Need help. Which joystick is best for Flying Circus?

[Zooropa_Fly]

12 hours ago, J5_Gamecock said:

  Just curious really, what is wrong with the Warthog in your opinion? I've been using it for a couple of years now. While I admit it's more stick than you need for a WWI sim, but I really have no issues and I'm very comfortable with it. 

 

Salute J5 !

 

In a nutshell been through x5 of them.. plus around x8 replacement bases on top of that.

All went slack in the middle, and had handles that started to rotate.

Big design mistake imo, they got the metal and plastic bits the wrong way around !

 

But I know many have them and seem to have no issues..

 

S!

[-TBC-AeroAce]

41 minutes ago, Zooropa_Fly said:

 

Salute J5 !

 

In a nutshell been through x5 of them.. plus around x8 replacement bases on top of that.

All went slack in the middle, and had handles that started to rotate.

Big design mistake imo, they got the metal and plastic bits the wrong way around !

 

But I know many have them and seem to have no issues..

 

S!

 

Wow I know the base attachment is a weak spot but what the hell are you doing to get through that many sticks. You are either extremely unlucky or abusing the stick.

[=FEW=Hauggy]

I'm using a x52 pro for a couple years, I love it and find it very accurate.

The only downside is I had to remove a small plastic part in the throttle that's meant to represent the moment you switch to post combustion in a jet thus voiding the warrancy.

Edited August 2, 2018 by =FEW=Hauggy

[Dutch2]

Whatever you do buy, get one that do have hall sensors. 

Ask Sokol1 about JS devices, he does have the knowledge. 

 

[Macross]

18 hours ago, AldoUSMC said:

If you want to go somewhat realistic for WWI on controls you may look into a simple, quality pitch and roll joystick with a trigger or two and a view hat switch or two and then use CH Products or Logitech Pro Flight Throttle Quadrants to manage oil radiators, water radiators, fuel flow. Adding another quadrant in the future allows you to do multi-engine control etc.

 

Some of the more modern HOTAS systems allow for two engine control (split throttle) and have enough programmable or mappable buttons and toggles to emulate oil, water, and fuel controls.

 

IMO rudder pedals are more natural than wrist twisting on the flight stick but I did fly like that without rudders for years.

 

I know you stated you are just getting back into flight... and wrote about Biplanes...  to help folks with recommendations... 

 

You haven't really said how you intend to fly... one monitor ? More than one monitor ? TrackIR or FreeTrack ? VR ?

 

Even if budget is not a concern for you.. you do want to think a bit about how you intent to fly (what level of arcade vs sim) so you are not disappointed when you drop down your hard earned money only to determine a few months in that you should have thought more about "x"  … and now you want new hardware.

 

You are on that path already of course through this thread.

 

On the extreme customized end if you will only really focus on one or two types of planes you could likely configure a custom controls cockpit build done exacting to those aircraft yourself using something like Bodnar Boards if that kind of creative work motivates you... of course.. as you see from numerous good recommendations above.. there's no need to go there unless it's your "thing" to do.

 

Good Luck Deciding.

As for throttle, little more realistic and enjoyable flying, i would success custom ( becaus there is no old style throttles on market ). By GVL custom throttles or Kanttori's throttle ( i have one by kanttori, and love it )

 

Edited August 2, 2018 by Macross

[J5_Gamecock]

11 hours ago, Zooropa_Fly said:

 

Salute J5 !

 

In a nutshell been through x5 of them.. plus around x8 replacement bases on top of that.

All went slack in the middle, and had handles that started to rotate.

Big design mistake imo, they got the metal and plastic bits the wrong way around !

 

But I know many have them and seem to have no issues.

 

S!

   I stopped buying the X52 for the very same reason, they just didn't hold up. In the end I figured it was worth it to lay out the extra cash for ,(what I hope will be), something more dependable.   So far.. So good... (knock wood)

 

 

  Thanks for the reply!

 

  S!

[Zooropa_Fly]

11 hours ago, AeroAce said:

 

Wow I know the base attachment is a weak spot but what the hell are you doing to get through that many sticks. You are either extremely unlucky or abusing the stick.

 

Ever since the 2nd one they were handled like new born babies at bath time

Possible factors are that I had two overlapping bases joined so I could sit on it which obviously made it even heavier than already is. I always picked it up with the base and not the handle though.

I also had a 60mm extension and I can't help thinking the extra throw might not be such a good thing for a Warthog gimbal..

 

Anyhow got a VirPil recently and it's a far superior piece of kit.

 

S!

[-TBC-AeroAce]

1 hour ago, Zooropa_Fly said:

 

Ever since the 2nd one they were handled like new born babies at bath time

Possible factors are that I had two overlapping bases joined so I could sit on it which obviously made it even heavier than already is. I always picked it up with the base and not the handle though.

I also had a 60mm extension and I can't help thinking the extra throw might not be such a good thing for a Warthog gimbal..

 

Anyhow got a VirPil recently and it's a far superior piece of kit.

 

S!

 

I had the connection fail, because they dont mate very well and Thrustmaster actually said to me it is my fault because I take It apart too much. I was just taking it apart to clean it every week or so and was very upset with that response. I tried to take it apart to see if I could force the connections together and that did not work. I strangely maybe out of instincked  left the stick upside down for a couple of weeks and one day I thought I would try to see if it would work and it DID although I dare not ever unscrew it again. The connection issues is clearly known by Thrustmaster but they will take any opportunity to blame it on missus even though there is no clear warning to not take it apart often which really pisses me off and also if you want to send it for repair it needs to go to France which is expensive and very time consuming.

 

The stick, if it is working is very nice but I will not be buying another one on account of their poor customer service. I very much like the design of it and I do know a bit about electronics and soldering..... So I may try to maintain it as it dies but one thing for sure is that I will never buy from them again.

 

And it does seem like the reason that you went through 8 of them is because you was using it outside of what is was designed to do. Putting an extension on it will cause a lot more stress than it was designed for.  The force on the gimbal will be multiplied by a unit factor length of the extension i.e twice the length twice the stress.

Edited August 3, 2018 by AeroAce

[BadBud]

No need to badmouth Saitek. I have flown many years with my X52 Pro controllers and they have never given me a  problem. And the price is right.

BadBud

[keblmb]

I purchased the T16000M earlier this year because I am also left handed.  I am very happy with it.  I ended up adding the Thrustmaster TWCS throttle to use with another flight sim and switched to flying right handed.  Similar to what others have said, I think the T16000M is good for Flying Circus or the IL2 series.  I have not tried rudder pedals yet.

[karsman]

T16000M: good, cheap and reliable. Been using one for a number of years with no problems.

 

[mpdugas]

On 8/1/2018 at 7:19 AM, Macross said:

Actually ch products is great, yes, they look exactly same than 20yr ago, but allso those 20yr old ch hotases still work!

I cannot think to go back to Thrustmaster again; that was  an expensive debacle.  I bought the original TM Falcon setup, even though my CH pieces still functioned well, and l regretted that.

 

In my opinion, after literally decades of use, my CH Fighterstick, Pro throttle and Pro pedals just work, all the time, no jitters, no slack, no issues.  With my total engagement in VR, even using WWI aircraft, I have discovered that I have to be able to either map the function to a key or use a voice command.

 

As simple as canvas is, the game itself has lots of functions that you don't want to have to remove an HMD to use, so a very simple joystick is going to be problematic in VR.

 

If you prefer 2D flying, then a less complex hardware choice makes sense.

[JG1_Vonrd]

I'm hoping to get a VKB with extension... if they EVER get some in stock! (I had a major problem trying to purchase Virpil with my bank... it would never go through and I gave up in frustration... but not Virpil's fault).

 

That being said I've had my Saitek (now Logitech) X-55 for about 2 years without problems... I just have to clean the centering mechanism once a week or so and lube it with a MINIMUM... (really tiny!) amount of silicone plumbers grease. I has a very minor amount of slop around center but it is not noticeable when flying.

 

I had X-52 and X-52 Pro for years before with also no real problems... just periodic cleaning / lube.

 

Luckily I haven't had to rely on customer service since I've heard that it is pretty dismal since the takeover by Logitech... but's that's only hearsay... I have not needed such.

 

I sure wish someone would build a good / modern FFB stick.