Turtle Beach VelocityOne Flight – Review: An asset once it works

A great flight simulator control system for enthusiasts. With a few quirks, but Turtle Beach can’t do anything about them.

Turtle Beach’s VelocityOne Flight is a nice… let’s call it a tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator. At least once it works properly and is set up correctly. It may take some time until then. Time, which enthusiasts in particular are probably very happy to spend. The much more important question is this: Is the VelocityOne Flight worth the 380 euros that Turtle Beach wants for it?

Yes and no. As mentioned, the system is aimed particularly at enthusiasts. If you’re just flying around a bit here and there in Flight Simulator, the controller will suffice. But for some, that’s just not enough. In the beginning, the good piece cost me a few nerves.

Not everything goes perfectly

When the cloud version of Flight Simulator was released, I figured I could finally do a few laps without having to free up extra hard drive space. So the good piece connected to my PC – it is compatible with Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and Windows – and off into the air. You think… The detection worked fine, but nothing happened with Flight Simulator in the cloud.

As I found out after about an hour of trial and error, reboots, changing settings and growing desperation, the Turtle Beach VelocityOne Flight is simply not compatible with the cloud version. Uff. I don’t quite understand why this is the case, but to be honest it’s a real disadvantage for me, especially since Flight Simulator takes up a lot of space on the hard drive.

Remotely related to this is another problem, which Turtle Beach is not responsible for. Navigating the Flight Simulator menus does not work with VelocityOne Flight – or any other third party system – you must use a controller or mouse to do so. This is annoying, especially since the system is specifically designed for the flight simulator. But it’s also a problem that the developers would have to address on their side.

At the same time, you should be prepared to spend a little more time setting up the system. Plug and play doesn’t really fit here when the flight simulator on the Xbox shows me something about joystick button 30 to release the brakes when using the VelocityOne Flight, but I have no idea where this button is exactly at first. The only thing that helps is trying things out or, which is probably easier, you first set up the system and its buttons the way you think is right.

The VelocityOne Flight has everything you need

The thrust quadrant that you plug into on the right includes ten customizable buttons, a pitch trim dial, throttle controls, and more. Directly in front of you in front of the control yoke you also have several LED displays for the status of your aircraft. With the help of the display integrated in the control yoke, you can switch between different profiles, change the LED colors or switch from Xbox to PC mode and back. It is the small command center of the VelocityOne Flight and allows for quick adjustments.

As far as processing is concerned, the VelocityOne Flight mainly uses plastic. Don’t expect leather like some of the higher priced wheels, but the control yoke still feels good and feels good in the hands. The RGB lighting does its part to make everything look a little more fancy, although overall I wouldn’t call the VelocityOne Flight a huge eye-catcher. But well, as long as it does its job, this is rather a negligible aspect.

If you open the main part of the VelocityOne Flight on the top, you will see two screws and a matching Allen key. Turn the screws and two simple brackets appear on the underside. This even allowed the device to be attached to a desk with drawers quite well, even if I had to leave one of the drawers open a bit to do so. But better than having to take them out completely for steering wheels. In any case, it is quickly mounted and ready for use, and due to the lack of vibrations it does not have to be a too complex mount.

One advantage is that you don’t even have to use the bracket. I put the VelocityOne Flight on my living room table and was able to play the flight simulator without it slipping too much unless you pulled the control stick with all your might. There are minor movements of the device when controlling it, but nothing that would be distracting or require constant adjustment.

How does it fly with the VelocityOne Flight?

Let’s get to one of the most important points: flying. Once everything is connected, set up and working, the VelocityOne Flight transforms the feeling of flight compared to a normal Xbox controller. The control horn reacts sensitively to the smallest movements and implements them precisely in the game. It is very easy to use and everything works smoothly. For flight manoeuvres, you don’t have to fully depress or pull out the control yoke, the sensitivity is great and enables precision work.

I found flying with it a good deal more fun than with the usual Xbox pad and sticks. Especially if you have set everything up sensibly and according to your wishes and later know it blindly. Unlike the Xbox gamepad, I never once accidentally crashed while playing with Turtle Beach’s device. My only crash was of course planned because I was about to finish the game anyway. You definitely feel more like a real pilot with the VelocityOne Flight. If you now build a cockpit all around, the immersion is perfect.

By the way, some stickers that are included in the package help to assign the buttons on the VelocityOne Flight. This way you can keep track of individual bookings. The only annoying factor is the aforementioned need for a regular controller or mouse to navigate Flight Simulator’s already horrid menus. Having to constantly have the pad at hand just to change the camera perspective, for example, is not what I consider intuitive control. But the ball isn’t in Turtle Beach’s half in that regard, it’s up to developer Asobo Studio to make that happen. In theory, the VelocityOne Flight should be able to navigate through the menus.

And what about other games besides Flight Simulator? The VelocityOne Flight doesn’t work with Elite Dangerous, but it does with Star Wars Squadrons. Because of the sensitivity, you always have to adapt to the respective game, which is not always easy. My suggestion: The device is primarily intended for the flight simulator and in view of this you should only worry about it. If it works with other games, that’s more of a bonus.

Turtle Beach VelocityOne Flight Test – Conclusion

For around 380 euros, the VelocityOne Flight is definitely not a cheap investment. But it’s also not a product that isn’t aimed at people who just do a lap in Flight Simulator here and there. At least I would not advise you to buy it if you count yourself among the target group. But if you already know that you will spend a lot of time with Flight Simulator in the future, whether on Xbox or PC, it is a worthwhile and long-term investment. The VelocityOne Flight does a good job, with it the virtual airplanes can be controlled very well and it is of good quality. Turtle Beach and the device itself can’t do anything about the more annoying factors in the test, that’s more due to the game. In this respect, it is to be hoped that the implementation of such systems will only get better in the future.