The VPC ATLAS (Advanced Tactile Loading Axis System) is the highly anticipated force feedback base from VIRPIL Controls. Bringing a highly innovative force drive system that powers a gimbal designed from decades of experience bringing virtual pilots high precision, high quality spring flightstick bases.
The ATLAS Pro is a further step up for advanced sim pilots. Powered by custom designed motors with hardware anti-cogging, they output a powerful 45nm which passes over 22kg of force through to the flightstick. Combined with our innovative cord drive which deviates from the standard gear, belt or direct driven FFB systems which addresses a number of flaws with these approaches for flightsticks - you can experience true immersion in flight simulation, without compromises.
Unlike competing designs, forces are output equally and linearly in all axis directions. No backlash, no stepping, just immense precision.
CORD DRIVE AXIS SYSTEM
The ATLAS can provide unparalleled FFB immersion via its unique cord drive axis system , developed from years of research and development; it represents a unique deviation from typical gear, belt or direct driven systems which has a patent applied from VIRPIL Controls.
This mechanism avoids the usual drawbacks of gear and belt driven setups by completely eliminating backlash, stepping and other parasitic tactile effects by utilising a smooth, ultra high strength Dyneema® cord to transmit forces from the motors to the axis gimbal. These cords are rated for forces orders of magnitude higher than what the base will experience ensuring long term reliability. For pilot peace of mind, these cords are user replaceable as well as the base featuring built in monitoring of cord tension and adjustment points allowing pilots to adjust the tension via the gimbal with ease ensuring peak performance.
Direct drive FFB is also now a common FFB setup, often found in sim racing wheels, but unlike sim racing wheels flightsticks differ in some key areas; the force lever is much larger on a flightstick and the axis travel is heavily restricted on a flightstick compared to the 1080 degrees+ found on sim racing wheels. The VPC ATLAS system addresses both of these by applying a force multiplication for higher output forces to be transmitted from the motors to the flightstick with the longer lever, as well as allowing for the motors to rotate much more than a direct drive system would allow for with the restricted axis travel found on a flightstick. This is important as it gives the motors more rotational resolution to produce force feedback effects with greater detail and nuance.
CUSTOM DESIGNED MOTORS
CUSTOM FFB MOTORS DESIGNED FOR FLIGHT SIMULATION
VIRPIL Controls engineers have researched electric motors for years whilst reviewing the specific requirements for flightstick FFB. Unlike competing designs using “off the shelf” motors, the VPC ATLAS uses our specially designed motors tailored for this application. The design includes provisions for hardware level anticogging, instead of only relying on software solutions like other designs, improving the feel and accuracy of the stick movement and effects.
The ATLAS also employs absolute axis position sensors instead of relative sensors - the absolute sensors maintain precise position data even after power is removed, negating the requirement for recalibration on each power cycle and allows us to implement further software based anticogging solutions.
Our motors are also designed with efficiency in mind - not only does this lower the power requirement of the motors, it also reduces the heat output, allowing for higher forces to be held for longer periods of times, where competing designs can experience output power reduction in seconds, the ATLAS can hold maximum power over minutes.
PRECISION CNC METAL AXIS GIMBAL
METAL CNC AXIS GIMBAL UNMATCHED PRECISION
With our decades of experience building high precision gimbals for spring joysticks which have become rated as some of the best flight sim control experiences available, we’ve brought this same attention to detail to the VPC ATLAS. The motors transmit the output forces through our heavy duty precision CNC machine gimbal, machined from thick billet aluminium and riding on premium bearings for an ultra smooth, ultra precise input just as you would find on our other flightsticks.
We’ve designed the gimbal with an axis range of 18 degrees to provide a great experience with or without the use of extensions, up from the commonly found 15 degrees in other FFB flightsticks which can be restrictive but not too large that extensions create unergonomic flightstick travel.
Instead of reading the flightstick position from the motors, the ATLAS implements our VPC Contactless Digital Sensors to read the position from the gimbal itself as on our typical spring based joysticks. While this is a more complex approach, it guarantees precise positional reading of the flightstick.
ULTIMATE PRECISION
VPC DIGITAL CONTACTLESS SENSOR 14 BIT NATIVE RESOLUTION - 0.02° ANGLE DETECTION
Built with the renowned VIRPIL Controls custom contactless digital sensors, bringing incredible precision, accuracy and reliability to your sim flying with it's contactless magnetic sensing.
ALL METAL HOUSING
NO COMPROMISE CONSTRUCTION ALL-METAL HOUSING
Manufactured from all metal, with a thick anti-flex plate, the VPC ATLAS housing provides incredible strength to the flightstick base. This eliminates any flex that would negatively impact the feel, precision and output of force feedback effects.
ADMIRE YOUR VPC ATLAS FFB BASE ILLUMINATE WITH PROGRAMMABLE RGB LEDS
As a highly innovative design, we are proud to show off the internals and show you just how it works to give you the best FFB flight experience! Featuring 4 transparent panels, the entire mechanism is illuminated by programmable RGB lighting which can be used for eye candy in your cockpit setup, or to transmit information from the motors such as the level force being output to the flightstick.
COMPREHENSIVE SOFTWARE
Not only has the VIRPIL Controls team been reviewing FFB software for years, we’ve built our solution in collaboration with FFB experts from FFBeast who have a huge amount of experience in high power FFB with extensive configuration.
The ATLAS FFB Software will allow for in-depth tweaking of force effects, custom profiles, automatic profile loading, force trim as well as a “Virtual Cam” setup, meaning that even if a game doesn’t natively support FFB, you can design virtual cams to tailor the joystick response in levels of detail never been possible before!
We’ll make it easy for those transitioning from a VPC WarBRD or MongoosT-50 flightstick - the VPC ATLAS software will include presets based on the spring and cam options available on those flightsticks with adjustable damping forces!
While it has become customary for manufacturers to simply present the "best case scenario" numbers - we want to change that! We want to provide as much information as possible so that the VIRPIL Community can fully understand the VPC ATLAS performance in a number of different setups with clear indication of the performance.
ATLAS PRO FFB KILOGRAM FORCE CHART
ATLAS FFB AXIS TRAVEL CHART
VPC UNIVERSAL COCKPIT FRAME (FUTURE RELEASE)
Mounting high power FFB can be a difficult task - so driven by the development of the VPC ATLAS our R&D Team designed the VPC Universal Simpit Frame.
This frame is a compact, strong and affordable mounting option to get the most out of not just the VPC ATLAS, but the whole VPC device range with the goal to make this available before the VPC ATLAS begins shipping.
With two variants planned; the first as a frame around your standard office chair, the second being a more advanced setup with a specially designed VIRPIL Controls flight seat.
UPGRADEABLE FORCE OUTPUT
We know that the sim community often has to balance their gear choices with their budget which can limit them to lower end offerings. The VIRPIL Controls design team has taken this into consideration and instead of releasing multiple FFB bases, the VPC ATLAS can be upgraded with our optional module kit, converting it to the VPC ATLAS Pro. This module kit includes a more advanced power module, cooling fans and more powerful power supply that lets pilots upgrade their gear when their skills, and budget, allows!
The ATLAS Pro Upgrade Kit brings the total force output to 45nm - transmitting over a massive 22kg of force to the pilot!
The ATLAS Pro Upgrade Kit will be available to purchase after the pre-order period has been completed.
EMERGENCY STOP BUTTON MODULE
INCLUDED EMERGENCY STOP BUTTON
Serious FFB requires serious safety! Included with the VPC ATLAS FFB Base is a dedicated remote emergency stop button to be mounted in a convenient location in your simpit, allowing you to instantly disable the force output of the motors.
VIRPIL GRIP ECOSYSTEM COMPATABILITY
FULL COMPATIBILITY WITH EXISTING VPC GRIPS
No new grips required! One of the biggest wishes from our community FFB surveys was to maintain compatibility with our existing grip lineup. All VPC Grip and Extensions, old and new are compatible with the VPC ATLAS FFB Base!
COMPATIBLE WITH ALL SIMULATORS FLY EVERYWHERE WITH VIRPIL CONTROLS
VIRPIL Controls devices connect as standard USB input devices and are compatible with all simulators and games supporting controller inputs! Whether you're sightseeing in Microsoft Flight Simulator or exploring the galaxy in Elite Dangerous, VIRPIL will keep you in control!
WHY CHOOSE VIRPIL CONTROLS THE FIRST CHOICE FOR VIRTUAL PILOTS
CREATED BY FLIGHT SIMULATOR EXPERTS
HIGH QUALITY CONSTRUCTION & MATERIALS
DEDICATED EU MANUFACTURING FACILITY
CHOICE OF TRUSTED TRACKED COURIERS
SECURE PAYMENT METHODS
MARKET LEADING CUSTOMER SUPPORT
VIRPIL Controls is the first choice for advanced flight simulator equipment! Manufactured in our EU facility, our products demonstrate unparalleled quality and incorporate our knowledge as flight simulator experts.
With our secure payment system, multiple reliable shipping options, and unbeatable customer support, you can feel confident in building your dream simpit with VIRPIL Controls.
2 YEAR WARRANTY FLY WITH CONFIDENCE
VIRPIL Controls gear is backed by our no-quibble 2 year warranty included with every one of our products! Outside the warranty period, we offer repair services and are able to provide replacement parts to keep your simpit in tip-top shape.
* Remove the 2 bolts holding the female grip connector in place when attaching TM grips to prevent damage to the connectors. Refer to the user manual for more information.
