Lee Hutchinson
It’s always exciting to see an email from Wiaczesław Oziabło, better known as “Slaw” behind Slaw Device. An engineer and supplier of high-end flight control pedals for the “crazy enthusiast” market, he is famous for producing devices that look less like computer peripherals and more like gleaming metallic works of art.
It’s even After exciting when that email promises something new and cool. “After a long break”, wrote Oziabło, “we have continued and completed preparations for the production of RH Rotor rudder pedals. At the moment I have several sets of these rudder pedals, which were used only for photos and videos. He offered to send me one of the near-final pre-production models for review, noting that it would have only minor differences from the production devices.
I accepted immediately and a few weeks later DHL dumped a heavy box on my porch. It contained the latest offering from Slaw Device: the RH Rotor pedals.
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The box! It was heavy.
Lee Hutchinson
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Popping off the lid reveals the accessory kit.
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Everything you need to assemble and use your new Slaw Device RH Rotor pedals.
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The unboxed accessory kit. All screws and bolts needed for assembly are neatly packed in individually labeled bags. Slaw Device also provides a few Allen keys, a 10mm wrench, and a USB cable.
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Below the accessory kit is the right rotor body.
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Get the box out of the way.
Lee Hutchinson
RH Rotors
Let’s start with two things: first, these pedals are awesome. Second, these pedals cost $475.
I bring up the price now because for many people that will be a deciding factor. And while the RH Rotors are cheaper than the Thrustmaster TPRs (which I reviewed in 2018 and now cost $599), and while it would take a fool to choose the mass-produced Thrustmaster kit over these made-for- by hand, there’s just no getting around the fact that $475 is a lot money for a single device. And it’s not even a joystick, it’s a set of three-axis pedals meant to control the yaw of an airplane or spacecraft.
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The RH rotors, assembled and ready to fly.
Lee Hutchinson
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Arm and pedal on the right side, showing the weight-saving helicopter cutout.
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There is a prominent “Slaw Device” logo on the front of the pedals.
Lee Hutchinson
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The pedal body, before assembly.
Lee Hutchinson
If you can afford the cost, you’ll get a rock-solid device that will likely last you a decade or more. Like previous Slaw Device hardware, RH rotors are an interconnected dance of struts and sliding metal plates built around a central roller cam with two different engagement profiles, one with a pronounced central detent and the other smooth. Most of the controller is made from powder-coated aluminum and steel, and the whole thing weighs 7.7 kilograms. There’s some assembly required – you need to attach the pedal arms and brake spacers – but it takes around five minutes tops, and all the tools you need are provided in the accessory kit.
RH rotors have a wide, long base that is dotted with non-slip rubber pads; the pedals are designed to be stable and usable on virtually any type of floor you might have. They also come with mounting holes if you want to bolt the pedals in place on a cockpit (or straight to the floor if that’s how you ride).