologize my bumpy English, friends. I am not a native speaker, so please look at it with a strong sense of humour.
The company and their main product share the name: Wheel Stand Pro. Their homepage is well worth a visit for further information on the company and its offerings. On YouTube, you will find a couple of instructional videos. Direct contact by mail is easy and provides a very friendly, fast and competent service on all concerns.
For flight simmers, the following pictures show the most interesting products in the portfolio:
The upper picture shows the “Wheel Stand Pro for Thrustmaster HOTAS WARTHOG™ – Deluxe V2” for € 135.-/US-$ 174.-, the one below the “Wheel Stand Pro for Saitek Pro Flight Yoke System – Deluxe V2” for € 139.-/US-$ 177. Needless to say, that the additional hardware (Saitek resp. Thrustmaster components) seen above are NOT part of the package.
Purchase is easily done via the company’s web based shop. More retailers all over the world may well follow. Delivery from Poland took 3 days to southern Germany via a parcel service at no extra cost.
The box contains a short printed instruction in English, a couple of screw sets, fixing material and the necessary tools for the buildup. You can start straight from the box; the following slides may give you some impressions:
The overall impression is really good. Solid material, thoughtful design and a high production standard combine to a compact and reliable device. Adjustments to any seating position and body size can be made quickly and easily. The frame can be folded to very compact measures. And the best is, you do not even have to remove your mounted hardware in this case.
The whole rigg will find its place in any children’s or living room or home office with ease. Anyway, the frame is not a lightweight, so with the rubber poles, you have a very good ground contact on almost any surface.
Look here for a manufacturer’s how-to video concerning the correct mounting of Saitek hardware:
Video: WheelStandPro on mounting Saitek hardware
The main difference between all the different variants offered by the manufacturer is the hardware holder, which always is prepared for the mounting of corresponding hardware, say Saitek or whatever with properly drilled holes, attached screw sets etc.. The manufacturer also offers a wide variety of cross-over solutions at individual request, so you could even share the stand with your car-racing children just by changing the hardware holder.
My verdict:
After excessive testing, I can higly recommend this piece of hardware expansion to any simmer with the need for a quickly adjustable, stable and compact home cockpit solution. With the provided quality and all the components and shipment included, the price is absolutely fair and adequate.
I give this product a clear 5/5 simFlight stars.
At one glance:
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too expensive 🙁
I was looking at a wheel stand for racing the other day. Frame only, no hardware or seat, over US$1000.
I actually thought that these were quite reasonably priced in comparison to most reasonably well built equivalents out there, plus they have the advantage of being able to fold them for better storage. It’s just a pity I don’t have the room to fit one in! 😉