Hardware & Technical UK joystick shortage

Ian66

I
Hi

Is anyone else experiencing difficulty in obtaining an appropriate HTOAS joystick? They seem to be pretty much unavailable in the UK at the moment, which I suspect may be something to do with Elite.

I have looked for a Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas X and found it is not in stock online from the following stores; Amazon, Dabs, Maplins (out of stock in every shop within 75 miles), BT store etc. In desperation I even went to my local PC World :eek:, but they did not have any joysticks.


I have also looked for a Saitek X52 Flight Control System and have not been able to find one of those either.

This is not a Christmas thing, I probably wont have any free time until 5 January, but am at home to take delivery.

A SPEEDLINK BLACK WIDOW Flightstick is available but I fear that would be a waste of money.

Any recommendations or advice?
 

warriorscot

W
The situation is bad all over, all joysticks are running short, particularly the good ones. Star Citizen is launching a HOTAS next year so that might turn out to be very space sim friendly at best and at worst it's a new stick people will be able to buy.
 

John T Angle

J
Crikey, there's not a decently priced stick to be had anywhere. Even on Ebay, the X52 is going for about 80% of what Amazon charge. Anyone know if things are going to improve soon? I don't really want to go for anything too cheap and cheerful and want something with at least enough buttons that I can mostly avoid the keyboard.
 

Ben_BigBen

Ben_BigBen
I'm after a CH Pro throttle in the UK (or in fact any throttle sold by itself !)- seems they are out of stock everywhere I look. Is this dearth of controllers all because of Elite Dangerous ? any pointers on where I might find a decent throttle to go with my T.16000M would be gratefully received !
 

John T Angle

J
I suspect the dearth is largely down to Elite. I'd imagine that flight controller stick sales are normally quite slow, since I'm not aware of any new big flight sims coming out recently that might drive demand (I stand to be corrected though :)). So stock levels and production were probably at a level to satisfy normal demand and not the baying hordes with a new space sim to play :) Any of the manufacturers that predicted the demand and ramped up supply to cope would have cleaned up!
 

Logic

Logic
Hi all - maybe we could use this thread for people to notify the community whenever they see HOTAS back in 'normal' stock (ie not inflated prices to exploit shortfall) at various UK outlets. I'm after a Thrustmaster HOTAS X myself so I'll be scouring the web; if anyone sees one online at normal retail price anywhere, please let me know....

Logic
 

Synnea

S
Same situation here in Germany.
I wanted to touch/feel a few sticks before deciding and wanted to buy one in a shop.
I have smaller hands than the pranks of the mutated test subjects for joystick and mice designers. Most gaming hardware seems to be designed for Yetis or Polar Bears and therefore it doesn't fit my fingers.

But I could not find any nice hotas joystick around here in the local stores. And even amazon.de has shortages.
 
Last edited:

igor37

I
Synnea said:
Same situation here in Germany.
It's wanted to touch/feel a few sticks before buying and wanted to buy one in a shop. I have smaller hands than the pranks of the mutated test subjects for joystick and mice designers. Most gaming hardware seems to be designed for Yetis and does not fit my fingers.
But I could not find any nice hotas joystick around here. And even amazon.de has shortages.
Click to expand...

Woah, it seems I was in luck then here in Austria. I could just order a T.Flight X from Amazon without any problem about two weeks ago.
I also think my hands are not much above average size and that T.Flight stick fits very well when it goes to size. Initially it looked a bit larger than it really is though.
 

namron417

namron417
I was in the same boat, with prices going into the rip off region!! Then Got an X52 Pro from Lambda Tek (https://www.lambda-tek.com/shop/?region=GB) with a pre xmas price, they were very good and delivered within 48hrs (not the 24hrs as advertised) They still have some if you are interested..........Best of luck commander.. :)
 

mapesdhs

M
I too waited for quite some time for stock to come in of the various products of interest.
I'd decided on a T-16000M and a CH Pro Throttle. Day after day went by, finally I got
tired of waiting, so I bought a T-16000M today from Amazon (approx. 45; it's been dropping by
a few pence each day since it showed up as being in stock a week ago for 50 - I was hoping
other stores with prices around 33 to 35 would get some in, but my patience ran out) and
the CH Pro Throttle for 121 from Scan (note a rep at Scan told me they'd have more T-16000Ms
in about one week's time, but didn't confirm the price would not rise, and I didn't want to risk
missing out due to limited supply).

I found a flightsim supplies site (flightstore) which seems to have most of these items in stock,
aswell as some really top-end extras for those with the moolah to splash out. Their price was
the same as Amazon's for the T16000-M, so perhaps worth checking for the HOTAS and others?

I agree though, probably E.D. that's creating the demand. Part of me can't help feeling a little
pleased about that for some whacko reason. :}

Ian.
 

John T Angle

J
I should get my Saitek X-55 from Amazon today for £159.99. Was going to get the X-52 Pro, but the X-55 was cheaper!

Hopefully Elite D will just be the start, I'd like to get into other flights sims.
 

Distance

Distance
Seems like ED and SC have drained the market. I had a long wait last year for my x52 in the UK. I'm in the USA when it died and couldn't find a ch pro throttle for love nor money except the old serial port ones. Ordered an x55 direct from madcatz on amazon (USA) and it came in 2 days. I dunno how long it'll take the supply to reach the EU again.
 

MentalTM

M
I was having great difficulty as well finding anywhere in the UK that had stock of the Hotas X. I eventually got one last week from maplin (wont let me link). They didnt have one for collection near me, but luckily they were selling them on their ebay store. Hope this is useful for some. Mine arrived on Saturday, well impressed.
 
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