I wonder if anyone can give me a little help with the choice of rudder pedals for FS9. I have recently bought the excellent Ch Products USB version and it has transformed the whole business of simulator flying. Yet in the course of lessons in real world flying (microlight Thruster Sprint) it became apparent that the CH pedals offer rather too little resistance to movement - seem to need rather heavier damping. In all other respects, notably the amount of full travel, they really seem to be on the ball. My question therefore is this: since I have a replica setup in my second home in Denmark and not yet kitted it out with pedals, I have an opportunity to try an alternative. For example, the GF-RC Flight Deck version from Go Flight. These purport to have hydraulic damping, and certainly look like the real thing. I know that they, and others like PFC Cirrus and Flight Link are much more expensive, but do you get what you pay for?I would welcome other peoples views and experience. Is it to be CH as here in UK, or hang the expense and go for one of the others?KeithGW

Hi Keith; I've had the CH yolk and pedals for several years now,and like youI've noticed thier shortcomings. As one flying R/W you have no doubtnoticed the various resistances on the controls due to airspeed ect. I doubt if this would be approximated by any form of static damping.Dynamic would probably be more realistic,ie; light initial pressure,followed by increasing resistance; however this will seem unrealisticif you fly R/W because airspeed effects on control forces will not berendered. As long as you're getting real stick time, you don't need the simto be quite so accurate, if you get my drift. Your mind can interpolatethe variances,so to speak. My advice would be to save the money that would be spent on rudderpedals with "hydraulic" resistance. However; if you can afford a second home in Denmark, what the H, gofor it and report back. We're all dying to know, but are too CHEAP tofind out on our own:-hah DennyProfessional Tourist

Hi DennyThank you for your comments; I think what you say is very sensible, and because the CH pedals seem to be good value for money I suppose in the end I am likely to go that route. Nevertheless I still wonder whether there is a significant performance improvement by the more expensive ones compared with CH.Second home in Denmark ... yes, well, my wife is Danish, you see, so we like to spend a bit of time there in the summer; but much as I would like to report back to y'all on the upmarket items, there is a sort of energy barrier for that sort of expenditure, if it's for only a marginal improvement!Happy flyingKeithGW

Hi Keith, good pedals many European FS users seem to rave about are the 'SimPed Vario' made by a company called Hoffman. Perhaps try a yahoo to find their homepage? What I like about them is the distance between the two pedals which seems more ergonomic than i.e. the CH gear. Hope this adds to thoughts, good luck and kind regardJaap

>I would welcome other peoples views and experience. Is it to>be CH as here in UK, or hang the expense and go for one of the>others?>>KeithGWI am so relieved to hear another person say the CH Pro Pedals (USB) are not realistic. Perhaps it is only those who fly or have flown in the real world who notice the huge difference between aerodynamic forces acting on the controls and those present in the add-ons to FS9. I have a very difficult time flying precisely with the CH products.. on the other hand, what can one expect for the low purchase price?In my view, the default aircraft in MSFS are not at all realistic which is the reason I gave up sim flying after trying FS95. Having said that, I also believe many people receive great enjoyment from them. To them it is very real.The various add-ons, in both software and hardware, make FS9 much more realistic and enjoyable to me so I, perhaps like you, am beginning to understand that the costs of improving "feel" may be not worth the investment.If I were engineering minded I would probably disassemble my Rudder Pedals and try to arrange bungee cords (the simplest to me) in order to give more resistance to pressure. In the pair I have purchased (have only had them about 10 days) there is NO resistance so the slightest uneven pressure applied takes the aircraft off the centerline on takeoff... and then begins a dancing act.

Thrustmaster used to produce a great rudder set many years ago but AFAIK they discontinued them. Mine are still working. They provide much stronger "resistance" than those awful CH ones and are wider too. But they lack one important element in today's simming world - toe brakes.Bob Sidwick of www.rcsimulations.com was demonstrating the Simped at the last Birmingham Show. I was very impressed with them and will go for a set if I can find an excuse to dispense with the Thrustmasters :-)Pat

Hi PatThanks for your lead to RCsimulations and the Simped f16. I talked with Bob and have now ordered the F16's. So far as is possible in assessing hardware like this at a distance, I believe they have features that bring them nearer to reality than the CH. We shall see. The only problem apparently is delivery - may have to wait a bit.Anyway, thanks Pat, and also all who have replied to my original query. When I eventually get them maybe I should post a brief review.Good flyingKeith