Best controllers to use

[rick.kenny]

Just a quick note to ask what people are using to control FSX. The cost of yokes is quite steep for the casual player unless they bring out one for around 50 pounds. I am using a cyborg evo wireless which I picked up for 8 quid at a car boot. I works great but its not the same as a yoke which i feel gives you far greater control on the yoke planes.

Would love to hear what everyone else is using.

[barnstormer1]

Yoke, rudder pedals and throttles. Hardware Autopilot and radios. Reckon I'm not a causal "gamer"

[Roo]

I use the Saitek x52 pro.
Yes it is fairly expensive but has lasted me a good number of years so far.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flight-Simulator-Controller-discontinued-manufacturer/dp/B000LQ4HTS/ref=sr_1_2?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1419946946&sr=1-2&keywords=saitek+x52

Before my saitek I used a logitek force 3d which did the trick but did break after a year or so.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-Force-3D-Pro-Joystick/dp/B000BHLQ7I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419946803&sr=8-1&keywords=logitech+force+3d

And before that I used the Normal Logitech 3D pro which was the same only without the force feedback.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-Extreme-Pro-Precision-Fightstick/dp/B00CJ5FPTA/ref=sr_1_1/277-0106732-7048712?ie=UTF8&qid=1419946728&sr=8-1&keywords=logitech+3d+pro

Both are good controllers but didn't last for more than a year or so.

Alot of people I know use the CYBORG F.L.Y Controllers which also seem good.

[Maraio1]

Logitech G940, Saitek Multi Panel, Switch Panel and Throttle Quadrant.
Lasted me a good few years. Just got dusted off from the Loft with this release of FSX! And It's working fine!

[Byeohazard]

Using Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS. Works great however I am comming over from DCS flying the Warthog A-10C so it was worth the expense for me...a friend picked up the x-55 and I think that would be suitable as well as the x-52pro. No twist..will need rudder pedals also with Warthog.

[Styx|UnsyNZ]

Logitech extreme 3D pro. Great joystick, has rudder twist control and built in throttle, works great for flight sim. Not too expensive either.

[Tow mater]

Extreme 3D pro too.

Does the business at the right price.

[chelmo]

I used to use the Extreme 3D Pro.....kept me going for many years. But just before Christmas it died.....and despite my best efforts I couldn't resurrect it.

Just had delivered (this afternoon!) a Thrustmaster T Flight HOTAS X.....only about £35 and used it on a quick flight from Stapleford to Elstree. It is simply magnificent. Really puts the Extreme into shade.....it feels like I am using a cockpit controller rather than a joystick on a PC.

In Heaven!!

[oliveros9]

Currently, I am controlling vanilla FSX:SE only with mouse+keyboard (laptop) with standard controls mapping. Once habitued is surprisingly fun and accessible. Steam edition runs so well in my modest laptop!


For desktop PC (FSX original with many addons):

CH eclipse yoke for Boeing and small planes. T Flight HOTAS X for Airbus and helicopters.

Also, I tuned a standard PC keyboard with multiple small colored sitckers for simulating additional cockpit buttons: radio, autopilot, autobreak, lights... funny and cheap.

By the way, I strongly recommend the free www.autohotkey.com tool for mapping complex actions to any button or axis. Was quite useful for simulating ATC options (numbers) using several consecutive presses to the same joystick button (basic programming skills required).


Best,

OLI

[Twelvefield]

Thrustmaster HOTAS-X is a very nice economy stick with lots of features. The T160000M is a fantastic stick for rookie pilots to start with.

But your question is what we use, not just what is the best for cheap...

I use the HOTAS-X, the XBOX 360, Saetek rudder pedals and a TrackIR. It's impossible to have too many controllers in FSX, and unless you are using legacy serial port controllers from FS9 or before, it generally plays well with all USB controllers.

Yokes are nice, but really only for true sim-heads or people who are using flight sim as ground training. i don't think there are any force-feedback yokes anymore (could easily be wrong), but you don't get the feel out of a computer yoke that you do out of the real thing.

That being said, there are still a lot of home-made cockpits out there that use legacy yokes, gauges, and throttles because back in the day graphics didn't keep up with simulation, and you could build a realistic analog cockpit out of gauges that freed up the monitor to simply display scenery and no cockpit.

[rick.kenny]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I will start looking on ebay for a yoke with the throttle quadrant. For now I am happy with the stick I have and I as long as you set up a trim button it works fine.

I can only add that trim is the most important aspect...... trim makes it enjoyable to fly... use it and stop fighting the stick with constant back pressure etc... love this sim

[HReissM]

I got this one a couple of weeks ago, a bit pricey but its SO worth it imo.
http://www.amazon.com/Saitek-Flight-H-O-T-A-S-Throttle-System/dp/B00HHAIY72/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420014925&sr=8-2&keywords=saitek+x52+pro

[rick.kenny]

as I am running this on a mac with windows installed as a boot partition I am hoping that most joysticks will work... I have only just installed windows 7 on here to enable me to run FSX I must say it seems pretty fast

[Brutal, Savage, Rekt]

Using Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas X. Satisfied.

[Twelvefield]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von rick.kenny:

as I am running this on a mac with windows installed as a boot partition I am hoping that most joysticks will work... I have only just installed windows 7 on here to enable me to run FSX I must say it seems pretty fast

The U in USB stands for Universal, so regarding your rig, be it PC, Mac, PS, XBOX... as long as you can plug'n'play the USB way, it should work. Drivers are another matter, but you should always have basic function.

[Ken]

I use a very cheap Logitech stick (forget what it is called off the top of my head) and I use the pedals from my Logtiech DFGT wheel as rudder controls (set to combined axis in Logitech Profiler). Cheap way of using what I have already, and it works great.