Best Flight Stick - suggestions needed

[jasonbarron]

To.. Erm.. A rudder.

Z...

You're responding (a bit sarcastically) to a question I asked sleutolbos after he made a comment about NOT thinking rudder pedals were a good idea for ED and recommending binding yaw to a switch? Thank you. Vey helpful. If that was your intention...if it was though I'd rather you give me some detail instead of just dropping a snide remark. I'm willing to buy pedals, but I've very curious to hear about alternatives.

 

[mrsiCkstar]

It seems to me that Saitek's quality control has gone down hill in recent years. My original X52 lasted fine back in the day. It always felt really rickety with the way it was built and the materials used, but it didn't break. Nowadays you hear a lot about reliability issues.

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You're responding (a bit sarcastically) to a question I asked sleutolbos after he made a comment about NOT thinking rudder pedals were a good idea for ED and recommending binding yaw to a switch? Thank you. Vey helpful. If that was your intention...if it was though I'd rather you give me some detail instead of just dropping a snide remark. I'm willing to buy pedals, but I've very curious to hear about alternatives.

I'd be interested to hear why rudder pedals would not be a good idea for ED. I use my CH pedals and it's fantastic. It's so intuitive. I use them in combat all the time without even thinking about it. If a target is moving laterally across my screen I can use the pedals to keep my weapons on him at all times. They also help with landing and I also use them to control the SRV.

I probably use the rudder more in ED than I do in a regular combat flight sim. In those it's mostly just for taxiing and in flight refueling.

 

[jgm]

How many times do you need to bind the thrust axis? You've got like 3 hat switches all set for thrust... :S

I have both analogue and digital thrust for all directions (I also have digital and analogue yaw as well). Analogue is useful for fine control and smaller ships, digital for directing the cows (analogue thrust on the Cutter, for example, is just painful).

 

[jasonbarron]

It seems to me that Saitek's quality control has gone down hill in recent years. My original X52 lasted fine back in the day. It always felt really rickety with the way it was built and the materials used, but it didn't break. Nowadays you hear a lot about reliability issues.

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I'd be interested to hear why rudder pedals would not be a good idea for ED. I use my CH pedals and it's fantastic. It's so intuitive. I use them in combat all the time without even thinking about it. If a target is moving laterally across my screen I can use the pedals to keep my weapons on him at all times. They also help with landing and I also use them to control the SRV.

I probably use the rudder more in ED than I do in a regular combat flight sim. In those it's mostly just for taxiing and in flight refueling.

Like I said, I'm a noob when it comes to flight sticks, so I'm just looking at various ways to go. Are those the CH Product Pro Pedals?

 

[Zallibik]

Could give the X56 a try apparently they have fixed the previous problems.. they have used a higher grade of plastic for the stick and the throttle wiring seems to no longer be a problem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Nth2UD1jIY

 

[Muad'Dib [POZ]]

X52 Pro FTW

 

[mrsiCkstar]

Like I said, I'm a noob when it comes to flight sticks, so I'm just looking at various ways to go. Are those the CH Product Pro Pedals?

Yeah I use the CH Pro pedals... They're great as they don't need any drivers to be installed. Just plug 'em in and they work in any game. But they're pretty narrow, so not ideal in that way. If I was buying rudder pedals now, I would probably look into one of the Saitek models, as they're wider.

 

[Cmdr BrinBrown]

I use a X52 Pro, had it 6 months, still works like new
BB

 

[Mohrgan]

I recently bought a Thrustmaster HOTAS X, but couldn't get any useful setup with it. It just doesn't have enough buttons, especially on the throttle. My set-up since a week into E|D has been a Logitech 3D Pro, and a Logitech G-13 as the throttle. I have the "WASD" buttonson the G-13 set up for basic thrust control, with a modifier for up and down thrust. I have one key for increasing and another for decreasing the throttle, with modifier keys added to get the 75/50/25/0% throttle settings. In combat at put the throttle at 50% and use my Thrusters to change speed and wiggle around.

I've been searching for a HOTAS, and was very close to pre-ordering the new Thrustmaster HOTAS, but I have decided to stay with the set-up I have. It has been working, why fix what isn't broke. Right?

P.S. The brand new HOTAS X is for sale....

 

[The Lavian]

Saitek X52 Pro - Lasted about 4 months before falling apart. [down][down]

Saitek X55 - Have used it for a year now, some buttons are starting to not work. [up][down]

My Microsoft Sidewinder Precision 2 from 1998 is still working well - who needs this "modern" rubbish? [big grin]

 

[Jypson]

My Microsoft Sidewinder Precision 2 from 1998 is still working well - who needs this "modern" rubbish? [big grin]

I remember using the Sidewinder on Mechwarrior back in the day, no idea where it is today though!

 

[BigBANGtheory [VR]]

Interesting. The x52 just uses "twist" on the stick for controlling the rudder and that seems very intuitive, but the Warthog doesn't have that option; where would you suggest binding the rudder in that case?

You need a set of pedals with the Warthog.

 

[jgm]

BWAHAHAH! You have the same modifier button as I do on the CH Pro!

Z...

What's your configuration look like?

 

[DaggerSnake]

I'm using an X-52 standard and its pretty good. There are quality issues. This is my second as my first throttle went bad and I RMA'd it and they sent me a brand new one. I've been using it for a year and there are friction sticking issues in the pressure plate that need to be taken care of with a little wax.

I do like that the X-52 is what the cockpit controls are modeled after so it gives a great sense of immersion.

I would love to see some more models to represent the other natively supported HOTAS sets. Especially since the new official stick is that thrustmaster 13000m (not sure it that's the model, but you know the one). Makes sense that should be the cockpit model.

 

[DragoonKnight]

Thanks for your responses everyone. This has been most educational for me. I am thinking that the Warthog is not ideal for SC and other space games where the yaw axis is not nerfed. Still tempted to get, just because of how badass it looks and the all those switches.

I think at this point, I am going to wait until October and order the new Thrustmaster HOTAS. I am really interested in the new throttle. I figure if I dont like the stick then I can keep the throttle and I am only out about $45. I can either sell the stick or give it to a friend. I was looking at VKB earlier, but they dont seem to have anything that would be good for a spaceship game.... well they had the Black Mamba but it is out of stock now.

 

[Brian of Ardagh]

Thanks DragoonKnight for starting this thread when you did. I've been thinking of getting a new HOTAS setup.

I've got a Thrustmaster X and the CH rudders. I've been trying to decide if I should wait to see how the new Thrustmaster T.16000M HOTAS works out.

The Warthog is out of my price range. I'm worried about the X55 build although a friend has had one for a year and loves it, he plays ED and DCS World.

I'm still on the fence but this thread has given me food for thought.

 

[Zeeman]

You're responding (a bit sarcastically) to a question I asked sleutolbos after he made a comment about NOT thinking rudder pedals were a good idea for ED and recommending binding yaw to a switch? Thank you. Vey helpful. If that was your intention...if it was though I'd rather you give me some detail instead of just dropping a snide remark. I'm willing to buy pedals, but I've very curious to hear about alternatives.

You're welcome, but seriously, if the stick doesn't have twist, a rudder is the way to go - if price is an issue, even cheap second hand set off ebay or something would suffice, if action is an issue (eg - you sit in an office chair - or a sofa/couch), the VKB T-Rudder pedals are a good way to go, as they have an up/down action, rather than a forward backward action. If you are lower down, then the likes of the CH, Thrustmaster etc will do nicely.

Otherwise, I'd get a stick with twist, ED has enough bindings that need your fingers to activate them, throwing yaw into that mix would just be frustrating, especially if you do actually engage in any sort of combat.

As with most things, budget will affect one's choices, but budget is not always the limiting factor. I've posted about my experiences with different sticks earlier, so won't get any further into that.

Z...

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What's your configuration look like?

I'd show you, but I'm still 3 weeks from being back to my gaming rig, needless to say, that's about the only thing the same.

Z...

 

[the100thmonkey]

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.

 

[jasonbarron]

You're welcome, but seriously, if the stick doesn't have twist, a rudder is the way to go - if price is an issue, even cheap second hand set off ebay or something would suffice, if action is an issue (eg - you sit in an office chair - or a sofa/couch), the VKB T-Rudder pedals are a good way to go, as they have an up/down action, rather than a forward backward action. If you are lower down, then the likes of the CH, Thrustmaster etc will do nicely.

Otherwise, I'd get a stick with twist, ED has enough bindings that need your fingers to activate them, throwing yaw into that mix would just be frustrating, especially if you do actually engage in any sort of combat.

As with most things, budget will affect one's choices, but budget is not always the limiting factor. I've posted about my experiences with different sticks earlier, so won't get any further into that.

Z...

Thanks for the info

 

[Zeeman]

Thanks for the info

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...