Give me a quick review of your flight controls:

[blazer003]

Hello everyone, I have been a sim pilot since I was 9 (I don't remember which FS it was, but it was for DOS) and I've just taken my first flying lesson and am set to continue, and would like to get a better experience and practice at home.

So, if you could, post the name of your flight control system (mainly thinking yokes and pedals, but others are fine) and a rating 1-10 on:

Control realism - how well it controls the plane
Control feel - Force feedback at all?  Just the overall feel of using it/ the throttle, the pedals.
Sturdyness and Durability - does it feel pretty rugged or pretty cheap?
Control software - What kind of options does it give.

Any information would be great, and I think this could be a sticky at some point (or something like this) to give people information on the different control systems.

The main two I see out there are the Saitek and the CH.   Thanks.

[HarvesteR]

Well, i'm using a Saitek X52 Pro plus the Pro Flight Rudder Pedals... and i gotta say, it's awesome if i had to give it a rating, i would give it 10/10

about the realism of the controls, that depends on what kind of aircraft you're flying... for instance, for military aircraft, or helicopters, this unit is absolutely perfect... however, it lacks realism when it comes to flying commercial jets or any kind of aircraft with a yoke... so it is somewhat specialized... but any control system that's worth anything will be specialized... and it's up to you to determine which is the kind you need

about the feel, i can't say it 'feels' like a real aircraft stick... the travel range is not the same, since real sticks come up from the floor, and there's no force feedback... BUT, the precision of this unit is astounding, and it did improve the responsiveness of the sim in general
also, having all controls where they should be, add a lot to the simming experience, having your throttle on the left hand, the pedals at your feet, does increase the realism and overall 'feel' of the sim, even though it won't have the tactile accuracy to mimic a real aircraft

about durability, the X52 pro looks like it's built to last... Saitek offers a 2 year warranty, and they advertise about how the non contact sensors are much longer lasting than conventional potentiometers, which i can't not agree with

now, the software... that's the high point of the whole thing... the SST as it's called, is very flexible, allowing you to create profiles for each game (or even each aircraft) and you're able to switch between profiles in-game, which i find quite cool...
other than that, the profiling is very powerful, allowing you to even map axes as buttons, on several different modes... i have even made a profile for Photoshop, the throttle axis controlling brush size, and the rotaries controlling flow and opacity... note that photoshop does not have any kind of joystick support, so all the set up was done on the SST software

overall i couldn't be happier with my control system... i'd only advise you, since you're training to be a real pilot, that you get the Pro Flight Yoke system, instead of the X52... it also comes with the same software, but will offer much more realism when you're flying GA aircraft of jets

Cheers

[westside]

I am using a Saitek yoke and petal set up and have been very happy with the outcome. I have had a professional pilot use my simulator with the set up and he was quite impressed with the realism. He is a 777 pilot for Air Canada and he was able to land the default 737-800 perfectly. If you get another throttle quaudrant you can work a four engine aircraft no problem. You also have room for spoilers and flaps as well. If you intend on practicing a single engine aircraft the single throttle quaudrant that comes with the yoke set up will do.

[Mazza]

I have a Saitek ST90 joystick, i got it for chrissy a few years back, no force feedback, there is a Trigger, throttle  (with 4 LED) and 2 buttons.

I can say it it a good little thing Sure beats a keyboard

[Brett_Henderson]

CH  Yoke  ....  Had it for several years now, and am very happy with it.

CH pedals ...   Same..

[RIC_BARKER]

I use a Saitek Yoke and Pedals

Well, I've only flown a real plane once (changing that this weekend, C172 with my name on it!) but it's pretty real. What I like most about the Saitek is the heavily sprung detent at the centre of the yoke. This makes it totally convincing when trimming the airplane, as you do it exactly as you would in real life - trim until you neutralize the yoke forces. This is the main reason I chose it over the CH alternative. The yoke is smooth, has no stickyness, and has lots of perfectly placed buttons. The yoke has a sweet backlit LDC clock in the centre, good for checking your segment times, but also good for seeing when it's "beer o'clock" while in full screen mode

[pengyman89]

I'm using the Saitek yoke and rudder pedals and the new saitek switch panel.

I've been very impressed with all 3 items, can't say much more about the yoke and pedals that hasn't been said already.
One issue I would like to document with my pedals is that when I use the either of the brakes they refuse to turn off on the game (i have to set the parking brake and then remove it to free the wheel(s) again).

The switch panel has made for quite a different experience. Before I was using an extra keyboard which I had modified, placing labels over keys to give it a panel look to it (which I now will change to GPS and radio or autopilot controls).

The panel does not need to be set up but does require FSUIPC. There is some programming issues with the rotary knob to start the engines (R/L Magnetos are backwards, R seems not to work but does not take away from the panel much). all the switches seem to work so far and the gear lever works perfectly. It mounts on top of the saitek yoke although it does rock a bit, but again does not take away from the panel.

if anyone knows of a fix for my rudder pedals please let me know

[Augr]

I've been a CH customer for more than a decade.

[HarvesteR]

One issue I would like to document with my pedals is that when I use the either of the brakes they refuse to turn off on the game (i have to set the parking brake and then remove it to free the wheel(s) again).

I had that issue too, you have to set the null zone on the toe axes to zero, while maxing out the sensitivity... that should fix it

Cheers

[expat]

Saitek yoke and throttle quadrant. Quadrant programmed to be flaps, gear and spoilers. CH Throttle quadrant as throttle. CH Rudder pedals, TrackIR and home made MCP and home made lights and start switches. Most buttons have been programmed too.

Matt

[pengyman89]

I had that issue too, you have to set the null zone on the toe axes to zero, while maxing out the sensitivity... that should fix it
Cheers

Worked beautifully, thanks!

as a side note, also had to reverse both axis'. brakes are working perfectly now. Flying is much more enjoyable when not reaching up to the keyboard all the time while taxiing

[blazer003]

You guys are awesome.  Thanks so much.  Before posting here above I went down to Frys and bought the Saitek yoke and throttle quadrant, however it was miscalibrated (one of those time the old manual microsoft calibration would be nice) and so though the yoke was in the center indent, the control was reading slightly right.  To fix that I adjusted the dead zone, however I had to move the controller somewhat significantly to the left to get it to turn, as it thought it was still in the deadzone.

So I took it back, and decided to check out what everyone else thought and was using.  I think I'm going to go ahead and try out the Saitek again.  The other thing was I didn't get the pedals, and it's nearly impossible to fly without them (from my short experience anyway.  Anyone using a yoke and now pedals?).  I tried mapping the rudder to one of the throttle levers.  Oh what fun.  ::)

Anyway, thanks again everyone for your input, I really appreciate it.

[pengyman89]

i definitely found it was much more difficult to fly the yoke without the pedals. As i mentioned with my saitek pedals now that I have my one issue figured out my flying experience will be much improved. I got the saitek pedals so that i had a matched set of yoke/pedals but I will admit I do prefer the look of the CH pedals.

I would stay with the saitek yoke though, I love it.

[JBaymore]

Us simpit building guys discuss this all the time.

[brantmacga]

If you have space or money constraints, I recommend the Saitek Aviator.

I simply don't have the room for pedals and a flight yoke, so I bought the Aviator joystick.

It is a 3-axis joystick (twisting controls rudders) w/ 4 momentary contact toggle switches (total of 8 controls), trigger button,