I need some advice on my next purchace!

[Sakai]

Alright, here is my dilemma, I am going to be purchasing a new joystick soon, by Thursday with any luck. So far, I am pretty well set on the Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS setup. I can pick one up over at Amazon for $36.95!!! I think that is a pretty good deal for a throttle and stick with a bunch of buttons. It has twist rudder control but it also has a neat little rocker type switch on the throttle that can be used for the rudder as well. I was thinking of using it for rudder trim instead, but that is besides the point. And to top it off, the stick and throttle can be attached to each other to make the most of the space you have (which is not very much for me.)

 

The price is the real draw to me, since I am using college refund money to buy it :P I was also thinking of getting the Saitek X52, but the price is a little high for what I spend. I was wondering if any of you have the T-Flight or have tried one out and to tell me what you think.

[HotNess]

when my super doopey saitek gave up..i bought the normal t stick without throttle as a stop gap,and to be honest i love it,its been very reliable,real sturdy,not flimsy at all,some weight and bulk to it and does everything i ever needed..so the one with throttle can only be better...plus your paying a good price as its lower than what i paid for mine..theres no force feedback on mine,unsure bout one your looking at,but theres a joystick resistance knob under it that lets you adjust how it feels...for the price i think you gonna be suprised...coz as much as id like my whistle n belss kick arse joystick..they are silly money sometimes xx

 

xx V xx

 

oohh fact i just found t stick x on amazon uk for £30.00 x

[+JediMaster]

I bought my first Thrustmaster FCS when I was in college, playing Falcon 3.0 and Aces over the Pacific...ah, the good old days...

 

Of course I bought my first HOTAS, the TM FLCS/TQS combo, when I was in my senior year and I've never flown without a HOTAS since. Unless it was broken, that is!

[Sakai]

Thanks for the input! Whats up HotNess, long time, hope you are all recovered after the accident. My current stick is a Logitech Extreme3D Pro, and it has survived countless hours and many moves, and all in all has givin me good service. I really feel the need for the HOTAS, so it has to be done. The one i'm looking at is not FF but I can live without. I'm glad to know that your regular t-stick has givin good service, and gives me confidence in my decision. When it finally gets here I will post a review and some pics!

[macelena]

Personally, i allways buy the cheapest. In a couple of months they are broken, and my 10e worth joysticks work as good as others. Just less buttons, wich i wouldn´t learn to control before i waste them

[+JediMaster]

I bought my FLCS/TQS in 1995, and my gold anodized RCS are from before that...and they still work fine. The pot in the RCS needs replacing, but big deal.

However, since they're gameport and not USB they've become useless to me. In fact, I think I finally got rid of the FLCS and TQS last year after they sat in the closet for a few years. The RCS I was still using with my Cougar until I got this G940.

[+Ruggbutt]

Personally, i allways buy the cheapest. In a couple of months they are broken, and my 10e worth joysticks work as good as others. Just less buttons, wich i wouldn´t learn to control before i waste them

I used to think like that. Till I bought CH. Been going strong for close to 6 years now and I have 5 CH controllers. Software is unbeatable and I doubt I'll ever switch to something else.

[Sakai]

when my super doopey saitek gave up..i bought the normal t stick without throttle as a stop gap,and to be honest i love it,its been very reliable,real sturdy,not flimsy at all,some weight and bulk to it and does everything i ever needed..so the one with throttle can only be better...plus your paying a good price as its lower than what i paid for mine..theres no force feedback on mine,unsure bout one your looking at,but theres a joystick resistance knob under it that lets you adjust how it feels...for the price i think you gonna be suprised...coz as much as id like my whistle n belss kick arse joystick..they are silly money sometimes xx

 

xx V xx

 

oohh fact i just found t stick x on amazon uk for £30.00 x

 

Hey, is your t-stick the one that has the throttle slider built into the base??? I was looking at that one too, but it wouldn't be much of an improvement on my Logitech. Same amount of buttons and axis. But I need to replace the one I have (buttons are sticking, etc.) so I may end up getting a lower end stick anyways.

[ironroad]

Late to the party

 

but my Thrustmaster Fox 2 Pro (the t-flight is just an upgraded version) just died a few days ago while playing Arma 2. Good stick, been with me for over 6 years (I think I had since the days of CFS 2). Was the first force feedback stick I owned and because of its USB it was easy to move around and set up over the F-15E Flight stick and throttle that used a gameport (still sitting in my closet collecting dust.)

 

The "twist" in the stick allowed me to get a little bit more maneuverability in dogfights, and made flying choppers (especially in Battlefield 2 and Operation Flash Point) a breeze.

 

Survived many moves, falls, and drops. What killed it my massive tower had been sitting on the cord for God knows how long and finally shorted out and eventually severed the usb cable.

 

It did not have the button my did or the program-ability of my older F-15E Hotas , but it did last for long time and took quite a beating. (Actually it would work perfectly fine if I could just patch up the usb cable.)

 

Downsides

 

-drivers (having taken that stick from windows 98, to xp, and 7) it seems like post XP Sp2 the drivers got real finicky and only the default windows ones would work.

 

-Precise calibration, setting dead zones, and trim can be difficult, due to the "twist" of the stick (which can be disabled by using a small flathead screw driver) and the lack of a dedicated driver and program to calibrate and program buttons.

 

-Wide base, very good and stable on a desk with able room, but poor on smaller surfaces.

 

If you are looking to get a cheap Hotas setup this maybe the route to go, I believe the newer models have more buttons and an actual throttle not a small "thumb slider" like mine.

Edited February 20, 2010 by ironroad