Hello fellow addicted flight simmers! Could you fine people please help me out in choosing a new joystick? I currently have a Logitech Wingman 3D extreme and it works fairly well, but the twist handle (rudder control) just doesn

OK Brad, I'll start the ball rolling.I started simming with the MSFF Sidewinder and *hated* the twisting joystick for rudder control and the horrible throttle.Ideally I wanted CH yoke and pedals but could not afford them so went for the Saitek X36 combo, a two piece stick and throttle.The seperate throttle gives much better control than the sidewinder type and incorporates a rocker action rudder control which IMO gives far better control than the twisting stick type. I have since upgraded to a set of CHPro USB pedals which obviously give even better control.The only drawback with the Saitek product is their software, as you will find from other posts on this forum.However if the drivers will work with the OS you are running and you are happy to assign all the buttons via FS there are no real problems.If you want to fully program all the controls then you need to make sure the Saitek programming software works with your OS which means, AFAIK, sticking with Win98SE.

Thanks Vulcan.I have XP Home edition so maybe there are some issues with this?Okay, so I have one idea. Any others?Perhaps I should list my specs in case it matters:P4 2.4Asus P4T-e m/board1gig Mushkin rambusG4 Ti-4600XP Home

I recently replaced my X36 USB with the new Thrustmaster Cougar HOTAS that I'm using with the CH USB Pedals. The Cougar is leaps and bounds ahead of the X36, but of course it all comes down to what your wallet can handle. The Cougar is $300.00 US, but I feel it is worth so much more than just the 3-4 times cost of the Saitek HOTAS systems. It's programmibility is far easier to use, and more flexible and powerful than the X36/X45. Keep in mind that I know of no one who is flying this sim with a Saitek HOTAS and using their software to program the flight controller (if anybody is, please post in these forums to explain how). PFC also has some top line products, but these are not cheap either. It all comes down to how much you're willing to spend to enhance your simming experience. Finally, there is the CH line of products. These are very popular within the simming community, and have proven to offer outstanding value. They have everything from yokes and rudder pedals to sticks and throttles. And they recently introduced a driver update.http://www.saitek.comhttp://us.thrustmaster.com/http://www.flypfc.com/http://www.chproducts.com/retail/index.htmlHope this helps,

Hi. The Saitek X-36 USB which I have used for a couple of years now gives good service in FS2002 with WinXP Home. As noted above, you are somewhat limited by the inadequate programming software that Saitek has created, but the FS2002 programmer will give you most of the basic functions and works fine. Apparently you can buy the X-36 USB refurbished on the Saitek site for $39.99 and I think that that is a real bargain. Hope that helps,Ed Green, [email protected]

Thanks guys. This is a good start and gives me some info to chew on.I have to stick to something relatively simple because if my wife saw rudder pedals under my desk she would get even more annoyed with my "little habit". Why don't they understand? I guess that's why they played with dolls and we played cowboys and indians? Two different species.