In case you missed it...

[531Ghost 15]

The Combat ACE X-56 Review...

 

http://combatace.com/topic/89350-combatace-saitex-x-56-hotas-review-by-531ghost/?do=findComment&comment=722317

[+streakeagle 864]

X-36 USB was pretty much my favorite.

The X-45 was an X-36 made cheaper and with flashy colors/lights.

I passed on the X-52 as my X-45 and X-36 both functioned fine.

But the X-52 Pro popped up at only $100 on the old GoGamers.com, so I couldn't resist and got the Pro Pedals, too.

 

The X-52 Pro was great in many ways, but I liked the rudder rocker on the X-36/X-45 better than the twisty stick of the X-52/X-52 Pro.

My son still used the X-52 Pro when he wants to play Mech Warrior, but the twisty stick pot has gotten dirty/noisy from lack of use.

 

I had cut up the X-45 in my 2nd revision of my real B-8 grip/F-4 Phantom stick, but the X-36 is still fully functional.

 

After getting a Warthog for only $350 a few years back, and also having the final BU0836X derived version of my F-4 stick, I had zero interest in the non-moving X-65 that was exactly the opposite of what I wanted and already had.

 

The X-55 looked interesting, but my son moved on to tablets and/or mouse/keyboard shooter games so I still don't need another stick with the Warthog still performing flawlessly other than "stiction", which I improved with an extension and some lube.

 

The X-56 looks like it is the X-45/X-52 to the X-55... flashier but somewhat of a step backwards. Saitek sticks have always suffered from some ergonomic issues despite efforts to avoid them. But reading Ken's X-56 review and looking at the photos, they don't seem to actually try playing games with a design before finalizing and producing it! 

 

While I am most interested in scale reproductions of real aircraft controls, close approximations in color and style of real controls that are very PC game friendly are a good way to go. The looks and arrangement of the X-36 USB and X-52 Pro represent what I would expect and want from Saitek at a fair price. The X-65 looked good to me, but I prefer a conventional stick to an F-16 like pressure transducer. The X-55 looke pretty good, but seeing the X-56 review makes me think the X-55 might have had similar ergonomics problems beyond the quality control issues I read about on various forums.

 

Fortunately for me, my Warthog has had only one problem: the serial board that communicates the stick button positions to the controller base lost the first stage trigger function, so I had to order and install a new board. At about $40 including shipping, that was way cheaper than buying a new HOTAS. With that one repair, every function on the Warthog continues to work as well as brand new.

 

I don't want to see Saitek go out of business. The X-36, X-45, and X-52 Pro gave me years of great flight simming at very affordable prices. But, I won't buy new sticks when my existing stick is still working flawlessly and better than Saitek's best. So, I hope new gamers who can't afford or don't want Warthogs or CH Products will continue to support Saitek. At some point, I will need new rudder pedals. With the years of use/abuse my Saitek Pro Pedals have survived, I wouldn't mind getting another set, but Saitek is having money issues and has allowed many of their high end flight sim products to go out of production and run out of inventory. So, when my Saitek pedals finally die, I may end up buying one of those high-end, low-production, all-metal, high-precision, expensive rudder pedals I always see on all the flight sim forums.

 

The stick I would consider getting if it wasn't out of stock and my Warthog died is the highest end version of the Russian Mamba. It is Warthog grip compatible and appears to be the absolute best in hardware. But they are very low production rate, high-priced, and sell out every time they are offered up for sale. I keep following them with a watchful eye. One day my Warthog will not be cost-effective to repair and may even be out of production...

 

Why isn't Thrustmaster making a range of replica grips for the Cougar/Warthog sticks? I would have a B-8 grip, a P-51 grip, an Su-27 grip... and/or any other major fighter grip if they weren't too expensive. They shouldn't make them out of metal. Not just to keep costs down, but because the real grips weren't metal. My F-4 B-8 is the standard US milspec grip... some sort of resin/plastic that is very sturdy and much more comfortable than cold metal.