Best affordable flight yoke/joystick

[scooters29]

being an old pilot who remembers playing Elite in its original guise in 1984, my thumb joints aren't what they used to be having spent decades being used as spanners, bottle openers, piano playing, table football etc and the base joints are worn out, arthritic and painful (stop laughing at the back! just you wait till you get the respectable side of 40!).
Therefore the Xbox/PS style pad isn't great, it puts a great deal of strain on the base joints and it bloody hurts after a 30 min dogfight.

Back in the days of steam engines, major European land Wars, cassette drives, 32k microcomputers and vector graphics, we used a device called a 'joy stick' (stop laughing at the back! it's not an adult toy!). These were far more akin to the yoke that you find in an aeroplane and because you use your wrist rather than your thumb, it avoids the strain a pad induces.

Now, would any of you young whippersnappers be able to suggest a decent, reliable and tough joystick/yoke for playing ED? I am aware that there are quite a few on the market but am keen to get a quality one without breaking the bank. It would be ideal if it could have some programmable buttons etc and sucker pads on the bottom, like you find on a kids arrows, are alwaus useful for adhereing the device to my wife's antique, oak, French polished table.

[SUPERSIX]

Keep it simple, Logitech Extreme 3D Pro or similar. It won't break the bank, has good ergonomics and lots of programmable buttons...

[Timeripp]

Thrustmaster Hotas around 50 euros, perfect for flying and docking

[-OrLoK- Слава Україн]

Hello there

Thrustmaster Hotas X is cheap and has enough buttons for the major functions, When I used mine I only had power management assigned to Keyboard. (i think jettison as well)

rgds

LoK

[Maleckii]

If all you want is a joystick, either buy the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro, or the Thrustmaster T16000M. Both are excellent joysticks for the price.

If you want a throttle as well, buy either the Saitek X-52 Pro, the X-55, or the CH Products Throttle. Those options are a lot more expensive. There's also the Thrustmaster Hotas X, but if you're going with a hotas setup you might as well spend a little more and go all in.

[mark117h]

Originally posted by scooters29:

being an old pilot who remembers playing Elite in its original guise in 1984, my thumb joints aren't what they used to be having spent decades being used as spanners, bottle openers, piano playing, table football etc and the base joints are worn out, arthritic and painful (stop laughing at the back! just you wait till you get the respectable side of 40!).
Therefore the Xbox/PS style pad isn't great, it puts a great deal of strain on the base joints and it bloody hurts after a 30 min dogfight.

Back in the days of steam engines, major European land Wars, cassette drives, 32k microcomputers and vector graphics, we used a device called a 'joy stick' (stop laughing at the back! it's not an adult toy!). These were far more akin to the yoke that you find in an aeroplane and because you use your wrist rather than your thumb, it avoids the strain a pad induces.

Now, would any of you young whippersnappers be able to suggest a decent, reliable and tough joystick/yoke for playing ED? I am aware that there are quite a few on the market but am keen to get a quality one without breaking the bank. It would be ideal if it could have some programmable buttons etc and sucker pads on the bottom, like you find on a kids arrows, are alwaus useful for adhereing the device to my wife's antique, oak, French polished table.

Hi scooters29.
Looking at your profile and seeing that you are from the U.K. "same as me".
Id suggest the Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS X V.2.
You can pick one up from Maplins for £39.99p.
It's a really good and decent flight stick and throttle, it has a decent build quality and seems to be very sturdy, you can also seperate the stick and throttle and place either side of your keyboard.
Although if you have a steel series RAW keyboard with the numpad on it then it is a proper real squeeze.
Anyhow's mate, if you are intrested i'll leave these links and you can see for yourself.

Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas X for PC/PS3
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/thrustmaster-tflight-hotas-x-for-pcps3-n19nl

Maplin Website
http://www.maplin.co.uk/c/computing-and-office/gaming/joysticks-and-flight-controllers

Thrustmaster Website
http://www.thrustmaster.com/products/categories/joysticks-0

Either way hope you find what you ideally want in a stick,
I know that my flight has improved considerably since getting the T-Flight HOTAS X V.2.
Cheers
mark117h

EDIT :
It appears that for the moment they are actually £44.99p, so buzzin got it for a penny under 40 Quid a few weeks ago lol ;-]

[glider]

logitech extreme 3d pro good stick about 40 pounds will do you nicley

[simonmd]

Originally posted by glider:

logitech extreme 3d pro good stick about 40 pounds will do you nicley

Waste of money for a stand alone stick, for literly 4 quid more you get a full HOTAS setup with the Thrustmaster http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/thrustmaster-tflight-hotas-x-for-pcps3-n19nl It's not just a gimmick having the separate throttle either, you really need it in this as it gives your left hand plenty of extra buttons to use without removing either from the controls.

This is the only decent setup for this money, the next higher offering from people like Saitek are over double the price!

[Asshat]

I can't agree more with the advice above - I bought a TM HOTAS X from maplins over a week ago, and I can't rate it high enough for this game. Yes, it isn't an awesome piece of kit like many have said, but it is excellent for purpose, and I like you used a joystick back in the eighites! ;)

I would recommend getting one, especially as simonmd said, you really do use the left hand button functions an awful lot during flight. Good luck, and fly safe! :)

Ps - your OP thread did make me laugh a lot - good man ;)

[😎Macula😎]

<lurking mode on>

[Caramel_Clown]

Nothing is more precise than T16000M for the price. Everything else just feels unresponsive and dead in comparison. Nothing else worth the price in that range. If you want throttle as well look at Saitek X52 and higher.

[Opt1mystyq]

Some advise about using hotas you'll probably want to mount them on something a little lower than a desk/table as it can get pretty painful in the arms/shoulders. Some people mount vesa mounts to the arms of their chair or just rest a piece of chip board in your lap either way should be more comfortable than holding your arms out in front of you for long periods.

i use an saitek x52 hotas myself love it as it matches the ingame ship design and has plenty of buttons, switches, knobs.

[brbrbr]

if you adventurer "by nature" and like to risk your money - you can try some Chinese sticks. like "Defender"-branded for example. for $15 you can get Cobra R4 for $40 you may get Cobra M5.(price may vary in different regions).
t16k from TM wasn't bad but quite old thing. and AFAIK mecanical stick with resistors.

[-dR-NordicusMaximus]

Having had all kinds of CH Products and Thrustmaster HOTAS systems from the Analog days of the 90's/early 2000's, I can safely say as both an experienced Flight and Space sim pilot, the current Logitech Extreme 3D Pro for about $29 US, works with Elite really well.

Throttle, Z-axis rudder(yaw), Hat control (I use for RCS thrusters), and 12 programmable keys (16 including the Hat), makes for a pretty cheap but extensive setup for Elite: Dangerous. I use the keyboard for the 1-4 flight system subpanels, and for radar ranging, but that's about it.

Someday I might try the new Thrustmaster setups, but I really haven't liked the quality of their prodcuts since they were sold to the French company (Guillemot or whatever)....I still may cannibalize my old FCS gear and wire them to a newer joystick base.....

[-OrLoK- Слава Україн]

Hello there

I have one of the first 1000 Thrustmaster Cougars and apart from having to replace a blown potentiometer its served be very well all these years. While it was unused for a while I bought a TMHOTAS X and whilst more toylike in comparison, it has some features I wish were on my Cougar. Ive found the quality to be fine!

(Getting a replacement pot from Guillemot was a logistical nightmare though)

I suppose the point is, we all have our own opinions on what is groovy or not (I also rate Saitek HOTAS's)

Id like to know what OP goes for.

Rdgs

LoK

[Fnar]

I use a Thrustmaster T-16000M and a CH pro throttle. I wouldn't use Saitek products if they sent them to me for free every month :)