On the search for a new flight controller system

[xclusiv8 35]

I am thinking of buying a new flight stick, throttle and rudders since my X52 is getting old and twitchy. Im not really sure what one would get these days since i dont know what is considered good.

 

Ive looked at two systems.

Logitech G940 Flight System Joystick and Thrustmaster - HOTAS Warthog. Those are the two I find on most web shops.

 

If you guys have any better suggestions please do tell. I rather upgrade to something really really good and be happy for a couple of years than upgrading to something cheap and needing to buy new stuff after a year.

 

Thank you!

[berniekelf 5]

THE SAITEK CYBORG EVO IS AN EXCELLENT JOYSTICK THAT IS WIRELESS, FULLY PROGRAMMABLE AND HAS THROTTLE CONTROL BUILT IN.

THE STICK IS FULLY RESPONSIVE WITH AN ADJUSTABLE HANDGRIP SUITABLE FOR BOTH LEFT HANDED AND RIGHT HANDED PLAYERS ALIKE. AND IT WONT BREAK THE BANK WHEN

CONSIDERING THE PRICE. THE STICK IS FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH WINGS OF EUROPE, ISRAEL, VIETNAM AND BOTH SF1 AND SF2. THE STICK HAS 16 PROGRAMMABLE KEYS AND DONT FORGET THE THROTTLE CONTROL AS WELL.

[xclusiv8 35]

THE SAITEK CYBORG EVO IS AN EXCELLENT JOYSTICK THAT IS WIRELESS, FULLY PROGRAMMABLE AND HAS THROTTLE CONTROL BUILT IN.

THE STICK IS FULLY RESPONSIVE WITH AN ADJUSTABLE HANDGRIP SUITABLE FOR BOTH LEFT HANDED AND RIGHT HANDED PLAYERS ALIKE. AND IT WONT BREAK THE BANK WHEN

CONSIDERING THE PRICE. THE STICK IS FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH WINGS OF EUROPE, ISRAEL, VIETNAM AND BOTH SF1 AND SF2. THE STICK HAS 16 PROGRAMMABLE KEYS AND DONT FORGET THE THROTTLE CONTROL AS WELL.

 

Thank you but i must say that the EVO would be a downgrade in my eyes. I really like the seperate throttle that my X52 gives me and i would not want to change that setup.

[xclusiv8 35]

So i found a used HOTAS Cugar for 125USD. Without any mods. Is it any good?

[+Julhelm 266]

My friend has a Warthog HOTAS and after trying it out I have to say it's pretty nice.

[JediMaster 451]

A used Cougar? HOW used? Barely/lightly I'd say 125 was a great price. Moderate to heavy, not so much. It may work great today, but in 6 months it may have enough wear you'll dislike it.

 

I have a G940. It has its issues, but overall I like it well enough. The Warthog is just overpriced to me. $500 and you don't even get rudder pedals. I don't think any set is worth that, no matter how nice.

[Ruggbutt 45]

Best bang for your buck is CH Products. I have a CH review as well as a G940 review up here at CA. IMHO Logitech still hasn't fixed some of the issues I pointed out with their product since I wrote the review. I own a Warthog, I actually bought it to do a review here. Seems TM didn't think CA was important enough to send a unit to for review. Ok, well that's partially true. The rest of it is a certain flight sim producer has a hard on for me as well as CA and helped them make the decision to ignore us. The Warthog is overpriced. There are some issues with it as well, one being the absolutely worst mini-joystick ever to be installed on a HOTAS. I won't go into details about how bad it is, I'll save that for my review. The TARGET software for the Warthog is an all or nothing approach for the consumer. You either program it in the GUI, which is limited in scope with what you can do or you must understand and be willing to learn a new programming language. There is no middle ground. If you go the quick and easy way, the software running in the background eats 500mb of memory, and at times peaks at 2gb of memory (no kidding!). If you write your script the software for that (they're different programs) only eats about 100mb of memory.

 

I've owned just about every HOTAS available so I know the pros and cons of the majority of them. CH is the way to go. The software can be used by a novice but you can still do some serious scripting within the GUI. Those of you that have flown Falcon 4 know how many keybinds are required to do a ramp start. You can program all of those commands with one button/hat in CH Control Manager. No scripting, just type in the command from your keyboard and save. Not only that but if you do wanna jump into some hardcore scripting you can head over to the CH Hangar and get answers to your questions from the man who wrote the software, Bob Church. He's on daily and is very helpful. In Lock On/Flaming Cliffs wheel brakes are the w key, but they're either full on or full off. No in-between. Bob wrote a script for me that makes the brakes feel like they're pressure sensitive, just like in your car. Push the brakes 1/4 of the way down, the script cycles the w key on and off 8x a second. Press halfway the key is cycled 12x a second. 3/4 of the way 16x a second and if you jam them to the stops then the brakes lock up completely. How's that for a way around the limitations of the sim?

 

Let's not forget that I own 6 CH controllers and the newest one is 5 years old. Most are more than 6. And there is not a problem with one axis, one button or one hat in all of those controllers after all this time.

Edited August 8, 2011 by Ruggbutt

[xclusiv8 35]

Best bang for your buck is CH Products. I have a CH review as well as a G940 review up here at CA. IMHO Logitech still hasn't fixed some of the issues I pointed out with their product since I wrote the review. I own a Warthog, I actually bought it to do a review here. Seems TM didn't think CA was important enough to send a unit to for review. Ok, well that's partially true. The rest of it is a certain flight sim producer has a hard on for me as well as CA and helped them make the decision to ignore us. The Warthog is overpriced. There are some issues with it as well, one being the absolutely worst mini-joystick ever to be installed on a HOTAS. I won't go into details about how bad it is, I'll save that for my review. The TARGET software for the Warthog is an all or nothing approach for the consumer. You either program it in the GUI, which is limited in scope with what you can do or you must understand and be willing to learn a new programming language. There is no middle ground. If you go the quick and easy way, the software running in the background eats 500mb of memory, and at times peaks at 2gb of memory (no kidding!). If you write your script the software for that (they're different programs) only eats about 100mb of memory.

 

I've owned just about every HOTAS available so I know the pros and cons of the majority of them. CH is the way to go. The software can be used by a novice but you can still do some serious scripting within the GUI. Those of you that have flown Falcon 4 know how many keybinds are required to do a ramp start. You can program all of those commands with one button/hat in CH Control Manager. No scripting, just type in the command from your keyboard and save. Not only that but if you do wanna jump into some hardcore scripting you can head over to the CH Hangar and get answers to your questions from the man who wrote the software, Bob Church. He's on daily and is very helpful. In Lock On/Flaming Cliffs wheel brakes are the w key, but they're either full on or full off. No in-between. Bob wrote a script for me that makes the brakes feel like they're pressure sensitive, just like in your car. Push the brakes 1/4 of the way down, the script cycles the w key on and off 8x a second. Press halfway the key is cycled 12x a second. 3/4 of the way 16x a second and if you jam them to the stops then the brakes lock up completely. How's that for a way around the limitations of the sim?

 

Let's not forget that I own 6 CH controllers and the newest one is 5 years old. Most are more than 6. And there is not a problem with one axis, one button or one hat in all of those controllers after all this time.

 

Wow. You make a really compelling case for CH products. I will be looking into those.

Would you recommend their throttles and pedals as well?

[Ruggbutt 45]

Wow. You make a really compelling case for CH products. I will be looking into those.

Would you recommend their throttles and pedals as well?

Yes, I would. The throttle is a russian style throttle in that it's a slider instead of being on a curved axis like U.S. style throttles are. The positives with this type of throttle are that no matter what position you are in (idle/mil/ab) all the controls at your fingertips are in the same place. With my Warthog throttle the geometry is changed and I'm still getting used to it, months later. If you purchase a Pro Throttle check out my Afterburner Detent Tutorial. I was able to add something that I felt was missing from the PT. It works great and I haven't had to re-do the mod. It also doesn't affect your warranty!

 

The Pro Pedals are excellent as well. Some folks think they're too close together but once you get used to them you never think about that again. Not to mention that you can program them with a script for pressure sensitive braking in sims that don't have them. If you purchase feel free to PM me for those scripts. They're easy to copy and paste and you'll be up and running in no time.

[Romflyer 25]

I too am a big fan of CH products I have their pedals and their yoke, have had both for years and they are awesome, you will not go wrong with CH.......I also use an X52 pro for all my combat flying and I really like it as well, it is much shinier than the CH stuff, but I really dont expect it to last as long either.

 

One big question.........do you have pedals?......if no is your answer, then I would suggest you take a serious look at the Logitech G940 , it looks great, it has Force feedback, most reveiws I've read have been good (if I remember right, even Ruggbutts review was mostly favourable) ......... if you try to match CH or TM to the logitech (stick,throttle, and pedals) dollar for dollar (or Euro for Euro)......the logitech seems like an easy choice.

 

However, if you answered yes about the pedals.........I would suggest CH

Edited August 10, 2011 by romflyer