Think twice about getting a Warthog HOTAS

[Zebaoth]

What's the button count on an X-52?

Two 8 way hats, 4 buttons, dual fire button, 3 toggles and the 3 way mode switch on the stick,
One 8 way hat, 8 buttons, scroll wheel, two rotary axis, one analog slider and a thumb operated analog stick on the throttle.

Considering you can use the 3 way mode switch in combination with the pinky to make 6 more keybindings available on the flick of a wheel that's a whole bunch of buttons.

To me the strong points are the rotary axis controls on the throttle which can be assigned to vertical/lateral thrusters,
makes you land the t9 on achenar 3 smooth as silk.

Have my x52 since 2014 and regularly (ab)using it in elite, x plane, dcs.
Still going strong.

 

[S3B4ST13N]

Interesting. My X52 pro just broke, I thought about getting a Warthog because I'm tired of flimsy Saitek, but I couldn't stomach the price. I bought another X52 because I just really love them when they work, but they just don't hold up and this is my third one. I wish I could go CH, but they just don't have enough hands-on buttons and controls.

I've had my X52 for over six months and it's been working flawlessly; how hard are you yanking on your joystick? [haha]

 

[IamMe]

CH is good choice but if money is not the problem i would recommend you VKB gunfighter or gladiator pro mk2.
And you can switch grips on it, there is new grips coming next month or even you can use warthog grip on it and gimbal base is customizable (you get different sets og springs to set it to your needs)
Currently best on market;
https://vkbcontrollers.com/?product=vkb-gunfighter

 

[Hooplah]

The Saitek (now Logitech) X-56 is hands down the most best software designed gaming HOTAS for Elite Dangerous. It is so intuitive, easy to setup and can directly bind more ED controls than any other HOTAS and doesn't needs a custom profile to do it. But it breaks a lot per the yaw spring, lack of centering on the joystick out of the box (requires a software patch to fix), too much grease on the throttle, early versions breaking wires and IC chips failing with a power surge. The Thrustmaster Warthog designed to fly a Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt in the latest flight simulators is the most rugged and reliable HOTAS on the market. There is no joystick yaw as it uses the T.Flight TFRP rudder pedals for the total experience....but you bought one second hand and like all our toys they can fail. The "sleeper" is the Thrustmaster T.16000m FCS which feels more like a toy but is very reliable and competes very well with the X-56 when it comes to programming all of a player's desired controls. The straight forward sliding throttle is a little weird versus a rotating one but a player could get over that.

I have them all and have used them all playing ED. Still I go with the X-56 with all it's problems but also buy 3 year warranties! Maybe some day they will deal with the issues and I won't have to buy warranties. I keep the Warthog around for X-Plane 11 as well as some serious helicopter controls which are 1.5 to 4 times more expensive than a Warthog. These flight simulator people are very serious including FAA approval on the controllers when the commercial version of X-Plane is used to train real pilots in flight schools.

If Elite Dangerous ever gets to atmospheric planets with cities we can land at and fly helicopter type aircraft around I'm good to go!

 

[Vasea Azure]

My CH Hotas outlived three different Saitek sets, and currently after my Rhino throttle wires broke (common thing with it unfortunately) I went back to it again.
But I agree with Hooplah X-56/55 is very easy to set up for Elite and when it worked it was great.

 

[fruitbat]

I went old school. Microsoft Force Feedback 2. The life span on these is measured in decades. They just don`t make em like they used to.

Good choice. I have 2, one as a spare. Still the most accurate stick i have used and still going strong after 12 years combat flight simming and now ed. They still come up on eBay from time to time. A flight SIM budy of mine has 3 spare!

Use it in conjunction with a x52 throttle, the x52 stick as a button bay and directional thrusters (in ed). Saitek pedals and throttle quadrant and track ir.

 

[CMDR Nate Lee]

Recently bought the Warthog HOTAS and TFRP peddles. Like DNA-Decay above, I kept putting it off but glad I spent the money for now.

It makes my old X-52 feel like it was made out of cheese and old toilet paper cores.

 

[lysan]

@OP I think you got a bad one, mine is many years old and has been abused heavily still works like a charm, my next set will be a KBV JS, better quality as far as I understand.

 

[Aashenfox]

I think it's a bit out of line to buy a second hand product, for that to be your only experience of the product, then make a thread encouraging others to question the quality of said product when it fails. This gives a false impression of a product with a reputation for quality and durability. If I worked for Thrustmaster I would petition the mods to change the title to something more appropriate.

 

[Crash1099]

Thought they were good. I want to switch from x-56 junk to something better.

 

[Aashenfox]

They are! But if you're going from Saitek, you might miss twist for yaw, the Warthog doesn't have it.

 

[Crash1099]

They are! But if you're going from Saitek, you might miss twist for yaw, the Warthog doesn't have it.

I guess i should just repair my x-56. I got like tons of them laying around. Including X-55.

 

[Ziljan]

CH is not free from quality control issues. They have built in noise in their sensors which makes their thumb stick inferior to other options. The new thrustmaster stick is better but has issues with centering drift on the joystick. No hotas is perfect at this point. Imo the thrust master FCS is as good as it gets, though it doesn't have anything near the polish or "feel" of a Warthog. But "solid feeling" and actual durability are two different things, as you have recently discovered.

I would rank the hotas options this way:

1. Thrustmaster 16000m FCS
2. CH combo
3. Warthog
4. Anything but Saitek (avoid Saitek like the plague)

 

[MissMeYet]

I think it's a bit out of line to buy a second hand product, for that to be your only experience of the product, then make a thread encouraging others to question the quality of said product when it fails. This gives a false impression of a product with a reputation for quality and durability. If I worked for Thrustmaster I would petition the mods to change the title to something more appropriate.

Thrustmaster has created a special repair scheme with pictures, text and they send out new DIN connectors and ribbons in the mail. That's a sure sign that something's wrong with the design of the product. IDK how long the OP had the device after the first owner, but a joystick that costs $350 should last a decade at least.

 

[Aashenfox]

I didn't know that, I keep my ear to the ground in general and had only heard good stuff about them. Thanks for the heads up and my apologies to the OP then if it's a known issue.

 

[MissMeYet]

I didn't know that, I keep my ear to the ground in general and had only heard good stuff about them. Thanks for the heads up and my apologies to the OP then if it's a known issue.

LOL. You didn't actually read the OP's post, but felt compelled to comment on it anyway. Love that Internet!

 

[Aashenfox]

LOL. You didn't actually read the OP's post, but felt compelled to comment on it anyway. Love that Internet!

My bad, it happens. I still think it's highly cheeky to warn an entire community to think twice about a product based on experience with a single second hand item. Many communities wouldn't allow that, it would be labelled 'bashing', that was really what I was getting at, the fact that I believed it to be a durable product is less relevant. I nearly bought one recently, and didn't find much negative commentary. Like the Saitek bashing too, I'm a Saitek user, had it a for a while, no issues. I don't usually bite when people are like 'stay away from Saitek rubbish', cos everyone's entitled to an opinion and there have been some bad experiences, also some are harder on their kit than others. The Saitek when it's working is still my fave joystick, so I don't really like seeing people bash that either. It's the bashing I'm against. Less bashing!

 

[dognosh]

Interesting. My X52 pro just broke, I thought about getting a Warthog because I'm tired of flimsy Saitek, but I couldn't stomach the price. I bought another X52 because I just really love them when they work, but they just don't hold up and this is my third one. I wish I could go CH, but they just don't have enough hands-on buttons and controls.

My early X52-pro lasted 13 years,now I use the x55 and it is too early to tell you if it is reliable.
Regards to buttons,hats,joystick & sliders : It is superior to the X52-pro. I am loving it

 

[Marklar_]

You know the CHproducts Fighterstick has the same buttons as the warthog (apart from one) - the throttle has loads of controls - I think you might need to recalibrate your opinion on this.

Hmm, I may have miscounted when I last looked at them, or I was looking at the wrong one. Oh well, I can't go with that now anyway, I can't use my pedals again until I get some surgeries done.

I've had my X52 for over six months and it's been working flawlessly; how hard are you yanking on your joystick? [haha]

I'm gentle with my gear. For me it isn't the joystick that breaks anyway, it's the throttle. I've been getting about two years of heavy use out of the X52 before they start falling apart.

 

[Cmdr Esteban]

CH Products gear lasts for years and years, all the other manufacturers just produce flimsy lots-a-lights rubbish that breaks after a matter of months at best. There's absolutely no reason to choose anything other than CH for flight sim hardware.