I couple of years ago I bought a Saitek X52 HOTAS and a CH Yoke.Now the CH yoke still works ok but the quality is really not up to scratch. The whole thing seems to bend and twist while using it, and while the aeleron control is nice and accurate, the "plastic pipe through base" setup of the pitch control leaves much to be desired as far as accuracy goes. It's a bit sticky and makes small, slight adjustments nearly impossible.The X52 stick suffers from this dilemna in all directions. Making small adjustments during a turn is a sticky affair. That plastic cup has far too much friction. Also, none of the rotary switches work anymore (they spike so much that they're useless) and some of the button lights don't work anymore. The throttle is fantastic and still works smoothly and accurately. If they can do that, why not do so with the rest of the setup? I would also easily ditch the display on the throttle for some quality internals. Their priorities seem a bit weird.My question is: Why does the community in general seem so happy with these products? They're not cheap, and just don't do the job in my opinion.Is there any company out there that does indeed make good quality hardware that it has a nice & accurate feel? I find it hard to believe that we not only put up with this stuff, but even give it pretty good reviews. This hardware is just not good enough and I would happily pay a bit more for something with a more feel and quality. Is anyone with me here?I'm throwing the Saitek hardware in the bin right now as it serves no purpose other than to frustrate. I'll keep using the CH Yoke but that stickiness in the pitch control is something that drives me up the wall every time I use it. Far better off just using the trim to make small adjustments, which is far from realistic.EDIT!: I just saw the new Saitek proflight Yoke with a steel shaft & bearings... does this provide accurate pitch control? If it does I'll buy one right now, it seems to be of better quality too...

Sure, better hardware is out there..... if you want to spend the money.Example;http://www.flypfc.com/Check out the new Logitech G940 HOTAS system also if you don't have to have a yoke and don't want to spend amount needed for high end hardware.In the mean time, spray a little Silicone spray on your CH yoke shaft :(

Wow that stuff looks nice... hehe! Just wish there was something in between :) There's a huge gap between the stuff we have now and that high end hardware. The Saitek proflight yoke DOES seem to be a lot better, reading up on it now. I just can't stand the feel of the plastic on plastic stuff we have now. Thanks for the silicone spray tip, I have done that from time to time, still drives me mad while doing IF training.

I've had the PFC Cirrus rudder pedals for the past nine years. No comparison with other brands. It still surprises me how good hardware improves your flying skills.Alex Reid

In the mean time, spray a little Silicone spray on your CH yoke shaft :(

LOL that's flightsim "T-shirt" material right there! :(

:(

Wow that stuff looks nice... hehe! Just wish there was something in between :) There's a huge gap between the stuff we have now and that high end hardware. The Saitek proflight yoke DOES seem to be a lot better, reading up on it now. I just can't stand the feel of the plastic on plastic stuff we have now. Thanks for the silicone spray tip, I have done that from time to time, still drives me mad while doing IF training.

I used the CH Yoke for many years and like you, wasn't happy with the 'stickyness' of the shaft. So last year - after visiting a flight sim show where all the stands appeared to be using Saitek - I switched to the Pro Yoke and seperate throttle controls. The Saitek is much better but it's unfair to compare it to PFC gear which costs hundreds of pounds more and is aimed at full cockpit builders.Given it's reasonably priced I think it performs really well. How robust it is compared to CH only time will tell but so far so good. :(

Saitek has a new system out there - the X65F Pro Flight System. You can read some more about it here:http://helicoptersimulatorhardware.blogspo...n-hardware.html