Best Flight Stick - suggestions needed

[Brian of Ardagh]

No worries at all.

the big thing to keep in mind is (and this is tough) how much time you're likely to spend in game.

I'm sitting on the 1500hr mark, and as such, the overall hardware investment is fairly low on a per hour basis, I also enjoy DCS, so the investment gets used elsewhere.

I think the new TM HOTAS is going to be a winner for ED, and if the T16000M is anything to go by, it will be a mix of some quality parts in the right places (hall sensors), with cheap but durable enough buttons. I'm looking forward to seeing how others rate it, but I'm not likely to pick it up, seeing as I already have 3 sticks and two higher end throttles.

Z...

I'm waiting on the new TM HOTAS as well but I sometimes get impatient and impulse buy. I bought the TM pedals just after they went on sale. I thought they were very cheap, sent them back and bought the CH pedals. They are nice but I wish the pedals were further apart.

A friend has the Saitek X55 and is extremely happy with it; reading all the quality complaints I'm hesitant to buy the X56, especially at $250 US. My TM T Flight X isn't great and seems to have worn quickly but considering its price I could just buy a few spares!

 

[Pville_Piper]

I bought the TM pedals just after they went on sale. I thought they were very cheap, sent them back and bought the CH pedals. They are nice but I wish the pedals were further apart.

I bought the TM pedals and they work great. No issues with quite a few hours on them. Very smooth in their motion and as a plus I use them to steer the SRV. The pedals really help to tame the SRV and make it drive much easier.

 

[Ziljan]

[hotas] I dunno. It started in the throttle when the plastic piece that makes the indent came loose. Then the default boost button stopped responding, and then the castle-hat on the stick stopped responding, and then the stick itself started to separate.

I'm not rough on my gear, it just started to fall apart. So far two buttons on the X55 throttle have stopped responding after a year of use [sad]

I can confirm. X52pro is a piece of garbage. My boost button only works if I run the configuration software, which cannot be minimized. Likewise, my mouse will move on it's own because the nipple button will boot with an offcenter voltage, which makes the mouse unusable. So I have to unplug the stick, and reboot windows until it starts off centered enough that I can actually access the configuration software, which temporarily solves the issue. Fun fact, the configuration software won't start unless the stick is plugged in, so it's a catch 22. The stick only works if the starting voltage offset is small enough to allow it to work.

Most of my buttons on the stick have ghost presses. So I am fighting the stick the when selecting targets or subtargets. Using fixed weapons is also not so great because the center rings creates a clunky chunky dead spot, so fine adjustments are extremely wonky and delayed.

The hotas is a pivot axis which forces you to bend your wrist when pushing forward, or loose position on crucial hotas buttons. Not very ergonomic, and makes the inside of my wrist ache after an hour of play, despite having have fairly strong arms. Probably giving me carpal tunnel.

 

[jasonbarron]

I can confirm. X52pro is a piece of garbage. My boost button only works if I run the configuration software, which cannot be minimized. Likewise, my mouse will move on it's own because the nipple button will boot with an offcenter voltage, which makes the mouse unusable. So I have to unplug the stick, and reboot windows until it starts off centered enough that I can actually access the configuration software, which temporarily solves the issue. Fun fact, the configuration software won't start unless the stick is plugged in, so it's a catch 22. The stick only works if the starting voltage offset is small enough to allow it to work.

Most of my buttons on the stick have ghost presses. So I am fighting the stick the when selecting targets or subtargets. Using fixed weapons is also not so great because the center rings creates a clunky chunky dead spot, so fine adjustments are extremely wonky and delayed.

The hotas is a pivot axis which forces you to bend your wrist when pushing forward, or loose position on crucial hotas buttons. Not very ergonomic, and makes the inside of my wrist ache after an hour of play, despite having have fairly strong arms. Probably giving me carpal tunnel.

Sounds pretty crummy. What are you going to upgrade to?

 

[Brian of Ardagh]

I bought the TM pedals and they work great. No issues with quite a few hours on them. Very smooth in their motion and as a plus I use them to steer the SRV. The pedals really help to tame the SRV and make it drive much easier.

For the price I didn't think they were garbage just cheaply made. I didn't leave a review on Amazon but I'd have given them 3 stars. I just figured for a little bit more the CH pedals were better.

The CH and TM pedals are both too close together for my taste. The TM pedals have a detent if I recall which is a plus that the CH doesn't but I don't feel they need a detent since they center pretty well.

Since my stick does have a twist I do use the pedals more for the SRV than for flying.

I think I'd like pedals that were width adjustable which is probably going to be expensive. I'd also like the Warthog HOTAS for the build quality and a Volair Sim flight sim chair but I don't currently have the funds.

Added: While I mentioned the Warthog I'm considering the CH FighterStick and throttle. For pedals I'm interested in the MFG Crosswind. I love ED but I'd like to get back into flight sim as well, I used to use X-Plane on the Mac years ago but couldn't keep up hardware-wise. Now that I have a dedicated PC for ED I'm thinking of getting X-Plane for Windows.

 

[Taranis Dekker]

I'm perfectly happy with my X52 Pro. I've had it a year and a half now, and while I've had a couple of issues with it, I've been able to fix them myself.

• The 75% throttle detent came loose. So I opened the throttle and removed it. I like having the throttle set to full range with a 10% central deadzone as I fly with FA-off a lot.
• Buttons on the throttle stopped working. A little research showed that this is due to the ribbon cable connecting those buttons to the base working itself loose. A little bit of hot glue on the ribbon connector fixed it permanently.
• The silver hat down button stopped clicking after about a year of being used as the down thruster control. This can't be easily replaced, so I removed the thruster mappings and added a little analogue stick with Arduino and Sugru. I use the hat controls for target cycling now and with a throttle button as a modifier to control the panel views.

Would I recommend the X52 Pro? Yes, but only if you're prepared to get your hands dirty and fix a couple of design and construction issues yourself, thus invalidating the warranty.

But... Who would buy a device with obvious build quality flaws that mean you have to disassemble and repair yourself after such a short period of time?

 

[Ziljan]

Sounds pretty crummy. What are you going to upgrade to?

No idea. I've been able to use my macgyver skills to keep it in a semblance of functional order, but it's like a loose toilet seat. Shortening my life span, lol.

Was thinking a CH setup. I didn't really care for the build quality on the pedals though, so the stick may not be high enough quality. And I doubt a Warthog would fit on my desk, or allow for fixed weapons without a ground mounted extension shaft. So really there are no perfect options. I could always get a CH and return it if it's not up to par. Couldn't really be worse than an x52pro though.

 

[Brian of Ardagh]

No idea. I've been able to use my macgyver skills to keep it in a semblance of functional order, but it's like a loose toilet seat. Shortening my life span, lol.

Was thinking a CH setup. I didn't really care for the build quality on the pedals though, so the stick may not be high enough quality. And I doubt a Warthog would fit on my desk, or allow for fixed weapons without a ground mounted extension shaft. So really there are no perfect options. I could always get a CH and return it if it's not up to par. Couldn't really be worse than an x52pro though.

I think if I had to do it over again I wouldn't have bought either the TM pedals or the CH pedals.

The thing that bugs me the most about the CH pedals is the clunkiness and the spring sounds. The TM pedals are on rails so there's no spring sounds or clunkiness but they didn't feel right and felt cheaper than the CH. The CH pedals are slightly further apart than the TM but both require you to make some personal "adjustments" to be comfortable.

 

[Bambi]

If you want the most "authentic" experience I'd say get a regular twisting joystick and a 3d mouse for strafing and throttle.

 

[CMDR Aengus]

Yeah, the x52 mouse nipple is seriously flawed. No matter what I'm doing the first thing I do when I boot the PC up is set the profile in the saitek software and that takes care of it. I usually have a few minutes before the mouse starts veering across the screen. That's the only thing that works. Apart from unplugging everything which always screws with my profile settings. I always thought it was the software, not electrical.

 

[the100thmonkey]

But... Who would buy a device with obvious build quality flaws that mean you have to disassemble and repair yourself after such a short period of time?

Hence my qualified recommendation. It's a good stick, let down by serious flaws in construction. I'd only recommend it to someone who wasn't bothered at the idea of opening it up. There's nothing, on the market right now, that offers the same functionality for the price point.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

If you want the most "authentic" experience I'd say get a regular twisting joystick and a 3d mouse for strafing and throttle.

It sounds good, but the 3D mice are actually really difficult to use.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

Yeah, the x52 mouse nipple is seriously flawed. No matter what I'm doing the first thing I do when I boot the PC up is set the profile in the saitek software and that takes care of it. I usually have a few minutes before the mouse starts veering across the screen. That's the only thing that works. Apart from unplugging everything which always screws with my profile settings. I always thought it was the software, not electrical.

It's not the software.

If you never use the mouse nipple, I'd be inclined top just cut the wires.

 

[CMDR Aengus]

Hence my qualified recommendation. It's a good stick, let down by serious flaws in construction. I'd only recommend it to someone who wasn't bothered at the idea of opening it up. There's nothing, on the market right now, that offers the same functionality for the price point.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

It sounds good, but the 3D mice are actually really difficult to use.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

It's not the software.

If you never use the mouse nipple, I'd be inclined top just cut the wires.

That I might just do B-)