For some time now I've been considering buying rudder pedals. But I'm still on the fence about spending a couple hundred. For those of you who have them, do you think it's worth the cost and does it really add more realism to flight? Or, in hindsight ... is it something you could have done without?

In my opinion two words.......Simply Essential.

>In my opinion two words.......Simply Essential.Same here! I can't stand twist grips, or rocker switches!L.Adamson

pedals, like a yoke, are essential. --

Agree with everyone else....in a word, yes.I fly my share of tail dragger's, and pedals have made thing much easier on the ground for those as well.......ahhhh...reminds me of the old days trying to get the DC-3 to the runway via keyboard commands ;)

If you fly with real weather, pedals are essential to make cross wind landings realistic. In light aircraft, pedals allow you to make coordinated turns and even do some aerobatics in flight sim. I couldn't imagine flying the Real Air SF260 without pedals. Even jetliners will benefit from pedals if you fly approaches with the autopilot off.In the USA, you can get CH Pro Rudder pedals right now for $101 at Amazon.com (plus shipping).Dale

Twist grips and rocker switches are junk. I got an old ch pedals that are not USE B. They work good.JimCYWG

Yes.Yoke, Rudder Throttle Quad and TrimUnfortunately there is no good Trim wheel out there.Manny

When real aircraft get rid of rudder pedals, I might look on mine as something less than Simply Essential. Even Airbus still use rudder pedals :) So in other words, or rather the same: Simply Essential. Allcott

Hi philom,A couple of years back I went from a Logitech joystick with rudder twist to a Saitek X52, the HOTAS setup I thought was great.More recently I splashed out and purchased a CH yoke/throttle quad/pedal setup and I don't think I'd ever go back. It is a much more satisfying experience flying with a yoke and pedals when compared to a twist style joystick.They may be pricey but pedals are well worth the investment if you love flight simming. You'll have a lot of fun with them guarenteed.Jeremy

Allow me to echo the chorus...E-s-s-e-n-t-i-a-l.I've had a single CH rudder set for years with zero problems.

Let me put it this wayWithout Rudder Pedals I would have given up FS years ago.I love my yoke also, but can fly with a joystick and pedals - especially when flying helicopters.Pedals are simply the most important addon you can get.

Rudder Pedals are essential but get the Saitek ones as they are not only cheaper but even better.The CH Pro pedals suffer from internal broken wires eventually and don't have a tensioner like Saitek's. I know, I had both.

Yes I agree withteh others. They really make Simming more realistic. You have to use your feet to fly a light aircraft properly. I was amazed when I go my stick and yoke at how much more like real flying simming was.I have had the same CH Yoke and pedals for 6 years. Still work fine.

. . .couldn't fly without them OR the TrackIR system:http://s118.photobucket.com/albums/o83/pj_3_bucket/Controls/The next mod will be to get rid of the 1950XTX and get the nVidia 8800GTX, so that I can utilize the Matrox TripleHead2Go. Cost around $1500 Can. - but for the time spent in the seat - and the rewarding pleasure and experiences gained - for me it's well worth the work and money. I fly most any good/great aircraft, and I want it as real as I can make it, and so it has to be sufficiently flexible, not only for the Spitfire, for the Tweet, the Cessna 182, but also PMG's 737 and DreamFleet's 727, too. That "flexibility" also extends to having high-end graphical VFR flight in FSX, too, with the same in FS9 and so that has meant a C2D processor, et al. I know people who have spent this much on Golf; on cars; on holidays; on baseball; even on beer, so if this is your great "thing" in life - go for it. You're dead a long time.:-beerchug