Hi Everyone,I have been very fortunate to have a new joystick bought for me for my birthday present! 6 more days to go!!!!Can anyone tell/advise me what's the best set up for the PMDG 747-400 and/or MD-11? I have read there are specific FS profiles that come with this stick.Are these any good or is it best to customize yourself?Looking for hints & tips and some good insights.thanks in advance,

Hi Mark, I never personally used any of the profiles when I had the X52, so can't speak for them. I always customized mine. One tip I can say though is to set up a fair amount of deadspace on the yoke (flight stick) since it has a tendancy to pull left. I've had two and both did it.

Hi Dan,Good to know.Thx for the info,

Hi Mark!One thing you might want to do in advance is to work out exactly which functions you want to assign to the stick and which to the throttle, and then which buttons to use (that could keep you busy until your birthday, if you do it thoroughly!). Then when the stick arrives you can dive straight in to programming a profile that's exactly right for you. You'll probably need to add a few entries to the PMDG keyboard commands list, to map to the keystrokes you decide to generate from the stick (i.e. for functions like TOGA that won't be present by default in PMDG's list).I suggest making your own because it's more fun, and you end up with exactly what you need for the way (and the aircraft) that you fly. The generic fs profile that Saitek provide is far from ideal, but you might want to use it as a starting point for your first attempt.My top tip would be to ignore the CD that comes in the box and download the *latest* Saitek software from here. That way, you are benefitting from some considerable improvements to the earlier versions. You could then get the manual printed out, too, in the event that you dislike reading it on-screen. (It's a complex stick, so don't underestimate the learning curve...) :( You might possibly want to have a look at the Saitek forum, although you'll have to wade through a lot of peeves from people who for one reason or another seem to be having problems. I guess those of us who are very happy with our X52 Pros are too busy flying with them to post... :( Cheers,BrianP.S. Happy Birthday in advance! :(

Hi Mark!I have some advice - definately do what is stated above about prepping in advance. Otherwise you wont get to enjoy the stick at the beginning.My best piece of advice is to use the mode selector (there are 3 settings which each re-map all the buttons on the stick) to select between planes. I therefore have the LDS767 on mode 1, PMDG737 on mode 2 and MD-80 on mode 3. Each addon has different key assignments, so unless it is a default FSX/FS9 command, then it wont work for all addons. You will still find enough functionality having 1 mode per plane. There is a shift function that allows each mode to be split into 2.Some key things i have programmed:- spoilers on the slide control- Autopilot as the fire button with the guard (shift+this button is flight director)- trim up / down- LNAV / VNAV modes- autothrottle arm- N1 engage- flaps up/dn- gear up/dn- autbrakes +/-- fuel cocksHappy to help with any set up specificsrm2242PS - the throttle is a pain. Detents cant be used to properly control reverse thrust. I hence shortened the range of the throttle to an area between the detents. Not ideal, but best results IMHO. But great stick all the same!

PS - the throttle is a pain. Detents cant be used to properly control reverse thrust. I hence shortened the range of the throttle to an area between the detents. Not ideal, but best results IMHO. But great stick all the same!

Hello rm2242,It's been some time since I used mine (lonnng time), but in reference to the reverse thrust, isn't it seen as a button?If so, I know how to make it work.

Hi Mark!One thing you might want to do in advance is to work out exactly which functions you want to assign to the stick and which to the throttle, and then which buttons to use (that could keep you busy until your birthday, if you do it thoroughly!). Then when the stick arrives you can dive straight in to programming a profile that's exactly right for you. You'll probably need to add a few entries to the PMDG keyboard commands list, to map to the keystrokes you decide to generate from the stick (i.e. for functions like TOGA that won't be present by default in PMDG's list).I suggest making your own because it's more fun, and you end up with exactly what you need for the way (and the aircraft) that you fly. The generic fs profile that Saitek provide is far from ideal, but you might want to use it as a starting point for your first attempt.My top tip would be to ignore the CD that comes in the box and download the *latest* Saitek software from here. That way, you are benefitting from some considerable improvements to the earlier versions. You could then get the manual printed out, too, in the event that you dislike reading it on-screen. (It's a complex stick, so don't underestimate the learning curve...) :( You might possibly want to have a look at the Saitek forum, although you'll have to wade through a lot of peeves from people who for one reason or another seem to be having problems. I guess those of us who are very happy with our X52 Pros are too busy flying with them to post... :( Cheers,BrianP.S. Happy Birthday in advance! :(

Hey Brian,Thanks a lot for the advice! I'll got to the Saitek so I can prepare in advance.Cheers

Hi Mark!I have some advice - definately do what is stated above about prepping in advance. Otherwise you wont get to enjoy the stick at the beginning.My best piece of advice is to use the mode selector (there are 3 settings which each re-map all the buttons on the stick) to select between planes. I therefore have the LDS767 on mode 1, PMDG737 on mode 2 and MD-80 on mode 3. Each addon has different key assignments, so unless it is a default FSX/FS9 command, then it wont work for all addons. You will still find enough functionality having 1 mode per plane. There is a shift function that allows each mode to be split into 2.Some key things i have programmed:- spoilers on the slide control- Autopilot as the fire button with the guard (shift+this button is flight director)- trim up / down- LNAV / VNAV modes- autothrottle arm- N1 engage- flaps up/dn- gear up/dn- autbrakes +/-- fuel cocksHappy to help with any set up specificsrm2242PS - the throttle is a pain. Detents cant be used to properly control reverse thrust. I hence shortened the range of the throttle to an area between the detents. Not ideal, but best results IMHO. But great stick all the same!

Hello m2242,Many thanks for all the info, especialy the mode selector and key assigments. I really appreciate it. I'll definitely map out the keys as you suggest. I read some reviews and it appears to be a good buy. Nothing is 100% perfect I know, but I'm looking forward in "getting to grips with it"!Many thanks,

Hello rm2242,It's been some time since I used mine (lonnng time), but in reference to the reverse thrust, isn't it seen as a button?If so, I know how to make it work.

Hi Dan,Are you gonna let us know????? :( ThxMark

Hi Dan,Are you gonna let us know????? :( ThxMark

Actually I was waiting for an answer to my above question and hopefully a name from m2242... Going out of your way to sign with your log in name after you've been advised about the name rule tends to annoy me :(Ok, seriously, I need to know first the answer.Maybe you can answer my question Mark. As I've mentioned above, I haven't used it in a while and it's packed away. Does the reverse of the X-52 throttle work like a button? Like the Saitek throttle quardrant in other words. You can test this by going into buttons in FSX's controls settings. I didn't want to give bad advice if it doesn't work that way, since it would need to, to work.I would test this out myself but being that it could be in any one of about 20 boxes in my basement... well enough said.Edit: Doh, just realised you were the one waiting to get the controller, haha (I really should do the sleep thing at least one every couple days... My bad. If no one can answer this, I will see what I can dig out and let you know Mark.

Sorry for the late reply Mark, I spent a good portion of the night rummaging through some boxes in my basement when I realised I gave my last X52 to my nephew. I left a message for him, but it's the weekend so probably won't hear from him til Sunday. Basically, as I said above, if the thrust actas as a button then you can set it for reverse thrust. I don't think it does work that way but to see, just go into the FSX controls gui and into buttons. Pick a random button and then pull the throttle into the reverse position. If it takes, and fsx see's it as a button then leave it set that way, exit fsx and browse to your C:\Users\user name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\FSX\Controls folder, and then right click and choose "Edit" to your "Standard.xml".Browse down the list looking for a listing of the X52, there will be 2. One is for Slew, we want the other. Look for the button press that you just set. It might look something like this (this is set for just elevator trim up). <Entry> <Index>15</Index> <Down>ELEV_TRIM_UP</Down> <DownRpt>1</DownRpt> </Entry>Each button will start and end with an <entry> switch like this, so just copy what you need here and overwrite your finding with this: <Entry> <Index>20</Index> <Down>THROTTLE_DECR</Down> <DownRpt>1</DownRpt> <Up>THROTTLE_CUT</Up> </Entry>Be sure not to use the index number I have here since it is of course my own button. This is another reason why we set the button first in the fsx GUI since it varies.The <Up>THROTTLE_CUT</Up> entry is so when you bring the throttle back to idle it will set the thrust automatically. After that just save and try it out.Hope it works for you and good luck.This works great for the Saitek throttle quardrant and just in case someone wants to know those settings. Do as mentioned above so you can find the proper entries, and then copy the following to your <Name>Saitek Pro Flight Yoke entry: <Index>20</Index> <Down>THROTTLE1_DECR</Down> <DownRpt>1</DownRpt> <Up>THROTTLE1_CUT</Up> </Entry> <Entry> <Index>21</Index> <Down>THROTTLE2_DECR</Down> <DownRpt>1</DownRpt> <Up>THROTTLE2_CUT</Up> </Entry> <Entry> <Index>22</Index> <Down>THROTTLE3_DECR</Down> <DownRpt>1</DownRpt> <Up>THROTTLE3_CUT</Up> </Entry>Again be sure not to use the index number here if your is different.Do the same for your second throttle quardrant if needed for the 4th thruster. For me, that entry is: <Entry> <Index>6</Index> <Down>THROTTLE4_DECR</Down> <DownRpt>1</DownRpt> <Up>THROTTLE4_CUT</Up> </Entry>There's nothing like being able to use individual reverse thrusters like this and having them return to position on their own rather than having to temporarily increase throt to do so. Not sure many instances why you would but I have after having to shut down engine's due to failures.Good luck with your new X52, the finger rudders are the next best thing to having actual pedals I thinks :(As a side note, you can later,go back into the fsx GUI and delete the throttle asignments if you prefer to use FSUIPC. The reverse function will still work even though they won't be listed in the GUI.

Thanks Dan.I'll give it a try with the info posted above and I'll let you know how I get on. 4 day's to go now.... but who's counting!!!!Now... back to the VNAV ALT issue that's been bugging me...cheers,