BE58D wrote:I'm looking at possibly getting the yoke/throttle package and rudder pedals. Does anyone have the any of the panels such as radio stack, autopilot, etc. and if so how are they? I prefer GoFlight, but right now that's out of my budget.
Only my opinion, but Saitek has done a rather fair job in making various panels for the Flight Sim crowd. When I say "fair", it's a combination of quality, features, ease of use and price. Don't know if you've priced out other gear out there, but you might understand if you have.
My vCockpit currently consists of:
* Saitek Cessna yoke
* Saitek Cessna rudder pedals
* Saitek Cessna trim wheel
* Saitek throttle quadrants (2 in use, one in reserve)
* Saitek switch panel
I've owned the following:
* Saitek multi panel
* Saitek radio panel
The only reason they're no longer here with me is because I needed to raise some revenue, fast. They went very fast on CL. I've enjoyed them all with little to no tech issues.
Saitek really clobbered the ball out of the field with their Cessna offerings: they are realistic, easy to install/use and very comfortable in the tactile realm. They're also durable, they get a regular workout here. One thing I found out is Saitek's gear is also rather adaptable, having 'disassembled' the aforementioned switch panel and incorporating the components into various homemade components (overhead switch panel, landing gear/autobrake panel). The components were easily adapted into the homemade items and respond very well, with some assistance from registered FSUIPC. If you don't mind a generic arrangement of various displays and switches, the Saitek gear is hard to beat and the guts can be easily adapted into more-authentic custom panels if you so choose.
If you end up buying used Saitek gear, bear in mind that some items with rotary switches might have the 'gorilla-knob' issue, they're very hard to turn. Saitek has since addressed this matter in later models, so if you end up with used gear and very stiff rotary switches, I think I can refer you to a tutorial page which illustrates, with pictures, how to alleviate it quickly, easily and no money out-of-pocket. Hope that helps, let us know.