Best Flight Stick
 

I'm giving Microsoft Flight Simulator 2k4 to my Dad for xmas and I was wondering what the opinion on flight sticks were. I'm looking for a decent one that I'd be able to pick up at Best Buy.

Thanks!

The best stick you can get at Best Buy will be the HoTaS Saitek X45 at $75.

CH products are really, really nice. I have one that my dad bought for Aces over the Pacific and it still works. But they're expensive as hell and can be really hard to find if you're not willing to order it online.

I like my god old tried and true sidewinder.

Edit: Note 40$ at the time

CH are top-notch. You can't get a better consumer stick. Saitek are also pretty damn good, and far more affordable. I have a Cyborg 3D USB Gold from years back, and it's still going strong. Great stick.

For heavy duty or realistic flight simming, you will also need rudder pedals. You can prob find them at bestbuy, but you are starting to spend some money. I agree with the above posts CH are the best but hard to find retail and expensive. You get what you pay for.

Agreed. I LOVE my Saitek. And I don't have pedals yet, but there's a rocker on the throttle that substitutes for now.

I have a Saitek Cyborg EVO. Very nice. You can customize a lot of the angles of the triggers, buttons and such. I use it in FS 2004 a lot.

Saitek X36
 

I've been using this bad boy for years without a single complaint:

http://img.shopping.com/cctool/PrdIm...f/20300111.JPG

The newer model is the X45. Newer and uglier, I think. Same functionality as far as I know.

I don't think they make the X36 any more. Also, the newest stick is the X52 , but I havn't seen it sold in any stores.

Now THAT is purdy! I bought my stick online back in the day and have seen it (and newer models) on store shelves only a few times.

edit - for the link clicking impaired out there:

http://saitekusa.com/usa/images/product/pcp/x52.jpg

What ever happened to Thrustmaster? They used to be a big competitor against CH.

And I like most of the functionality of the X52, but can't stand rudder twist on joysticks. It's gotta be rocker or pedals.

Thrustmaster's still out there. Their big stick is a HOTAS as well, but it's significantly more than the Saitek and doesn't really offer any advantages over it.

I had 3 thrustmasters back in the day. Two of the original flight sticks and a racing wheel. They all broke in 6 months. The build quality was crap.

Wierd FngKestrel. I didn't notice that till you mentioned it.

I though it would use the X45 rudder type, with a rocker rudder on the throttle. It takes a bit to get use to but it works really nice once you do. Not as good as the control you would get with pedals but much better than a twist stick.

That's interesting, my nostalgia remembers the Thrustmasters as having better construction. Like solid pieces of metal compared to the CH plastic construction. Maybe I'm just thinking of the force feedback version, which was a monstrosity unto itself.

Yeah, the twist stick isn't a bad idea per se for normal flight sims, where I can imagine turning the stick in the same direction you're leaning, but for games like mechwarrior, where you turn the stick in the opposite direction of the lean, it's counter-intuitive.

I've only tried pedals once when my friend had a copy of Longbow 64 on his comp and the full set up. That was totally awesome. Haven't done enough sims though in a long time to necessitate the full setup.

OT: Any good sims out there? Sounds like Microsoft Flight Simulator 2k4 is a good choice.

If yer playing the sim right, you should be twisting the opposite direction to the lean, to stop slipping ;)

Oh, and as General Aviation sims go, YOU CANNOT BEAT X-PLANE. I'm serious. Thousands of aircraft, each flying exactly as it would in the real world. Made on a Mac and ported to PC, which probably explains the greatness :P

Anyways, there's a free demo, so check it out.

Or if you want to go combat, the IL2 and Pacific fighters series is good.

Shows what I know about planes. :lol:

I'll check those titles out, thanks.