Flight stick questions

sesselpupser

sesselpupser

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neema_t
Hey guys,

In this year's Steam sale I bought DCS: Black Shark and Take On Helicopters, which join DCS: A-10C, Arma II and... oh I'm sure there were others in my Steam library. I also fly jets and choppers in BF3 from time to time but forget to plug my 360 controller in every time. So I'm looking to buy a stick with which to augment my sim rig (which has become my PC chair, actually), my 'research' (an Amazon search) so far indicates that the Saitek X52 is probably the best choice, but does it have hard-mounting points to fix it to things? Also, is it compatible with:

Windows 7 64-bit
DCS: Black Shark and A-10C
Take On Helicopters
Arma II
BF3
IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946
Wings of Prey
X-Plane
Battlestations: Pacific*
Descent 1, 2 and 3*
Freespace 1 and 2*?

*Not essential and/or highly unlikely, but it would be awesome

Are there any other recommendations? I looked at the Thrustmaster A-10 stick but it's too expensive for me, around £150 is my absolute limit and the X52 is about £110-130 depending on where I get it from. If there's a stick with comparable features to the X52 for a similar price but with a more authentic style I'd probably prefer that, but functionality and comfort are more important than style to me.

Finally, would the X52 require me to also have a keyboard to hand or can it completely replace it? I suppose that varies from sim to sim though. I would, however, really like to have a stick with enough buttons so that I could do away with the keyboard 99% of the time if possible. I suppose more buttons = more money, though.

Thanks guys!

p.s. This, any good or just a gimmick?

p.p.s. I sort of intend on getting a Leo Bodnar standalone adaptor for my G27 pedals so I could set them up as rudder pedals, could that work?
 
I used to be into flight sims, mostly MS Flight sim and WW2 stuff. I never got a chance to use a thrustmaster, but I can highly recommend the CH Products line. I had a CH Fighterstick and set of the Pro Pedals. I think you'll find the CH stuff is much better than the Saitek products. I sold my CH stuff when I got out of flight sims and now have a Saitek to use when I just want to play around.
 
I fly DCS and X-Plane with the X52 Pro on Win7 64. I had a X52 (regular version) but it started having problems as soon as the warranty expired. It might have just been bad luck, but in case it was an issue with build quality, I went with the more expensive Pro. It has lasted a lot longer. The X52 Pro does have mounting points, I don't remember if the X52 does, but they are pretty much identical externally so I'd assume it does. From the research I did when looking for a stick, the X52 is really the cut off. It's the least expensive stick+throttle+rudder combination out there with a large amount of buttons and wide functionality. Below its price, you find stand alone sticks with less buttons and there are better sticks above, but they get pricey.

The X52 is very good as a HOTAS (Hands on Throttle and Stick) not only because of the amount of buttons, but because it comes with software to create control profiles. Part of this involves saving up to 3 different configurations in the same profile, and you can switch between these 3 at any time. This effectively multiplies the max number of buttons by 3. However, when I tried to use it, it would cause my system to crash. Other people have used it successfully though. In the case of DCS, even 1 configuration is enough since you can control the plane directly through the virtual cockpit with a mouse (the X52 has a built in mouse on the throttle, but I think it requires using the profile software to enable).

The MFD is a good buy, but not necessary. I don't own any so I can't tell you if that particular one is any good, but being able to quickly glance at maps/systems without dragging your field of view off the HUD is very helpful in DCS.
 
Thank you both very much, I've just looked at the CH Fighterstick but I can't work out where the throttle is and there's not nearly enough buttons so I imagine I'd have to have a keyboard as well, right? I think I prefer the look of it though, the X52 is a bit like a Christmas tree!

Exorcet
The MFD is a good buy, but not necessary. I don't own any so I can't tell you if that particular one is any good, but being able to quickly glance at maps/systems without dragging your field of view off the HUD is very helpful in DCS.
Click to expand...

The MFD doesn't actually have displays in it, they're just buttons and they, bizarrely, come with cardboard inserts to make it look like they're showing something (hence why I thought they look a bit like a gimmick). They do, however, work with DCS: A-10C directly so that you don't have to control the MFDs with a mouse, I'm guessing. Adding actual LCDs to them and making them show the MFDs in real time would be an awesome mod, but far beyond my knowledge.

I think I'll go with the X52 Pro, it seems popular and I've found when you're buying a niche product like this it's always advisable to get the popular ones.

I have a couple more questions for Exorcet (if you don't mind?): Are the bases for the stick and throttle the same size, and how big are they?
 
In that case, getting the MFD would depend on how willing you are to operate virtual MFD's in the cockpit with a mouse. I haven't found it a big deal, but I do think that having a physical panel for those controls would be a step up. The MFD is a little pricey though and I don't think I would buy it at that price.

The bases are the same size, square about 6 and a half inches on each side and about 2 inches tall.
 
I had the X52 for IL2 1946 and it is fantastic for that game. I would highly recommend it. I have had it for over 5 years and fault free

It does come with software that you can customise for each individual game, on three levels, thus doing away for your need for the keyboard. However this software needs a lot of setting up and is time consuming and I never used it.
 

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