What's a good joystick for a new pilot?

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  • imported_El_m_ent
    #1

    What's a good joystick for a new pilot?

    Ok, so first of all I know this should pobably be in the hardware forum, but nobody ever goes there and I want some advice from some experienced pilots. I'm going to the store on my way home from work, and need a little help.

    Can pilots suggest a good joystick for a beginning pilot? I can fly the transports pretty well with the keyboard, barring evasive action of course. Jets and attack helos are another story.

    Money is no object, but that being said I don't want the most uber 733t etc. etc. I just want one that works well and is accomodating to the learning pilot.

    Thanks in advance for any suggestions
    Tags: None
    • newiq
      #2
      Re: What's a good joystick for a new pilot?

      Can't really recommend you a specific one but any joystick above $40 will do.

      Some advice though. Make sure it has a yaw function (screwing motion) and atleast 4 fire buttons. Make sure it's heavy enough or that it has a wide foot because in the beginning when you're still overcompensating the movements it's easy to flip the entire joystick in a twitching move. Also it should have a hand rest, otherwise you'll be clenching and that'll reduce your precision.

      Also make sure that the throttle lever is not behind the stick like on the Saitek Evo, because your arm will get in the way. The Saitek Cyborg has a great design which lets you reconfigure it if you're a lefty and also raise the hand rest. Unfortunately this is a joystick with old usb technology, so it won't work with Windows XP.

        Comment

        • p0is0n
          #3
          Re: What's a good joystick for a new pilot?

          personally i use the logitech force 3d pro, even though force feedback is not able to be used on battlefield.

          But newiq is correct the joystick should be able to turn as well as rotate to give you an extra edge when flying (very useful). Also one that has a hat (think thats what its called, the little multi-directional thing on the top) neway its useful to set the directions on it to change your view so you can see behind you etc...

          hope this helps!

            Comment

            • Flares
              #4
              Re: What's a good joystick for a new pilot?

              The Logitech Wingman Extreme 3D Pro is cheap and good for BF2. An alternative would be a Saitek Cyborg Evo.

                Comment

                • imported_El_m_ent
                  #5
                  Re: What's a good joystick for a new pilot?

                  Excellent - thanks for your thoughtful and informed input. I always know that I can rely on this forum for good information.

                    Comment

                    • Scotty
                      #6
                      Re: What's a good joystick for a new pilot?

                      I use the Saitek Evo and don't have any problems with the throttle placement, but that's me.

                      Excellent feeling joystick with more than enough buttons for everything to be mapped to.

                        Comment

                        • troybob
                          Member
                          • Sep 2007
                          • 2823
                          #7
                          Re: What's a good joystick for a new pilot?

                          logitech extreme 3d pro. its like 35 bucks

                          i don't trust saitek after having 3 saitek sticks break.

                            Comment

                            • TheGhost
                              #8
                              Re: What's a good joystick for a new pilot?

                              Extreme 3D Pro. Get it from BestBuy or Circuit City and get the longest replacement plan they offer. BF2 flight tends to be pretty punishing on a joystick and if you end up flying a lot you will wear out the pots on the stick in 1-3 months. If you have the replacement plan you get to just take the stick back to the store and have them give you a new one, no questions asked.

                                Comment

                                • N2K
                                  #9
                                  Re: What's a good joystick for a new pilot?

                                  Extreme 3d pro! i bought mine from newegg.com if your lazy and dont feel like driving and looking around order it, its a good fit and strong

                                    Comment

                                    • Eden
                                      #10
                                      Re: What's a good joystick for a new pilot?

                                      Don't get a Logitech joystick, they suffer from calibration problems which can be really annoying when you let go for the stick.

                                      I would go for a saitek joystick, they are very good joystick manufacturers.

                                        Comment

                                        • Syrius187
                                          #11
                                          Re: What's a good joystick for a new pilot?

                                          I just bought the Logitech Extreme 3d Pro.

                                          It was $30 at Dell.com and its a Wonderful Joystick.

                                            Comment

                                            • Chris_Redfield
                                              Member
                                              • Oct 2006
                                              • 5986
                                              #12
                                              Re: What's a good joystick for a new pilot?

                                              Originally posted by Sir. Eden
                                              Don't get a Logitech joystick, they suffer from calibration problems which can be really annoying when you let go for the stick.

                                              I would go for a saitek joystick, they are very good joystick manufacturers.
                                              I havent tried Extreme 3D yet, but my Attack 3 totally ****es me off at times. You want a carefree joystick, ask a specified question.

                                              Suggested- LONG calibration sustainability.
                                              MORE than 4 keys on the top

                                              Twisting rudder is a luxury. As in all mechanical objects, the more moving parts it has, the more the risk of malfunction. I suggest you get a simple, heavy duty, reliable one.

                                              I dont have a name for you.

                                                Comment

                                                • Shadowace
                                                  #13
                                                  Re: What's a good joystick for a new pilot?

                                                  i still go with my sidewinder joystick,best stick out there. but i use a mouse and keyboard in BF2 most of the time

                                                    Comment

                                                    • Revoluti0n
                                                      Member
                                                      • Mar 2006
                                                      • 3032
                                                      #14
                                                      Re: What's a good joystick for a new pilot?

                                                      Originally posted by newiq
                                                      Can't really recommend you a specific one but any joystick above $40 will do.

                                                      Some advice though. Make sure it has a yaw function (screwing motion) and atleast 4 fire buttons. Make sure it's heavy enough or that it has a wide foot because in the beginning when you're still overcompensating the movements it's easy to flip the entire joystick in a twitching move. Also it should have a hand rest, otherwise you'll be clenching and that'll reduce your precision.

                                                      Also make sure that the throttle lever is not behind the stick like on the Saitek Evo, because your arm will get in the way. The Saitek Cyborg has a great design which lets you reconfigure it if you're a lefty and also raise the hand rest. Unfortunately this is a joystick with old usb technology, so it won't work with Windows XP.
                                                      That information is wrong! You can get a Saitek Cyborg Evo for under $40 on Amazon.com with free shipping. It has the "twist" function you refer to as "screwing motion"....You seem to think that it does not work with XP because of "old USB technology"...ROFLMMFAO!!!! What exactly is old USB technology? There is USB 1.1 and 2.0, unlexs you are transfering data between 2 drives there is no noticeable difference. Don't get too technical dude, especially when you have no idea what you are saying...
                                                      Saitek Cyborg Evo $34.99US, FREE SHIPPING!!!!

                                                        Comment

                                                        • newiq
                                                          #15
                                                          Re: What's a good joystick for a new pilot?

                                                          Originally posted by Revoluti0n
                                                          That information is wrong! You can get a Saitek Cyborg Evo for under $40 on Amazon.com with free shipping. It has the "twist" function you refer to as "screwing motion"....You seem to think that it does not work with XP because of "old USB technology"...ROFLMMFAO!!!! What exactly is old USB technology? There is USB 1.1 and 2.0, unlexs you are transfering data between 2 drives there is no noticeable difference. Don't get too technical dude, especially when you have no idea what you are saying...
                                                          Saitek Cyborg Evo $34.99US, FREE SHIPPING!!!!
                                                          Don't overreact. It doesnt' help anyone. Don't claim that I don't know what I'm talking about. You don't know me that well.

                                                          I was talking about two different Saitek-joysticks, but I wasn't clear enough to specify that the other one with the "great design" was the Saitek Cyborg gold which was one of the earlier usb devices (perhaps 1.0) to hit the market. They had some compatibility issue with windows XP drivers since it enumerated devices differently than earlier windows versions. This issue shows itself by uninstalling the stick every time you reboot. When installed it works fine though, but you had to reinstall it on each reboot which in the end gets to you. This has been discussed to death on the official Saitek forums and it has been confirmed by Saitek support. If you still don't believe me you're free to stw.

                                                          The Saitek Cyborg Evo is ofcourse compatible with XP since I have one myself and it doesn't uninstall like the previous one.

                                                          What I wanted to say was that the Saitek Cyborg Gold was imo "perfect" in design since you could customize grip and throttle physically. The Evo has a fixed throttle lever which is quite annoying since I prefer to hold my wrist in a straight line behind the stick to reach all of the buttons. It also ensures that I align correctly so that I don't have to wonder in a critical situation why I'm starting to tilt my helicopter into a mountain. Because of this design I have to lift my arm each time I want a change in power from the engine. That is poor design.

                                                          If you're going to bash this post aswell I'd prefer it if you settled down first and read through it twice.

                                                            Comment

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