Newcomer / Intro entry level flight stick

Barf Clamhammer · Mar 9, 2015

Anyone have a suggestion for a entry level flight stick. By this I mean something that is around $130 and not overly complex.

I have my eye on the Saitek x52 Flight control system, but am not sure if it is a good fit for E

- so any feedback will be greatly appreciated.
TIA

pippo · Mar 9, 2015

Thrustmaster Flight X
about 40 bucks

It's not a big investment so if you know you like it, then you can decide to spend big money into one.

Alshain · Mar 9, 2015

Thrustmaster T.Flight X ~$30
Thrustmaster T.Flight HOTAS ~$50 (Same as the Flight X but with an independent throttle, it really is nice)

I use the latter.

If you are left handed~~, the x52 is good~~. If you are not, any ambidextrous flight stick ~~like the x52~~ is going to be half terrible. The reason is half the buttons are useable and the other half can only be reach by weird contortionist skills. Unfortunately for Lefties, this is true regardless of handedness, half the buttons will be useless. The Thrustmasters listed above are purely right handed.

EDIT: Sorry, I was thinking of a different stick. x52 is right handed.

Dark Skies · Mar 10, 2015

Just received my very cheap priced Thrustmaster T flight in readiness for the Mac version being released. Wow I can't believe it cost so little.
Really pleased.
Also it works fine on my Mac, testing it in Oolite.
Absolute steal.

Rhaedas · Mar 10, 2015

Another plug for the Thrustmaster HOTAS. If you find that you need one of the more pricey ones later, you can always Ebay the TM, there's plenty out there that will grab it up from you. But it's way more than adequate for me, and holding up well through lots of combative action.

Universal Evil · Mar 10, 2015

I don't know the price in $ but I use the saitek X52 pro and it is awesome to play ED with, love the seperate throtle.

Just remember that you have to use an USB 2.0 NOT the 3.0 otherwise there no problems with it so far....

Barf Clamhammer · Mar 10, 2015

Thanks all for the input.

Anyone have experience with CH Products? Its been so long since I bought a joystick I am out of touch with the current hardware companies. The last stick I bought was a Sidewinder which I used exclusively with Freelancer - that was back when Microsoft made speakers and joysticks...they weren't to bad either for entry level gear.

Galactic Midden · Mar 10, 2015

Just to add my tuppenceworth, I can highly recommend the Thrustmaster T-flight X as a great entry level stick for the game. I got mine for £28. At that price you can always upgrade later if you want to.

Combined with a head tracker such as the EDtracker it's a great affordable control setup.

willowfan · Mar 10, 2015

Galactic Midden said:
Just to add my tuppenceworth, I can highly recommend the Thrustmaster T-flight X as a great entry level stick for the game. I got mine for £28. At that price you can always upgrade later if you want to.

Combined with a head tracker such as the EDtracker it's a great affordable control setup.

I have the HOTAS version of the T-Flight X and it works a treat, especially when combined with EDTracker and VoiceAttack.

NewYears1978 · Mar 10, 2015

Hotas X because it comes with Stick and Throttle and is only about $50..

If you just want the stick though, it's the same stick mentioned above several times. (the T-Flight X)

Kaburan · Mar 10, 2015

You're going to hate the deadzone on the Hotas X.

If you plan on doing a lot of trading, exploration, etc this is a great stick. I can't recommend it for combat however, unless you equip all gimballed.

NewYears1978 · Mar 10, 2015

Kaburan said:
You're going to hate the deadzone on the Hotas X.

If you plan on doing a lot of trading, exploration, etc this is a great stick. I can't recommend it for combat however, unless you equip all gimballed.

Can't you just adjust the deadzone ingame? Or you're referring to strictly hardware related deadzone.
I wouldn't know as I use KB/Mouse right now..haven't used a Stick in ages.

willowfan · Mar 10, 2015

I have had no trouble at all in combat with the T-Flight - taken down everything from sidewinders to anacondas

Malom Bock · Mar 10, 2015

I bought a Thrustmaster t.16000M last week for this game, and I'm quite pleased with it. Granted, I haven't really used flight sticks before but other people on the interwebs seemed to have a decent opinion about this product and I can see why (actually they said it's the only budget stick worth considering). It's not perfect; the buttons on the "stand?" seem a bit cheap, but it apparently uses H.E.A.R.T. technology (its selling point) and it really is quite accurate. Even though I had no experience with flight sticks I got accustomed to it very quickly. I can't even imagine playing the game with a gamepad again.

It costs around 50-60 bucks.
(also it's ambidextrous if you care about this detail. I personally would have preferred it if it wasn't but hey, not everyone's a righty

)

L.E. I think the location of throttle on the t.16000M is a bit awkward, at least for ED, as you always have to keep the stick in a way that's easy to reach with both hands.. So I don't know if it's what you're looking for; just throwing it out there, maybe the info helps.