Just had a little look at some of these suggestions...boy do they get expensive
The Warthog looks pretty good, but £400 is a bit pricey for me.
The X52/X56 seem a lot more affordable so might go in that direction.
Still got at least a month to decide and still have my Frankenmaster One for now.
The X56 is a strange beast.
It looks and feels like it's good value for money but it's performance is... "variable".
When it's working properly, combined with the look and feel of it, you'll think it was the smartest decision you ever made.
It's fairly robust, it works well and it's controls are very precise.
But then things will start happening.
Even if you don't buy an old Saitek-branded stick and suffer hardware issues, you absolutely WILL suffer with "ghost inputs" which, at first, will make you think you pushed the wrong button but then, eventually, you'll realise is a problem endemic to the stick.
There are people who'll say you can "fix" this problem by turning down the lighting on the stick, thus drawing less current from the USB port and providing more for the stick's circuitry.
This isn't the cause of the problem.
I've tested this extensively (in-line USB monitor output to graphing software) and there's NEVER been a voltage drop to the stick, while playing ED, but I still get "ghost inputs" while playing.
It's always the same buttons that generate the ghost inputs.
My guess would be that the controller firmware is a bit shonky and, under specific circumstances, inputs from various other controls, combined, will generate the output for a different control and, thus, activate it even though you didn't press that button.
The best workaround for this problem, IMO, is to use the stick for a couple of months, figure out which (if any) controls are producing "ghost inputs" and then simply move that control to a different button.
For example, let's say you allocate the Landing Gear control to switch SW1.
You play for a couple of months and discover that your landing gear lowers at randon times.
To "fix" it, go back to the control setup and set the Landing Gear control to SW2 instead.
The controller
will continue to generate "ghost inputs" from SW1 but nothing will happen because there's no longer a control for ED attached to that switch.
I can only speak for myself but I've found the controls on the X56
joystick to work perfectly
and the controls on the X56 throttle
grip work perfectly too.
The problems are all with the toggle-switches on the throttle base - and though they're nice to have it's easy enough to just not use those switches at all.
In summary...
Would I pay £219.99 (or whatever the current MSRP is) for an X56?
No, I wouldn't.
I'd look for a Logitech-branded X56 on eBay and buy it for up to £100-odd.
I got lucky with mine.
I visited a local house-clearance auction and I picked up my X56, in brand-new condition, for £45.
Spend around £100 on a Logitech X56 and you'll be happy with it (providing you're prepared to work around the "ghost inputs").
Buy one new, for MSRP, and you'll probably be a bit annoyed that it isn't as good as it "should" be.
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