Flight Stick Suggestions?

[Aftonstjarna]

I'm looking for a HOTAS to pair up with my VR set up. Budget $250

[Aftonstjarna]

Some of the recent reviews for the T16000 on Amazon were concerning. Drift and axis failure complaints.

[CMDR WeeJet]

VKB Gladiator NXT. Its only a stick without a throttle. but its way way way way better quality that every other stick in the sub $500 range. and the base one is only $120 so you could spend the rest of the budget on a throttle like the ThrustMaster Twcs Throttle. (the t16000 one)

[CMDR WeeJet]

USA store link for the nxt
https://vkbcontrollers.com/?product=gladiator-nxt

eu store link for nxt
https://flightsimcontrols.com/product/gladiator-nxt/

[GODRilla (Gutter Ape)]

I like my x52 pro, so far it works out of the box, even with voice attack (requires grabbing your bindings in va)

[Joerg Baermann]

I like my x56 as well, first thing I did was opening the throttle to check that the cables moved fine and to remove a tiny bit of the friction paste.

VKB seems to be the thing these days, I would get either 2 of those or one plus a better throttle.

[Stelar Seven]

My X52 has been solid.

[Godrik Underscore]

Thrustmaster t16000m is a great starter stick but suffers from QA issues. The joystick will develop drift over time which only gets worse the longer you use it. Still an excellent starter stick as long as you keep in mind that the joystick will break down within 12-18 months. The throttle itself will be fine beyond that. There are also plenty of guides of how to fix the drifting issue.

Personally I replaced the joystick twice before I had enough and got a VKB Gladiator which I now use together with the Thrustmaster throttle.

[Carm3D]

Logitech Extreme 3D Pro is a nice option for around $50.

[atom heart]

X52 Non pro is a good HOTAS. Serves me well.

[Coplann]

got me the Thrustmaster Warthog. got it a lil bit cheaper (think 370 €). Didnt want to spend 180 € for a stick that I will have to replace every 12-18 months cause in the end thats sums up to more than what the best stick costs

[Noobiecanoobie]

+1 for the VKB Gladiator NXT
I keep one just for Elite even though I rarely play it.

[Zangtu]

I've been using the Thrustmaster t16000m HOTAS for about 2 years now and not seen any drift from my end... It may be because I use dead zones to bottom out any very slight movement as I tend to rest my hand on the stick quite heavily at times when cruising. The throttle can get a bit sticky as well, had to loosen the resistance quite a bit for a smoother motion but then again, if you hard mount instead of resting it on a desk top, this wouldn't be an issue.

Predefined button layout in game is also very good imo. Everything feels like it's in the right place out of the box.

Either way 1+ for the Thrustmaster t16000m for something middle of the road.

[♥ Beepy ♥]

If you don't mind saving up a bit more, the Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS was hovering around ~$370USD on Amazon a few days ago.

[Joerg Baermann]

Originally posted by Coplann:

got me the Thrustmaster Warthog. got it a lil bit cheaper (think 370 €). Didnt want to spend 180 € for a stick that I will have to replace every 12-18 months cause in the end thats sums up to more than what the best stick costs

Real good deal if that is the full set.

[Princess Pilfer]

I recommend against Logitech HOTAS setups, for the same reason I recommend against Thrustmaster HOTAS setups. They are notorious for quality control issues. (Also the Thrustmaster one specifically has it's buttons placed in ways that are extremely inconvinient for combat.)

The 'defualt' budget HOTAS setup (as in high enough quality that there's not a 30% chance it breaks on you in 6 months) is the VKB Gladiator NXT + the Thrustmaster TWCS throttle. (the throttle does have some reliability issues, but nowhere near as bad as the thrustmaster stick does, and it's design is way better)

TWCS Throttle
https://www.mypilotstore.com/MyPilotStore/sep/11251

VKB Gladiator
https://vkbcontrollers.com/?product=gladiator-nxt



(PS, the Thrustmaster Warthog stick has all the same internals as the Thrustmaster T16000m stick, and so all the same failure issues. They hugely overcharge for it too.)