What controllers to buy?

[Venge]

Hello, getting back into flight simming but have absolutely no controllers except for a mouse. 
Will be using it for FSX.
PC is a quad core with a Nvidia 9800GT 1 gig gcard

Use to fly 172s for fun in real life, don't do that anymore but want to try out some FSX action
I did read some previous threads that touch on this topic but seemed that most were asking what pieces they should use with such and such other controllers.

So, for someone with no controllers, any recommendations as to what to buy?
Thanks ahead of time for any suggestions  8-)

[JBaymore]

If you are a former RW pilot... and flew GA craft....... and plan on flying them in the sim..... likely you'll want a yoke and pedals and maybe a throttle quadrant.  The trio might set you back about $275-300.

CH Products makes two varieties of yokes, pedals, and a throttle quad.  (I have all three....love them.)

Saitek also makes a yoke, pedals, and throttle quad.  I fell they are more "gamey" than the CH stuff.

All are relatively similar in overall cost. 

There are more realistic sets of stuff out there mainly for the simpit market.... but the price jumps exponentially.

Maybe see the "Homebuild Cockpits" forum section for the stickies at he top of the section for suppliers listing for them.

best,

................john

[Venge]

Looked at the simpit sticky and had no idea people put that much effort into it!
Don't get me wrong, i love it
Not quite ready for that sort of immersion just yet though.  Want to make sure this is something I am going to stick with before taking over a large part of some room with a home made cockpit.  Was a real eye opener for sure tho, thanks!

Thanks for the heads up on the CH and Saitek name brands too, will have a look into them.

[olderndirt]

As a former GA pilot, you're probably used to having something in each hand.

[Venge]

I must admit, I had not even considered a yoke until this thread.  I guess over the years I got used to the idea that flying on a pc = joystick.  Even though all my flying was yoke based.
I think what would be wise at this point (as you guys suggested) is find a decent yoke or stick and add a throttle.  However I may put off the rudders until a bit later just to make sure this is something i am going to play for a while.
So I do need to choose between stick and yoke still.  Tough call really.  I can see yoke getting pluses on the 'what I was used to in real life' side of things, however I can see the stick being more useful if I get into some flight combat games or sims of planes that use a stick in real life.

As for which brand, seems to me CH is a bit tougher to buy over here in New Zealand.  I googled it and not a lot came up.  However Saitek is like a plague over here in a relative comparison of availability.

Hmm, have to think about it some more it seems.  Heh, only disadvantages of choices, you have to actually choose lol

[Venge]

Something along the lines of
http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/Sait ... m/1545633/
a decent starting set?  Likely more costly then you guys are used to seeing as we here in NZ tend to have to pay a ton more for this sort of thing.   :'(

[Fozzer]

Over 10+ years of daily Flight Simming I have found a "Twist" (Rudder) Joystick (with Force-feedback) with Throttle control perfectly adequate for my purposes.... point and fly!...This allows control over BOTH the Ailerons and Rudder for keeping the ball in the centre when performing banking turns!
Without having (very expensive) Rudder Pedals for a Flight Yoke set-up, this doesn't seem to be possible, resulting in side-slip, and crabbing?

....and a suitably Joystick costs only a a few Pounds...(

[olderndirt]

[quote]Something along the lines of
http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/Sait ... m/1545633/
a decent starting set?

[JBaymore]

Didn't mean to imply you should immediately go the simpit route.

[patchz]

You can take this with a grain of salt, but I would like to make you aware of my experience with Saitek. I recently purchase an X52 Pro from Dell along with my Alienware order. At first, I was very pleased, except it seemed to have a 'catch' in the stick. olderndirt told me that it would improve with use, but I could help it along with a little parafin lubrication. After about a week, the z rotation (twist) changed from proportional to full with the slightest movement. I had to start using autorudder just to be able to fly. Then it went completely haywire and started cycling through views non-stop. My hands were not on the controller or keyboard at the time it started this. I contacted Saitek and was given an RMA to return for repair or replacement. It arrived in San Diego 4/20/10. This morning, I was informed it would be one to two [glow=yellow,2,300]weeks[/glow] before repair and return. I have no other stick to use in the meantime and this was explained up front, as well as it being a brand new purchase. Considering the circumstances, I felt they should have sent me a new stick and have me return the faulty unit when that arrived, as Dell did with the monitor. I informed them, I would not consider a future purchase of their product.



I sincerely hope you have better luck.

[JBaymore]

I've heard other stories like this with Saitek.

And if you look at the actual units compared to the CH ones...... as I said above..... they seem "gamey" in construction.  Just kinda' "loghtweight" in construction and in the design aspects.

best,

...............john

[Venge]

Awesome info guys!
After reading what you guys have to say I think I may put my money back in my pocket for now and just go with a stick with attached throttle and twist ability for rudder.

[Fozzer]

Excellent...!

http://www.logitech.com/en-us/gaming/jo ... evices/291

..that's all you need to get you up, and into the air... at a sensible price!....[smiley=thumbsup.gif]...!

...and you can manage quite well without "Force-Feedback" effects... ...!

Paul...G-BPLF...FS 2004...FS Nav... 8-)...!

[JBaymore]

Venge,

Check this one out.

http://cgi.ebay.com/CH-Products-Eclipse ... 255971204d

best,

............john

[Fozzer]

Venge,

Check this one out.

http://cgi.ebay.com/CH-Products-Eclipse ... 255971204d

best,

............john

$160 just for the Yoke assembly, John!

And I still cant figure out how your manage to fly, and control the Rudders for banked turns, etc, without having an additional set of very expensive Rudder Pedals?

The cheap, low cost, twist joystick does the job, at a fraction of the cost of a Flight Yoke + Rudder pedal set...for anyone on a budget!!

(I'm not on a budget...I'm just a tight-arse).... ...!

Paul...G-BPLF...FS 2004...with a