Jeti, FlySky and InterLink DX on a Mac Simulator

The general rule

HeliSense reads any device macOS recognises as a USB game controller with enough axes to fly a helicopter. It doesn’t need to know your brand, and there is no list of blessed models to be on.

If your radio or dongle appears in the Input Device picker, run the setup wizard and it will map whatever your hardware sends. Whatever the brand, start by making a dedicated model with flat outputs — and note that on brands whose helicopter model type enables swashplate mixing, that means a fixed-wing model.

Jeti DC / DS

Jeti transmitters offer a joystick mode over USB, presenting eight axes. Connect the radio, choose the joystick or simulator option when the radio asks what the USB connection is for, and it will appear to HeliSense as a standard controller.

As on any radio, the model must send unmixed stick channels, so if your model type applies swashplate mixing, turn it off or use an airplane model instead. We haven’t been able to confirm Jeti’s specific menu wording, so treat that as the principle rather than exact instructions — the general test applies: if moving the collective also moves the aileron and elevator channels, mixing is on.

As with any radio, assign the switches you want to use to output channels in your model — an unassigned switch sends nothing over USB.

FlySky

FlySky’s aircraft radios — the Nirvana NV14 and EL18 — are supported by EdgeTX, which has had targets for them since v2.5 and v2.8 respectively. If yours is running EdgeTX, follow the EdgeTX guide instead of this page.

On FlySky’s own firmware, or on other FlySky models, we have no confirmed information about the USB simulator function or model types. Try it and see whether the radio appears in the Input Device picker.

RealFlight InterLink DX

The InterLink DX works on a Mac with nothing to configure — plug it in and it appears as a controller with eight axes and a generous 27 buttons.

There is no model setup to do — it is a controller in its own right rather than a transmitter running a model.

Generic dongles and adapters

The inexpensive dongles sold as “22-in-1”, “FMS simulator cable” and similar present themselves as a plain USB controller and need no driver on a Mac. There are two quite different ways to feed one, and it’s worth knowing both:

From the trainer port, using a cable. Your radio’s trainer output must be switched on — on most radios the port is silent until trainer or master mode is enabled. The Futaba page covers this route in detail and applies equally to other brands.
From a receiver. Adapters are also sold that take their input from an ordinary receiver rather than a trainer cable. You bind a receiver to your transmitter as you would for a model, and connect it to the adapter. The RX2SIM Wireless Multi-Sim Adapter is the best-known example and the one with documented Mac support — RC-WARE state it is “for Windows PC and Mac” — and it accepts servo channels, PPM, Futaba S.Bus/S.Bus2, SRXL, Spektrum DSM2/DSMX and JR DMSS. Set it to joystick emulation mode for HeliSense. See the Futaba page, which covers this route in full.

Resolution comes from the dongle, not from your radio, so a very cheap one can feel steppy around centre.

Something else entirely

If your device isn’t listed anywhere on this site, try it. If it appears in the Input Device picker, it will very probably work.

If it doesn’t appear, use Copy Diagnostic Info at the bottom of USB Controller Settings and send it to us on the contact page with the make and model. It lists every attached device and what HeliSense can see of it, which is normally enough to tell whether the device can be supported.

Prefer a different setup? See the full list of controllers.

Other radios and dongles