Flying helicopters in Wardogs with a TBS Tango 2

I've been using my Tango 2 to fly helicopters in Wardogs, so figured I'd document the setup. The sticks were straightforward; getting the rockers to behave like proper Windows buttons took a bit more messing about.

This covers my FreedomTX mixes, logical switches, in-game binds and a small AutoHotkey fix for the tactical map deciding to display a massive helicopter tooltip right in the middle of the screen.

Radio/firmware: TBS Tango 2, FreedomTX TBS-1.3.5 (fdtX-tango, build dd3f9713, 10 May 2022). That's TBS's OpenTX fork, not EdgeTX. Other radios and firmware may have different menus or USB mappings. This is what works on mine, not a universal preset. Back up your model first, and keep the gaming model separate from anything you use to fly actual aircraft.

TL;DR — get flying

1. Back up your radio model and make a separate one for gaming. I'm on FreedomTX 1.3.5.
2. Put the four sticks on CH1–CH4: Thr (collective), Ail (roll), Ele (pitch), Rud (yaw).
3. Move switch mixes to CH9 onwards. CH1–CH8 show up as axes in Windows; CH9 onwards are buttons. This was the bit that caught me out.
4. Connect by USB, select USB joystick mode, then run joy.cpl in Windows to check the sticks and see which buttons actually light up.
5. Enable HOTAS under Wardogs → Settings → Gamepad → HOTAS and bind the axes. Mine uses inverted pitch, self-centring collective off and 0.03 deadzones.
6. Bind your rockers and buttons. The three-point V curve handles both ends of the three-way rocker; the L01/L02/L03 setup makes the two-way rocker give a short press in either direction.
7. Optional, but worth it: install AutoHotkey v2 and run scripts/wardogs-map-cursor.ahk. It moves the cursor out of the way when the map opens. Change 1Joy5 if your map rocker uses a different button.

My binds

Tango 2 control	Wardogs action
Left stick up/down	Collective
Left stick left/right	Yaw
Right stick up/down	Pitch
Right stick left/right	Roll
Left three-position rocker	First-/third-person view
Left two-position rocker	Tactical map
Right two-position rocker	Minigun toggle + fire (shared binding)
Left rear push-button	Drop cargo
Right rear push-button	Flare
Right three-position rocker	Horn

Bind by flicking the actual control, not by copying my Windows button numbers. More detail on the binds below.

That's enough to get going. The rest is the exact setup and screenshots if you want to copy it.

What you'll need

• TBS Tango 2 with a dedicated model for PC gaming, connected by a data-capable USB cable; choose its USB joystick mode when prompted.
• Wardogs on Windows; enable HOTAS under Settings → Gamepad → HOTAS.
• Windows joy.cpl (press Win+R and enter joy.cpl) to inspect the actual joystick axes and buttons.
• Optional: AutoHotkey v2 for the tactical-map cursor workaround.

1. Sticks and mixes

The four main inputs are Thr, Ail, Ele and Rud, all at 100% in my Inputs/Mixes screen. The switches sit on later channels. Radio channel numbers and Windows button numbers aren't the same thing.

Why CH9 onwards matters

This was the main gotcha. In the classic OpenTX-style USB joystick mapping, CH1–CH8 are analogue axes and CH9–CH32 are buttons (pressed when the channel output is above zero). See the OpenTX joystick docs. My FreedomTX setup behaves the same way.

I'd originally put some switches on CH5–CH8 and wondered why the game wasn't treating them as buttons. Moving them to CH9 onwards sorted it. The four sticks stay on CH1–CH4; CH5–CH8 are unused here.

Radio channel range	USB interpretation	Our use
CH1–CH4	Analogue axes	Collective, roll, pitch, yaw
CH5–CH8	Analogue axes	Left unused
CH9 onward	Digital buttons	Rockers, rear push-buttons and logical-switch pulse

With this mapping, CH9 is Windows button 1 and CH13 is button 5. Check your own setup in joy.cpl rather than assuming it'll match mine.

My Wardogs HOTAS settings

Wardogs control	Binding shown in game	Setting shown
Roll left / right	Axis 1− / Axis 1+	Invert disabled; sensitivity 1.00; deadzone 0.03
Pitch up / down	Axis 2− / Axis 2+	Invert enabled; sensitivity 1.00; deadzone 0.03
Yaw left / right	Axis 3− / Axis 3+	Invert disabled; sensitivity 1.50; deadzone 0.03
Collective up / down	Axis 0+ / Axis 0−	Invert disabled; sensitivity 1.00; deadzone 0.03; self-centring collective disabled

Those axis numbers are what Wardogs shows on my PC. My non-centring throttle stick is collective. Check the directions in-game and invert anything that feels backwards.

2. Three-way rocker — same button at either end

I wanted either direction of the left three-way rocker to toggle first/third person, with the middle doing nothing. A simple three-point V curve does it. Mine is CV1 (named ab), applied to SB on CH11.

The curve is just:

Point	X (input)	Y (output)
Left	-100	+100
Centre	0	0
Right	+100	+100

Both ends output +100; the middle outputs 0. It's a genuine three-point V, not a six-point curve. Check it in the radio's channel monitor and then in joy.cpl.

3. Two-way rocker — a press in either direction

A normal two-way switch stays on or off, which isn't great when you want a button press every time you flick it. I used two edge-detection logical switches and OR'd them together:

Logical switch	Function	Input
L01	Edge	SA↓
L02	Edge	SA↑
L03	OR	L01, L02

The photo shows the logic, but the tiny timing fields aren't clear enough for me to give you an exact value. Adjust the pulse until Windows catches both directions reliably. Too short and it'll miss presses; flick it very quickly and you may still outrun the pulse.

CH13 mix: Source L03, weight 100, offset 0, trim off, curve Diff 0, no additional switch, multiplex Add, delay up 0.0.

In short: SA moves → L01 or L02 pulses → L03 combines them → CH13 outputs a button press. Check CH13 in the channel monitor in both directions, then check Windows. CH13 does not mean Windows button 13.

Suggested helicopter binds (my layout)

This is how I've got mine mapped. Use whatever feels right, but I'd start with the physical layout rather than copying button numbers.

Tango 2 control	Wardogs assignment	Notes
Left stick vertical (Thr)	Collective	Non-self-centring stick; turn self-centring collective off in-game.
Left stick horizontal (Rud)	Yaw	Axis 3 in the photographed configuration.
Right stick vertical (Ele)	Pitch	Axis 2, with invert pitch enabled in-game.
Right stick horizontal (Ail)	Roll	Axis 1.
Left three-position rocker (SB)	First-/third-person view toggle	The three-point CV1 V curve makes either end produce the same action, with neutral centre.
Left two-position rocker	Tactical map / minimap	AutoHotkey detects its Windows button as 1Joy5 on this PC.
Right two-position rocker (SA)	Minigun on/off and fire	Both functions are intentionally bound to this same rocker in the current setup; L01/L02/L03 generates a momentary pulse in either direction.
Left rear momentary push-button	Drop cargo	A genuine button, not a latching switch.
Right rear momentary push-button	Flare	A genuine button.
Right three-position rocker	Horn	Current assignment.

I've got minigun toggle and fire on the same right rocker. That means a flick can trigger both; if you'd rather keep them separate, give them different buttons.

Check button numbers in joy.cpl. On my PC, button 3 was permanently active and button 5 was the one that pulsed when I flicked the left map rocker. That's why the map script watches 1Joy5.

4. Check what Windows is actually seeing

1. Open joy.cpl, select the TBS joystick and open Properties.
2. Flick each rocker and watch which numbered button lights up. Test both directions and whether it returns to off.
3. If using AutoHotkey, identify the button from AutoHotkey's perspective too. Joystick IDs and button numbers can differ across devices/configurations.
4. Do not assume the first lit button is your rocker: in this setup button 3 was permanently active, while button 5 briefly activated on the map rocker. That distinction explained why the first scripts never fired.

If you're not sure which button is which, this little AutoHotkey v2 script lists the ones currently active:

#Requires AutoHotkey v2.0
#SingleInstance Force
SetTimer CheckButtons, 50
CheckButtons() {
    active := ""
    Loop 32 {
        if GetKeyState("1Joy" A_Index)
            active .= A_Index " "
    }
    ToolTip "Active joystick buttons: " (active = "" ? "none" : active)
}

If nothing changes, your radio might be joystick 2 rather than 1. Check the radio's channel monitor too.

5. Fix the tactical map tooltip (optional, but lovely)

This one was doing my head in. Open the map with the rocker and Wardogs leaves the mouse right over your helicopter, which brings up a huge hover tooltip. Add passengers and it gets even worse. The in-game Free Cursor option didn't help.

The fix is a tiny AutoHotkey script: wait 300 ms after opening the map, then shove the mouse into the top-right corner. The map button itself stays bound in Wardogs.

Before / after

Here's what I mean:

Before: Mouse on the heli marker, massive tooltip.

After: Mouse out of the way, map actually usable.

Install AutoHotkey v2 and run scripts/wardogs-map-cursor.ahk. It checks 1Joy5 every 20 ms, moves the cursor on a new press and keeps F8 as a manual fallback. Change 1Joy5 to your map button if needed. If you've got multiple monitors, you may need to adjust the target coordinates.

#Requires AutoHotkey v2.0
#SingleInstance Force
CoordMode "Mouse", "Screen"
SetTimer WatchMapButton, 20

WatchMapButton() {
    static wasPressed := false
    pressed := GetKeyState("1Joy5")
    if (pressed && !wasPressed) {
        Sleep 300
        MouseMove A_ScreenWidth - 20, 20, 0
    }
    wasPressed := pressed
}

F8::MouseMove A_ScreenWidth - 20, 20, 0

Why button 5? I initially thought the map rocker was button 3. It wasn't — button 3 was permanently active and button 5 was the one flashing when I flicked the rocker. That's why the first scripts did absolutely nothing. F8 proved mouse movement worked, and changing the watched button to 5 sorted it. Polling is just the version I ended up using; we didn't establish that a normal 1Joy5 hotkey wouldn't work.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Check
Sticks do not respond	USB data cable, joystick mode, HOTAS enabled, and axes in joy.cpl.
Pitch/collective moves the wrong way	Check the corresponding in-game invert option and actual axis direction.
Rocker only works every other flick	Check both Edge inputs, the OR logical switch, and CH13 channel monitor.
Button appears permanently held	Identify all active buttons; it may be a different switch/button, not the rocker.
Fast flicks get missed	Inspect edge pulse timing and allow a release between triggers.
F8 moves cursor but rocker doesn't	Verify the correct joystick ID/button in AutoHotkey; don't assume channel number = button number.
Cursor still covers map	Increase Sleep 300 slightly; confirm the game is focused and screen-coordinate target is appropriate.
Script appears unchanged	Exit/reload the previous AutoHotkey instance; #SingleInstance Force helps.

Notes

This is my own Tango 2 / FreedomTX 1.3.5 setup, with screenshots taken along the way. It works here; you might need to tweak things for another radio, firmware or screen layout. Not affiliated with TBS or the Wardogs developers.

Support

If this saved you an evening of swearing at joystick bindings, you can buy me a coffee.