Hello all!I have a couple of buttons free and I'm not sure what to map to them, so I wondered what you map to your buttons?I have:1 - brake2 - different views3 - trim down 4 - trim up5 - flaps extend (incremental)6 - flaps retract (incremental)7 - nothing8 - nothing9 - parking brake10 - landing gear (up and down)I don't have a joystick, I just use a generic controller so rudder control is combined with bank left and right on one of the mini joysticks on the controller. The other mini joystick controls throttle.Is trimming left and right useful because I never seem to use those keyboard commands?Thanks!Mark

You'll manage a lot better if you get a dedicated joystick. Even a relatively cheap on will be more capable than using other control methods. The one exception is helicopters, they are good fun to control with a 'playstation-type' controller, since it has two mini joysticks, which are well suited to a helicopter's controls. Rudder pedals are good fun too, but you don't absolutely need them, and any joystick with a twist function is just as good for operating the rudder. The only time I would recommend getting rudder pedals, is if you are keen on eventually flying in the real world, since they will get you used to the proper aircraft controls, and form good habits.Personally, I have the brakes on my Saitek rudder pedals, then on my stick (a Saitek Cyborg EVO) I have the trim on buttons 2 and 3, then an ATC transmit button mapped to button 4 (for use with MCE and Radar Contact), plus engine mixture and prop pitch controls mapped to some of the other buttons (forget the button numbers, but I know which buttons they are LOL). View panning (if I'm not using Track-IR) is on the hat switch.Trimming left and right on the rudder is useful if you have a realistic add-on warbird for FS, such as a Spitfire or P-51 Mustang from A2A for example, as they tend to turn and yaw a lot due to the engine torque. It is an absolute necessity on my add-on Just Flight deHavilland Mosquito LOL, but I tend to just map something to whatever button I feel like at the time for that.Al

The one exception is helicopters, they are good fun to control with a 'playstation-type' controller, since it has two mini joysticks, which are well suited to a helicopter's controls.

A very good hint. I am very much interested to start helicopter flying. I waited because I have no room for "professional" helicopter control components. However, a a 'playstation-type' controller could fit.Which product(s) would you recommend for this purpose?

Thanks for the feedback! I am planning on getting the Saitek X52 Pro very soon, so I'm just kinda making do with my normal controller for the time being....it's not too bad. At least it will make me appreciate a proper joystick when I get it!For my spare buttons I think I'm gonna add AP & throttle to idle so that I can keep my hands on the controller when I land!...Yeah, I'm still relying on AP too much!

My "button" assignments? It depends on the aircraft I am flying.I have a Saitek X-45 stick & throttle plus a Saitek Pro yoke withtwo throttle quadrants and a registered version of FSUIPC.I rarely use the Pro yoke as I prefer to fly with the Saitek X-45 stick.I do not use the X-45 throttle axis as all my throttle assignments areon the dual Pro quadrants.I load a "common" FSX profile in the X-45 that contains assignmentsfor gear, flaps,ATC, brakes, etc. A bunch of functions that I programmedbefore I added the Pro yoke/quads.I do NOT load the Pro software since it is not compatible with my old X-45software & profiles. Instead I use a much more powerful and infinitely flexiblepiece of software ofr that setup....FSUIPC.I have the A2A Accusim B-377, B-17G, P-47D and J3 Cub.The FSUIPC programming facilities allows me to set up my buttons/switches/axis for those complex aircraft so that I rarely need to use the mouse to get themstarted and into the air.I have FSUIPC setups that allow me to assign over 70 different functions to theBSaitek Pro dual quadrants in the case of the B-17G and more than 60 functionsfor the B-377.I use the "user defined variables" in FSUIPC along with the MCRO file capability andthe powerful Lua facilities to define "sets" of control assignments. Think of theseas a rough equivalent of the "Mode" switch on the Saitek X-45 throttle, but much, muchmore flexible. A pair of switches select the "current set" and a Lua plugin displays the "current assignments"on the FSX display for 10 seconds ( or any amount of time you wish ) to jog my memory :)Below are the "cheat sheets" I made for the A2A B-17G and A2A B-377 showing the variousassignments to for the dual quadrant axis and switches.The use of FSUIPC allows me to have seperate "profiles" for each aircraft that are automaticallyloaded when I select that aircraft for flight. Also, many of my switch assignments have multiple ( compound ) functions assigned for a given switch in a given "set", thus onepush of a button performs several functions. One case isd the B-17G "Start" switches.They also select the correct position of the "Primer" switch and the "Fire Extinguisher"switch. I can't say enough in praise of the facilities and flexibility provided by FSUIPC! Paul

Wow Paul!...that's quite some setup you have there! Sounds a bit complicated to me, but then I'm pretty new at all this. That FSUIPC program sounds very good though and will definitely be something I will be looking at more in the future when I've got my head around the basics! :( Mark

A very good hint. I am very much interested to start helicopter flying. I waited because I have no room for "professional" helicopter control components. However, a a 'playstation-type' controller could fit.Which product(s) would you recommend for this purpose?

Really, that's one of the few occasions where I would recommend going to a shop. A few 'playstation type' controllers are designed for kids hands (not all of them, since the PS is actually aimed at a target age of 27 years old), but because some can be on the small side, you really need to see whether they fit your hands right. Thus a trip to PC World or whatever PC accessories shop you have near to you, is not a bad idea if you are considering buying a controller of that type.Why it is useful, by the way, is because a helicopter has a Cyclic control (the main stick) which controls the rotor directional thrust, and a Collective Pitch Lever (which looks like the handbrake on a car with a motorcycle-type twist throttle handle on the end of it and is by the side of the pilot's seat) which controls the rotor blade pitch and speed. A chopper also has tail rotor pedals which control the torque and turn the thing. So with a playstation-type controller, which effectively has two joysticks, you can assign one stick to the cyclic, and the other to the throttle and tail rotor, which makes it easy to fly choppers in FS. The only bad thing is that there is no friction lock for the throttle (as there is on a real chopper), but apart from that, it is a very intuitive way to fly a helicopter on a PC in FS.It also helps if you play Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries really loud too. :( Al

For my Saitek AV8R joystick1 - brakes2 - landing gear up/down3 - trim down 4 - trim up5 - fuel6 - AP main7 - flaps retract8 - flaps extend9 - cycle views catagory10 - cycle views within category11 - map display12 - altimeter resethat - pan

I have a Saitek Yoke with the additional TQ. I also have a Logitec g13 game pad. I use FSUIPC for most of the assignments.On the yoke, I have the followingAP MasterAT MasterAerilon trimGPS/NAV toggleMaster BatteryMaster AvionicsHeading SelectVS selecton the TQ's:Usual Axis assignments - throttle, spoilers, flaps, mixture, prop, Buttons just below the levers are reverse thrust and arm auto spoilersRocker switches at the bottom:Alt SelectSpeed SelectMach SelectWater rudderTail hookDoorsGear upGear downThe G13 is set up with EZDok views, FS views and lights.Alt set

Spoiler and mixture is a good one to have