Final decision: Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS HOTAS vs Logitech G Saitek Pro Flight X56 Rhino

[PiLhEaD]

...Consider a tflight hotas x. very affordable and more than capable.

Seconded, and it's well below your budget, so you can afford all those paint packs you'd been wondering about... ;-)

I've been using once since original beta and it's doing fine - minimal signs of wear - except the printing on the buttons is wearing off. I like that it has jockstick twist for yaw, as well as a yaw paddle 'under' the throttle. (You can separate their function too.)

Have fun choosing!

 

[Henkka77]

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/283315-Thrustmaster-T-16000M-FCS-HOTAS-official-thread

 

[[VR] Enexemander]

I heartily recommend the T16000m. The sensors on the X and Y axis are beautiful (same Hall tech that the Warthog uses). There's no mechanical deadzone, which makes it perfect for FA: OFF flying (which is all I do.) Downside- The twist is not very accurate. Mine doesn't return to dead center from a twist to the left, which makes it unreliable for yaw aiming with FA: OFF. I use the Roll to Yaw feature in E to switch to the X axis on the stick for Yaw aiming.

I had the Thrustmaster X, and I had to replace it for FA: OFF flying. It has a large mechanical deadzone in the stick that you just can't do anything about. I gifted it to a friend when I upgraded.

X55/X56 - They will break on you. If you want to get one of these, be prepared to take it apart (easier to do before it breaks), and bundle all the wires. You might want to even get a file and make grooves for the wires in the housing so it isn't constantly bending them at one stress point. The sticks look beautiful, but the engineering problems cannot be denied.

 

[Pville_Piper]

I see quite a few recommending the T-Flight Hotas X and it's a good stick. I've got both T-Flight Hotas X and the T1600m FCS and I can tell you that the 1600 is a much better stick, flying it is more precise. The 1600 also has many more buttons on it and they are very nicely placed on the throttle. The analog axis on the throttle is great for using with the thrusters (up/down, left/right) in combat and for landing.

I also use the thrustmaster pedals because I've developed carpal tunnel in my hands and driving the SRV would really bother me if I was using the twist axis of the stick to steer. I now use the pedals to steer the SRV. Interestingly, the SRV drives better because the of the longer analog axis of the pedals makes it less twitchy. The only complaint about the pedals I have is they are a bit close together for us big guys, but not too bad for me.

I can't recommend the X-56 as I've never used one. But when I was considering buying the a new Hotas I didn't want to spend that much money, especially with a setup that had as many complaints as the Saitek stuff. if I was going to spend that much money I would have spent the extra bit for the warthog that doesn't have a bad rep.

 

[VR StarLightPL]

TFlight HOTAS X spreads its virtual wings with a program called Joystick Curves. Been mentioned here on the forum on ocassion:

[video=youtube;CqzoJPCZM0w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqzoJPCZM0w[/video]

 

[bubbabenali]

Why not save some money and go dual t.16000m?
Dual Stick piloting feels way too comfortable for a space sim.
Also even adding the ruders to that combo is under your price point.

Why not save some money and go dual t.16000m?
Dual Stick piloting feels way too comfortable for a space sim.
Also even adding the ruders to that combo is under your price point.

 

[Nonoka]

Why not save some money and go dual t.16000m?
Dual Stick piloting feels way too comfortable for a space sim.
Also even adding the ruders to that combo is under your price point.

Why not save some money and go dual t.16000m?
Dual Stick piloting feels way too comfortable for a space sim.
Also even adding the ruders to that combo is under your price point.

This is exactly what I use, Dual T16000 with Pedals. Can't beat it.
I've also owned both the X-52 and X-55. Most of the problems with these have already been stated so I won't repeat them but after getting the T16000 I was never looking back.

 

[VR StarLightPL]

I know it's kinda offtopic but if you have a chance,try the x Rebirth VR edition touch controllers flying. It's a completely groundbreaking experience, or at least was for me. This was prompted by the two stick flying method previous posters mentioned.

 

[CMDR Harada]

I have the T16000.M and love it. I've used it for well over 2000 hours and it is still going strong. Although, having said that, it has developed a wee bit of slack in the rest position. The lack of a centring position on the throttle is annoying but I have learned to overcome that - I set the numpad 0 to be zero throttle and have a habit of using that rather than the throttle now. Cost/benefit-wise I think it is hard to beat.

After a hard 6-8 months, mine developed the same thing. It got worse and worse. I took it apart in an attempt at DIY fixing.. and it got 'better' but not fixed. Not complaining, mind you, I got two years out of it. Not bad for the price. T-16000 is pretty good and hard to beat.

But my minds made up, and the next time I am building one. The metal ones seem to be $$$, and the plastic ones wear out. In order to get what I want I'll go custom and my own design.

 

[Jorun]

I used an X-55 Rhino quite happily but after a year and a half I had bad ghosting problems with the throttle unit. On the outside, the thing still looked great, but apparently wires were wearing thin inside. Still, it had lasted a good while. Shopped around and in August decided on the Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS. After about a month, Im enjoying it very much.

There are pros and cons. I find the Thrust joystick much more comfortable than the Rhino. But I liked that the Rhino had more buttons on the stick. I think I might like the throttle better on the Thrust, its movement mechanic is good, though the more 'rubbery' feel of the Rhino was nice compared to the hard plastic of the Thrust. The deciding factor for me was cost. The Rhino is going for about $250, while the Thrust is about $110. Even if I run into same ghosting problems as the Rhino, heck I can buy two Thrust setups for the price of one Rhino. For me, both are nice and have pros and cons. So with such a significant price difference, I recommend the Thrustmaster.

 

[Bottom Hat]

As someone who used a T-Flight X for two years, and progressed up to an X56 due to huge amount of use, I suggest following the advice of Arkadi in post # 14. A very astute opinion and suggestion. Good luck OP

The Hat

 

[Dsign]

Whenever I see people say that the Saitek products are poorly designed, I tell them that Logitech is now handling the quality control.
I bought a X56, never had any issue and if something would ever happen, their customer support has always been very useful to me !

 

[Philip Coutts]

I'm using a T.1600 Hotas at the moment and I have to say it's a really nice piece of kit. Loads of buttons, seems well enough built to my untrained eyes and it's not too expensive. Oh and it lights up when you move the stick...oohhh bright lights, so pretty...

 

[GTwannabe]

When the stick twist broke on my T.16000m, I upgraded to a VKB Gladiator Mk2. Much higher quality and just as accurate.

 

[DragonIV]

I ran the T-Flight Hotas-X for two years. with Joystick Curves. Acceptable for use as a trader, but not really for bounty hunting because JC or not, the Hotas-X is a very coarse-measuring stick. I have the T16000 FCS now, and it's far, far superior. Only thing I'll recommend: re-lubricating the throttle with Nyogel 767A. Pricey stuff, but works wonders--and cures the throttle of its "stickiness." Had this stick for almost a year now, and it's still rock solid.

 

[JetsonRING]

Whenever I see people say that the Saitek products are poorly designed, I tell them that Logitech is now handling the quality control.
I bought a X56, never had any issue and if something would ever happen, their customer support has always been very useful to me !

Logitech has really stepped up to the plate regarding quality-control problems left over from Saitek's previous owners (Mad Catz). Logitech replaced my X-56 twice when it broke and the second time extended my 90-day (USA) warranty to 2 years, same as Europe's warranty. Kudos to Logitech. But there are still a lot of old Mad Catz/Saitek X-56 HOTAS units out there, check the box and make sure it says "Logitech" before purchasing!

That being said, the software is clunky and when my joystick started spinning my ship around it took a full, clean re-install of Windows (eeek!) to fix it. o7

 

[W.T.Sherman]

Just to add my $.02, I've had pretty good luck with the x52 as well, but with a few caveats A) Saitek can't write a driver to save their lives, and their software can be a bit counter- intuitive, but you will get used to it (to be fair the x52 drivers are pretty good now) B) Saitek sticks are not rugged by any means; you need to have a gentle touch. I typically get about 5 years of regular but gentle use out of a set. The biggest problem I have regularly is the the mouse stick gets spikey after a few years. To me it's worth the extra drama to get the superior (IMHO) ergonomics of the Saitek sticks.

While I don't have personal experience with the x56 I've heard lots of good reports, and it seems that a lot of the troubles with the x55's were caused by low power in the usb ports, so any issues with the '56 may well be the same. Time will tell.

 

[CMDR Ofan]

Logitech has really stepped up to the plate regarding quality-control problems left over from Saitek's previous owners (Mad Catz). Logitech replaced my X-56 twice when it broke and the second time extended my 90-day (USA) warranty to 2 years, same as Europe's warranty. Kudos to Logitech. But there are still a lot of old Mad Catz/Saitek X-56 HOTAS units out there, check the box and make sure it says "Logitech" before purchasing! o7

You are lucky I'm on my 8th RMA (x55/x56)within 2 years and wondering whether it's worth it to submit the 9th (Stick twist axis total failure).

 

[Crash1099]

You are lucky I'm on my 8th RMA (x55/x56)within 2 years and wondering whether it's worth it to submit the 9th (Stick twist axis total failure).

Do it. Till you get one that works. Waiting for my replacement.

 

[Aekero]

Started with hotas x here, but grew out of it quickly,not enough buttons. 1600 has buttons for days, as others have mentioned downside is lack of center detent but I programmed in a little deadzone and it's golden. For a little over a hundred I'd say it's totally capable up until warthog prices.