Helis and joysticks. What to get?!

Von Due · 11-29-12, 05:17 PM

Ok, I've decided to try dodging real life for a few moments and give a couple of flight sims another go. Those would be FS2004 and DSC Black Shark primarily but if time allows I'm keen on revisiting the old TIE Fighter as well as X:Tension too. Now here's the situation:

My Saitek X45 (cursed be thy name) is a goner and the best joystick I have is a gameport one with no good collective solution and no anti torque solution at all so I'm in the market for a new, preferably HOTAS setup.

Things I emphasize are precision, smoothness, centering and low to no dead band around center stick and long term reliability. FF is not at all important. In fact I will probably disable it after having a few giggles. Also controller software that doesn't require an MIT masters degree in computer science is a huge plus (the one thing I did appreciate with the X45). I couldn't code a hello world program if the world depended on it. Also, I am on a budget but will probably go for a week on rice and noodles for "the right HOTAS".

One candidate that keeps popping up is the Saitek X52 Pro + pedals. I never had a chance of seeing it hooked up to a pc so I only know it's one of the smoothest sticks I have ever had my hands on. How precise or reliable it is, I can't say. Reviews go from "stay away" to "all you'll ever need".

Other candidates seem to be Logitech's G940 (which I read is still plagued with silly and annoying flaws and deal breakers as well as it's being reported as 3 controllers and not 1 so bye bye TIE Fighter) and Thrustmaster's Warthog (seemingly waaay too pricey and from what I've read so far, you do need an MIT degree in computer science to get the most of it, not to mention some dirx limitations on buttons and axis which, correct me if I'm wrong, would render many buttons and axis useless).

So in short: So far the hottest HOTAS seems to be the X52 Pro + pedals. Anyone have personal experience with how good this is for helicopter sims? Reliability and the other factors mentioned above? Any particular reason I should look elsewhere, or why this would be The Choice? And those other candidates, can anyone with first hand experience with these and helicopters chime in and say what they think about those?

Would be greatly appreciated to see what you have to say.

PS: From what I've read the X52's MFD is little more than a smart sales stunt, with only one game being able to communicate with it unless you are a Professor at MIT's computer science advanced research facility. Any knowing where one might find plugins for various games to make it work?

11-29-12, 05:17 PM	#1
Von Due Sea Lord Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 1,665 Downloads: 30 Uploads: 0	Helis and joysticks. What to get?! Ok, I've decided to try dodging real life for a few moments and give a couple of flight sims another go. Those would be FS2004 and DSC Black Shark primarily but if time allows I'm keen on revisiting the old TIE Fighter as well as X:Tension too. Now here's the situation: My Saitek X45 (cursed be thy name) is a goner and the best joystick I have is a gameport one with no good collective solution and no anti torque solution at all so I'm in the market for a new, preferably HOTAS setup. Things I emphasize are precision, smoothness, centering and low to no dead band around center stick and long term reliability. FF is not at all important. In fact I will probably disable it after having a few giggles. Also controller software that doesn't require an MIT masters degree in computer science is a huge plus (the one thing I did appreciate with the X45). I couldn't code a hello world program if the world depended on it. Also, I am on a budget but will probably go for a week on rice and noodles for "the right HOTAS". One candidate that keeps popping up is the Saitek X52 Pro + pedals. I never had a chance of seeing it hooked up to a pc so I only know it's one of the smoothest sticks I have ever had my hands on. How precise or reliable it is, I can't say. Reviews go from "stay away" to "all you'll ever need". Other candidates seem to be Logitech's G940 (which I read is still plagued with silly and annoying flaws and deal breakers as well as it's being reported as 3 controllers and not 1 so bye bye TIE Fighter) and Thrustmaster's Warthog (seemingly waaay too pricey and from what I've read so far, you do need an MIT degree in computer science to get the most of it, not to mention some dirx limitations on buttons and axis which, correct me if I'm wrong, would render many buttons and axis useless). So in short: So far the hottest HOTAS seems to be the X52 Pro + pedals. Anyone have personal experience with how good this is for helicopter sims? Reliability and the other factors mentioned above? Any particular reason I should look elsewhere, or why this would be The Choice? And those other candidates, can anyone with first hand experience with these and helicopters chime in and say what they think about those? Would be greatly appreciated to see what you have to say. PS: From what I've read the X52's MFD is little more than a smart sales stunt, with only one game being able to communicate with it unless you are a Professor at MIT's computer science advanced research facility. Any knowing where one might find plugins for various games to make it work?