Hi,I'm new to the world of Flight simulators though I had FS 2004, I found it far too difficult to try to control a plane using a mouse and then bought a Logitech joystick but find it far too difficult to control a plane using that either.Now I've bought FSX on a whim (and because I enjoy Flight Sims other than struggling to control the plane as well as my brother in law has a flight school and he's willing to teach me to fly the real thing when Im ready and Im thinking that getting back into FS is a good place to begin before approaching him for lessons) and am looking for suggestions on what particular hardware to get that would allow me to better control a plane, something perhaps a bit more realistic than a joystick.The main problem that I have with a joystick is 2 things...1. The joystick has been calibrated but when I try to keep the plane fairly level it's impossible. Im either going up or going down, just the slightest movement of the joystick makes the plane start to rise or fall, Im talking ever so slight of a movement, like 1/16th of an inch and Im rising or falling again.2. The joystick that I have has a ton of buttons, like 12 buttons, a hat switch etc. It's the Logitech Extrme3D Pro joystick and for the life of me I'll never remember what the buttons go to. Would be better if I had some sort of hardware with marked buttons, and toggles etc.Okay my price range... Under $100.00No, Im yoking! Somewhere between $100 and $300 would be my price range.Any suggestions towards what I've described that Im looking for, or for that matter any suggestions on any type of controler hardware that I should consider, regardless if it's got marked buttons, toggle switches or even looks like the cockpit to a plane.Thanks,

http://cgi.ebay.com/CH-PRODUCTS-USB-FLIGHT...1QQcmdZViewItemEbay CH Yoke. Start with that.

I'm thinking, I don't want to "start" with something since I'd rather not give away my money by wanting to upgrade in a very short time. I'd rather spend my money on something that I'm not going to want to upgrade anytime soon even if it means spending more money now.I can tell right off from looking at the photos that I will outgrow that way too quickly. Idealy I'd like to find something that simulates most of the moew commonly used controls in the game, so that there is little need for a keyboard (mouse Im sure will always be needed to some degree).I hope that didn't come off sounding rude, it wasn't meant to. I've just learned my lessons from buying a starter telescope only to find out that it didn't have near the amount of features that I had desired and I basically ended up throwing my money away on it when I bought a new one with all the bells and whistles.Any other suggestions? I do however like the idea of it being a steering wheel, or whatever it's really called.Actually I guess I should be asking you folks, is that considered one of the top of the line controllers, or a starter controller? How large is it really? (I'm a large guy with large hands) and that controller looks rather small.

I believe you said $100.00- 300? Well you have no choice. New, that CH "Yoke" is over 100.00 Next stop after that is hundred"s". And you go right on over to 1000"s". No this is certainly not top of the line but it is the standard for nearly all simflyers. The more expensive units are going into simpits with much more realistic visual and ergonomic flying experiences.Saitek just released a Yoke and throttle package for around $140.00.http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...rksid=p3907.m29I am afraid you are stuck with those two units until you decide to spend more.But I can tell you my CH Yoke is almost 5 years old. I don't think it a bad investment do you. $100.00 ish for 5 years?Theres really not much choice in the under 300 price range. You could always build your own. A lot of time and brain matter involved there. I've seen some good plans and pics on the net. But, its a tough road. These units as I describe also give you buttons to program so you even further cut down on having to rely on the keyboad. Heres my entire CH setup. Pedals, Yoke and Throttle quad. With a little modification. Total cost was around $400.00 I believe. Plenty of switches, buttons to program. I hardly ever touch the keyboard.There is always good re-sale value for these units as well. So its not a BAD investment by any means.If you want to see whats out there, type in "Flightsim Yoke" into goggle. You'll see what comes up.http://eecherrors.homestead.com/Throttle_quad.JPG

I've had good results with CH gear, either for regular yoke or for a HOTAS setup (I use that for helicopter and tank simulators). I've gone through several Saitek pieces over the years and never been impressed with the electrical noise in the pots (spikes) or the drivers. Granted, I've not purchased Saitek gear in the last 2 year so I don't know if quality improved any on either front. Etienne

First let me say thank you for the replies, And I hope I didn't come off sounding arrogant or snobbish or whatever, you know just trying to buy something once and be done with it.Anyway I have a bid in on ebay for a CH yoke, I didn't buy the pedals yet but if I come across a auction for pedals and I truly feel that I need them and want them then I'll buy them.The issue that I have with my Saitek X52 joystick (that is soon to be returned to the store) is that it get sticky when using the joystick. It can be smooth as glass going from dead center to the top, or bottom or sideways etc. But if Im flying with some back pressure on the joystick and after 5 minutes or so want to add more back pressure then it's like the joystick is stuck and so I have to apply more pressure to move it which makes the plane jump because it moved too far.So... Im hoping that the CH yoke is smooth all the way through when applying backpressure or forward pressure and side to side as well.Please tell me that is so.Thanks,

I fly the FS 9 and some add-on S.E.L aircraft with the CH yoke and CH rudder pedals. Right up front, the sim aircraft do not fly like the real ones. The real ones are easier. What you can do with sim aircraft, though, is make adjustments to the aircraft's cfg files. For example, a favorite question is elevator trim. A while back I posted a question on this and a lot of good advice came in with recommends for slight alterations in the cfg files. With regards to the mouse, it's the closest I've found to duplicating the fingers actually flipping panel switches off and on, like taxi lights, nav lights and strobes. Roger