Hardware & Technical FLY 5 - Not up to the job
- Thread starter mollymawk
- Start date
I had the FLY 5 for a while too - was using it playing Battlefield 3 and 4. Like Mark Allen the yaw sensor on mine went screwy. I took a screwdriver to the base of the unit and found the loose cable connection, which brought the yaw back in to line properly - but then a couple of the buttons promptly died. This encouraged me to go off to Ebay and hunt down a Saitek x45 (which I have also owned before). Must say I haven't looked back since 
My other joystick is a FLY5...
I've had it about 2 years, fairly light useage and it still works as well as it did out of the box.
I think the key is usage, it's not an expensive joystick, it's not made particularly robustly and if you're planning to use a joystick a lot, you're better off throwing a respectable sum at a more sturdy model.
I've had it about 2 years, fairly light useage and it still works as well as it did out of the box.
I think the key is usage, it's not an expensive joystick, it's not made particularly robustly and if you're planning to use a joystick a lot, you're better off throwing a respectable sum at a more sturdy model.
Holy rip-off batman! Our British brothers and sisters get janked when it comes to ordering joysticks!
We need to start an "order for your pal" system to save you guys some hard earned money.
Holy rip-off batman! Our British brothers and sisters get janked when it comes to ordering joysticks!
We need to start an "order for your pal" system to save you guys some hard earned money.
Yeah, I just got my CH setup brought over the pond for me by a pal attending a wedding in the US. She complained about needing an extra case for it, but I reckon it will be worth a lot of teasing about my giant joystick and return favours in the long run, because they cost about double US prices in the EU.
Had my own Fly 5 stick which I ran through a couple of sims with even if it was getting on (about 2 years old now). Sensitivity was bad on twist and roll axis and buttons half responding when pressed or not at all if not dead on.
I've replaced it with a Saitek X55 Rhino and difference was night and day in control in all my games but no idea on durability since it's still new but it doesn't have the same questionable build in regards to the buttons quality
I posted this on another part of the forum but makes sense to mention the same thing here too...www.dabs.com are also selling the X52 Pro and standard versions at a very competitive price for those looking around.
As of posting Dabs has only 1 X52 left after coming back into stock this week and they have put the price of the pro up already and there hasn't been any new stock in.
I expect there must be some in soon hence the price hike.
Amazon has 3 X52 for £99 as well and scan has some at £106 with shipping.
The ONLY place I have seen the Pro in stock is at the official UK store at the full what at £150, strange that.
I expect there must be some in soon hence the price hike.
Amazon has 3 X52 for £99 as well and scan has some at £106 with shipping.
The ONLY place I have seen the Pro in stock is at the official UK store at the full what at £150, strange that.
I have one of those too, it's my first joystick in a very long time. I bought it as B-grade stock suspecting it had failed because many reviews online point out how flimsy it can be.
I cracked it open, refreshed most of the solder joints I could get to, changed a lot of the seriously flimsy wires for kynar solid-core wires (the ones used for PCB patching and wire-wrap) and cleaned the stick contacts. Those are a definite source of trouble. The less you remove the stick the better, methinks.
It's been working fine since PB was released, and Cthulhu knows I've mistreated it in my frustration.
I find it's not a bad stick (considering mine was a complete bargain). You can supplement it with a gaming keypad, perhaps.
My biggest issue is the need for a reversing toggle as there's no halfway detent on the trottle. It's cost me far too much money in insurance.
Update: I also use UJR to modify the response curves for pitch, roll and yaw. This improved dogfighting performance a lot.
I cracked it open, refreshed most of the solder joints I could get to, changed a lot of the seriously flimsy wires for kynar solid-core wires (the ones used for PCB patching and wire-wrap) and cleaned the stick contacts. Those are a definite source of trouble. The less you remove the stick the better, methinks.
It's been working fine since PB was released, and Cthulhu knows I've mistreated it in my frustration.
I find it's not a bad stick (considering mine was a complete bargain). You can supplement it with a gaming keypad, perhaps.
My biggest issue is the need for a reversing toggle as there's no halfway detent on the trottle. It's cost me far too much money in insurance.
Update: I also use UJR to modify the response curves for pitch, roll and yaw. This improved dogfighting performance a lot.
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I've had an X52-pro but switched to CH Fighterstick and Pro Throttle - and glad I did. (Would recommend the Fighterstick over the Combat stick: more hats for pwr management, targeting etc).
I had both apart, and the internal build quality is illuminating.
CH use *good quality* CTS potentiometers, Omron switches throughout, rugged mechanisms and a thick fibre-filled plastic construction. The switches have data sheets and are rated for *lots* of key-presses.
The Saitek stuff look jazzy on the outside but use lower quality pots and components.
With minimal use, the rubber-textured coating on the Saitek started coming off, the MFD always flickered and several switches were awkward to use. Didn't keep it long enough to wear anything out though.
As previously mentioned, CH make industrial rated gear. It shows.
Full confidence I'll be using the same kit in > 5 years time, and I wouldn't say that if I was using the Saitek.
Just my 2p. YMMV.
I had both apart, and the internal build quality is illuminating.
CH use *good quality* CTS potentiometers, Omron switches throughout, rugged mechanisms and a thick fibre-filled plastic construction. The switches have data sheets and are rated for *lots* of key-presses.
The Saitek stuff look jazzy on the outside but use lower quality pots and components.
With minimal use, the rubber-textured coating on the Saitek started coming off, the MFD always flickered and several switches were awkward to use. Didn't keep it long enough to wear anything out though.
As previously mentioned, CH make industrial rated gear. It shows.
Full confidence I'll be using the same kit in > 5 years time, and I wouldn't say that if I was using the Saitek.
Just my 2p. YMMV.
Used my Fly 5 for more than a year now and haven't had any problems wth it so far so guess I'm a pretty sensual guy!
Mine just died x55 inbound tomorrow
I'm on my second fly5, the first one I broke in a fit of rage, but the one I have now works fine, I also have a thrustmaster flightstick X v.4 but I could never get on with it, and hated it because you could not set the buttons to the way I liked, so it is now confined to the rubbish tech pile in the corner of my room gathering dust, I can count on one hand how many times I used it, all of you are right about there robustness, but it's not for me.
