Searching for high end rudder pedals

[40plus]

Hello all.

 

I'm looking for something specific for my sim-pit but haven't had much in the way of luck. To be honest, what I really want is a set of Slaw Designs 109 pedals but they are no longer in production from what I can tell.

 

The BRD F3 pedals would also be great but, again, they appear to be out of production. I'm not a fan of the currently available Virpil pedals. They appear to be of fine quality but too gamey looking for my tastes.

 

 

My list or priorities is:

• All metal construction
• As close, aesthetically and geometrically, as possible to the BF-109 pedals
• preferably adjustable but not a deal breaker. I could build adjustment into the simpit chassis

 

Does anyone have suggestions for me? I'm currently using a set of Saitek Flight Pro pedals which are.....fine. I'd really like to get something better and more inline with the theme of my setup.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Cheers

[Charlo-VR]

I found my Dora/109 style Slaw pedals last year on eBay, which may be your best source for those now. Hopefully others will post here all-metal design pedals that are easier to find.

[WWChunk]

I know the MFG Crosswinds are not metal but they have the same style pedal.  Also, prior to losing a ton of weight, I put plenty of 350 lbs. stress on those suckers, and they have lasted for years!

[LukeFF]

Crosswinds, all the way. 

[Cynic_Al]

1 hour ago, WWChunk said:

prior to losing a ton of weight, I put plenty of 350 lbs. stress on those suckers

 

Do the instructions say you're supposed to stand on them?

[farley]

I don't have experience with other higher end pedals, But the Croswind's have been great for me, and I certainly recommend them

I have not modded them at all so can't comment on that.

 

Good luck with your search.

[WWChunk]

5 hours ago, Cynic_Al said:

 

Do the instructions say you're supposed to stand on them?

 

No, but as your entire foot rests on the pedal, there is plenty of weight constantly being applied to the pedals and unit itself.

[sevenless]

Thought about these?

 

 

[1PL-Husar-1Esk]

Slaw devics , FW 190 design,  you can reach Slaw by email 

 

slawdevice@gmail.com

 

high end , I have this model and highly recommended them 

 

 

Edited October 18, 2021 by 1PL-Husar-1Esk

[J2_Steve]

I got the first set of Slaw 109s that went outside of Poland back in Jan 2014, coming up to 8 years ago. Used everyday and still absolutely perfect. 

I love them, but like you've found not easy to get anymore.

You'll be very lucky to find a set on Ebay I think.

 

IMO  next best thing would be Crosswinds. Although not metal the material used is very tough.

 

If I didn't have my 109's I'd be on a set of black crosswinds with damper and combat pedals

 

 

 

 

[40plus]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

 

I neglected to mention the crosswinds pedals in the first post.

I am aware of them and have read good things but I'm utterly fixated on the "all metal" requirement.

 

At this point I think my best option is the Slaw Device Dora set even though I really don't like the gamey looking pedals. I suppose I can make my own replacements if need be but I was hoping I wouldn't have to at the price-point.

 

@J2_SteveF I'm jealous of your Slaw 109s.....you know what to do if you ever want to sell them

 

[Drano]

The Crosswinds aren't metal but aren't cheapie "plastic" either. They're all composite constructed and are extremely strong. I can't imagine them ever breaking. They come with 109 style footrests. I've had mine for several years without a glitch and they're very precise. I added Replika's damper mod before it became a stock item from MFG. Definitely get that if you do go that way. Highly recommended.

[40plus]

Yup, I've read that the crosswinds are a great product. My metal requirement is not based on durability but, instead, aesthetic. Thank you for the recommendation though.

 

My original plan when I bought my Saitek flight pro pedals (Used, broken and cheep but I repaired them) was to gut the electronics and fabricate faithful replicas of the 109 pedal mechanism. But now I'm too busy/lazy and was hoping to compromise and buy something close enough. It looks like the Slaw Doras are my best bet.

[Slaw]

Hi, All!

Sorry to interfere. I just often see different reasons for and against some brand of pedals.

But this is absolutely not the correct approach to choice.

Immediately you need to understand - there will be no device that suits absolutely everyone. And this is an axiom.

Any choice depends only on weighing all the pros and cons.

If for some the metal is positive, for others it is not necessary. Everyone evaluates everything according to their personal comparison of price and quality.

For many, the price is the reason. Nor do they want to take into account the cost of parts and manufacturing of the pedals.  For these, the right choice lies in the lower price.

Other qualities are important for others - material, performance, electronics, axle loading ..... Although advertising often deceives, indicating 4096 electronics positions (but does not talk about real positions). Nobody, in general, boasted of a cam loading on the brakes. ...
And in general, everyone can talk a lot about this.
It's all about preference and information availability.
Personally, we will never be hucksters. I am a engineer and I like it.

The bottom line is that Milan pedals work and are not a bad choice (without going into details and preferences). These pedals are more readily available as we try to make new devices. It takes a long time, but only about 10% of the products make it to the testing phase.

Good luck in the virtual sky.

 

Edited October 19, 2021 by Slaw

[dburne]

MFG Crosswinds with the Damper Mod Kit are incredible for sure.

[Cynic_Al]

13 hours ago, WWChunk said:

 

No, but as your entire foot rests on the pedal, there is plenty of weight constantly being applied to the pedals and unit itself.

 

Just to eliminate speculation, sitting upright with my feet just resting on a bathroom scale placed on a solid floor, the reading equated to 19% of my body weight.

[WWChunk]

8 hours ago, Cynic_Al said:

 

Just to eliminate speculation, sitting upright with my feet just resting on a bathroom scale placed on a solid floor, the reading equated to 19% of my body weight.

 

So for several years I rested 66.5 lbs. on those pedals and they didn't break or take any damage.  I was trying to point out that even though the Crosswinds are not made out of metal, they are quite sturdy.  Nothing more than that.

[J2_Steve]

Wow. New level of pedantry. 
just to add a little something to the equation. People don't just rest their feet on pedals, there is a certain amount of force applied too. 
i regularly try to push my pedals beyond their  stops when in an exciting dog fight. I would imagine the force being applied is slightly more than a resting foot equalling 19% of my body weight. 
 

Edited October 19, 2021 by J2_SteveF

[Cynic_Al]

7 hours ago, J2_SteveF said:

just to add a little something to the equation. People don't just rest their feet on pedals, there is a certain amount of force applied too. 
i regularly try to push my pedals beyond their  stops when in an exciting dog fight. I would imagine the force being applied is slightly more than a resting foot equalling 19% of my body weight. 
 

 

The point is that the force applied has a predominantly horizontal component, which is practically independent of user's body mass.

[LukeFF]

2 minutes ago, Cynic_Al said:

The point is that the force applied has a predominantly horizontal component, which is practically independent of user's body mass.

 

And no one really cares. The whole point of this topic is to discuss what pedals are worth buying, and the Crosswinds have proven over the many years that they are. 

[40plus]

Man-o-man did I ever not expect this to turn into a spat. I'm just looking for advice on finding what I was looking for. There's no need for everyone to get defensive about their preferences.

 

I think I've decided to go back to plan-A and fab my own using the internals from my Saitek set. My personal requirements rule out what's available on the market right now even though many of them are excellent and perfectly fit for use.

 

Thanks again for all of the input guys.

 

[Sokol1]

1 hour ago, 40plus said:

 

I think I've decided to go back to plan-A and fab my own using the internals from my Saitek set. My personal requirements rule out what's available on the market right now even though many of them are excellent and perfectly fit for use.

 

Saitek electronics and sensors -ordinary low cost/quality potentiometer; is too weak for make a good set of pedals.

 

Consider buy VirPil Ace pedals, and fabricate just the foot rest "Bf 109" like.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 19, 2021 by Sokol1

[J2_Steve]

I wouldn’t be looking to keep the saitek internals. They don’t have that good a reputation for quality internal components. 
The controller board can probably be kept, but I’d look at replacing the pots with better and more accurate components. 

Sokol, who follows this board is a walking encyclopaedia of sim controller hardware and could probably list what would work. 
 

Also have a look on SimHQ for a user called Mmaister, he built some beautiful pedals

 

 

Edit:  /\  As i was saying. ?

 

https://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3499412/Rudder_design.html#Post3499412/url

 

V101Mmaisters thread on his pedal build. Food for thought

Edited October 19, 2021 by J2_SteveF

[40plus]

Argh, why must everything be so hard? ?

 

Thanks for the heads up on the quality of the saitek components guys. It's the electronics part of this that I was hoping to avoid by repurposing an existing set. I'm a mechanical Engineer by trade so the mechanical fabrication is in my wheelhouse but, as far as I'm concerned, electricity is magic.

 

I'll peruse through simhq to see if I learn.

 

Cheers

Paul

[40plus]

Does anyone know if the Virpil or Slaw pedals allow for pedal angle adjustment? I'm looking for a more vertical pedal angler like in the real 109 as my simpit has 109 ergos

 

Edit: Nevermind, I just answered my own question by RTFM ?

Edited November 4, 2021 by 40plus

[LLv34_Flanker]

S! 

 

I have tested Slaw's pedals and also BRD pedals. I own MFG Crosswinds with damper kit myself and happy with them. The other two were also great products to use, feel and quality was excellent. Boils down to personal preference and budget which ones you choose. 

[Dagwoodyt]

Seems like most want pedals they can rest their feet on. I did so for decades with durable CH Pro pedals. A couple of years ago I got the urge for "high end" pedals. I bought TM TPR pedals as they were the only readily available option. Soon as they arrived I thought them unuseable. Seemed I would have rest my heels on the floor and dorsiflex my feet at the ankles to use the pedals, unworkable. Rather than return the pedals I fabricated removable supports for my feet so that my feet could rest flat on the supports and level with the pedal bases. That allowed me to push with my toes to use the pedals. Worked OK and very covenient for aircraft like the DCS I-16 where there is no rudder trim option. I can understand the desire to rest feet on rudder pedals, but much like wanting levers to control throttles, there are other options that can work as well or better.

[40plus]

I ended up ordering a set of Virpil VPC ACE pedals.

I'll fab up some more authentic looking BF-109 foot rests for them when they arrive.

[Spitty]

You can always print..
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3245604/files

[40plus]

5 hours ago, Spitty said:

You can always print..
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3245604/files

Ooooo, thanks for that.

I don't have a 3d printer but I do have a CNC milling machine so a good 3d model definately opens up options cheers.