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Lee Hutchinson - Apr 14, 2022 10:30 am UTC

It's always exciting to see an email pop up from Wiaczesław Oziabło—better known as the "Slaw" behind Slaw Device. An engineer and purveyor of high-end flight control pedals for the "crazy enthusiast" market, he’s famous for producing devices that look less like computer peripherals and more like gleaming metallic works of art.

It's even more exciting when that email promises something new and cool. "After a long break," Oziabło wrote, "we continued and finished preparations for the production of RH Rotor rudder pedals. At the moment, I have several sets of these rudder pedals, which were only used for photos and videos." He offered to send me one of the near-final preproduction models for review, noting that it will have only minor differences from the production-run devices.

I accepted immediately, and a couple of weeks later, DHL deposited a heavy box on my front porch. In it was Slaw Device’s latest offering: the RH Rotor pedals.

Let’s open with two things: First, these pedals are great. Second, these pedals cost $475.

If you can stomach the cost, you'll get a rock-solid device that will likely last you for a decade or more. Like previous Slaw Device hardware, the RH Rotors are an interlinked dance of struts and sliding metal plates built around a center roller-cam with two different engagement profiles, one with a pronounced center detent and one smooth. Most of the controller is made from powder-coated aluminum and steel, and the entire thing weighs a hefty 7.7 kilograms. There's a bit of assembly required—you have to attach the pedal arms and toe brake struts—but it takes about five minutes max, and all the tools you need are provided in the accessory kit.

The RH Rotors have a wide and long base that’s studded with rubber anti-slip pads; the pedals are designed to be stable and usable on pretty much any type of flooring you might have. They’re also equipped with mounting holes if you want to bolt the pedals in place to a cockpit (or directly to the floor if that’s how you roll).

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