Custom Your Xbox One Controller into a Joystick with this 3D Printed Extension

Microsoft Flight Simulator has got a lot of people hankering to take to the virtual skies. But for many, the experience isn’t complete without a flight stick of some sort and with lots of controllers selling out. But here’s a solution: 3D-printed parts that snap onto an Xbox One controller for a DIY conversion into a hands-on throttle-and-stick or HOTAS.

This amazing little mod is the work of Akaki Kuumeri, a 3D printing tinkerer who maintains a YouTube channel showing off some of his creations. Kuumeri has made a video for this mod, too, and it’s well worth a watch, just for the groan-worthy selection of puns alone.

If you want to make the mod yourself, Kuumeri has uploaded the plans to Thingiverse to download for free. You’ll need to have access to a 3D printer, of course, but Kuumeri estimates it’ll cost no more than $10 and “an afternoon of your time” to print and assemble the various parts. Everything snaps together, and there’s even the option to fit elastic bands inside the linkages to adjust the spring force on the stick and throttle.

Some caveats: responding to questions on Reddit, Kuumeri notes that the parts don’t work with the Xbox 360 controller or PS4 controller (though he says he may work on the latter if there’s enough interest). By his own account, though, the whole setup works surprisingly smoothly. “I expected the ball joints to have some slop, which [on] the scale of a thumbstick would be too much to play accurately, but they’re perfect,” he told one questioner. “It also helps that the Xbox thumbsticks are on a very smooth hinge themselves.”

Also Read:

• Microsoft’s new Xbox app will let you stream Xbox One games to your iPhone.
• Now you can stream Xbox One games to your Android phone for free.

So if you’ve not been able to grab yourself a flight stick, this looks like the next best thing.

Keywords: xbox controller mods, custom controllers xbox, custom controllers xbox one, xbox hotas controller