A subject close to my heart.
If you want to discuss your flight gear - this is the place.
My humble HOTAS. (Hands On Throttle And Stick). (This is as much space as she will let me have on the table.)
An MS FFB2 main stick (sadly not made anymore), a Saitek Cyborg Evo as a cheap yet marvelously effective throttle, A Saitek PC Gamer keyboard with command pad, and a Logitech MX518 mouse. In IL2-Pacific Fighters, this setup allows 90% of your flying to be done without ever taking your hands off the sticks. With a HOTAS setup you'll immediately notice an improvement in both your flying and your enjoyment of flying.
The Saitek Evo is a fantastic stick. Inexpensive, super comfortable, can be adjusted for either hand, and is both easily programable and very versatile. The stick can be programed (as a left hand HOTAS) for throttle, flaps, gear, exterior view controls, multiple padlock controls, zoom, and map view all with only the top buttons. Your hand never moves off the stick. As a right hand main stick, it has 3-axis flight controls (it has a twist function for rudder control), multiple weapons controls and main cockpit view. (Oh, it looks cool too.)
The Saitek X52, the hot new HOTAS system, while excellent, is also expensive. http://www.saitekusa.com/usa/prod/x52.htm A cheaper way to do it is to buy two Saitek Cyborg Evos (one could be an EVO Force Feedback model), and program one for each hand. It will cost less than half what the X52 costs, and you will have a super comfortable and very capable HOTAS setup.
A good HOTAS doesn't have to be expensive - it just has to be fun.
Bookmarks