So I got my new toy last night...

[Tegan]

Saitek X52 Flight Control System. It's friggin sweet. Smooth as butter. Took me about 30 minutes to get a feel for it in BF2, but I got a pre-made profile that works real well. My only complaint is the throttle is a bit wierd in BF2, but I think it's because BF2 wasn't coded like a flight sim, it doesn't recognize the full range of the throttle. I can cut throttle to ~60% before BF2 registers me as killing the throttle entirely, and I of course crash. Other than that, it's choice. I was doing full combat meanuevers with it last: Split S, Rolling Splits, Roll and Break, four and eight point rolls, all very precise. I am really impressed so far.

That all said, don't buy this unless you really want the feel of a jet fighter. It's a pretty penny, but cheaper still than the HOTAS Cougar (which I almost bought actually...). I also picked up Falcon 4.0: AF last night, but have yet to try it....but that's really why I bought the HOTAS system, so I could play Falcon 4.0 in full realism mode. My cousin is in the AF and is an F-16 pilot, so I've had a go in the F-16 simulator a couple of times. Fun stuff.

Anyway, lots of talk about joysticks goin on lately, so I thought I would toss this out there. If you've got the benjamins and are really in to flying, the X52 rocks....but of course the Cougar is the true pinnacle (if you can afford it).

[longgone]

Re: So I got my new toy last night...

show off.....is it worth a damn on the helo's?

[Tegan]

Re: So I got my new toy last night...

show off.....is it worth a damn on the helo's?

I am a grade A craptastic helo pilot, so I can't say for sure...but yes it seems very nice. I was able to keep the attack chopper airborne for more than 30 seconds, which is abnormal for me. I usually flip it upside down and kill myself inside of 15 :P

It has the same throttle issue with the helo's though. You get your full 0-100% ingame throttle range in the 60-100% throttle range of the X52 throttle body. The only exception to this is the J-35. To go in to hover mode, you pull the throttle all the way back.

[The Soup Nazi]

Re: So I got my new toy last night...

The "looseness" of the stick itself was maddening when I flew with the X52. I crashed into many more objects than I cared to, and my bombing accuracy while in single bomb mode became atrocious. I only tried it for about an hour or so, but I really didn't care for the feel.

Glad that you like it, though. :)

[Tegan]

Re: So I got my new toy last night...

The "looseness" of the stick itself was maddening when I flew with the X52. I crashed into many more objects than I cared to, and my bombing accuracy while in single bomb mode became atrocious. I only tried it for about an hour or so, but I really didn't care for the feel.

Glad that you like it, though. :)

I've heard several people say that, but the tension is almost exactly like a real F-16 stick. If you set the deadzones up a tad, you won't notice the gimble shudder that maddens some people, but will still allow you the "0G" feel of the stick.

To each his own of course :)