Hi all

Currently using the saitek av8r joystick. It’s cheap and cheerful but not great for immersion on the basis its a bit stiff/sticky and has a relatively large dead zone. 

Ive tweaked response curves in xplane but I can’t help feeling I need to upgrade.

I don’t have a huge budget, maybe £70-80 max. 

Wondered if there were any recommendations, ideally with a throttle.

I was looking at the thrustmaster t.16000m but also saw the thrusmaster t.flight.

For me smoothness is a big requirement. Any thoughts appreciated

thanks

Tom

This will be my replacement once my FFB2 stick and CH throttle dies:

https://www.amazon.com/ThrustMaster-2960778-Thrustmaster-T16000M-HOTAS/dp/B01KCHPRXA

I've owned a CH-Products Combat Stick for years and it's proven to be very good for both GA and combat flight sims. Best of all, it's on sale @ the  X-Plane.org Store for $80.00 US and ships free to USA addresses.

It's not the top of the line flight stick for CH-Products, but it has 18 buttons total that you can map to. It has a throttle wheel, but also elevator and aileron/rudder trim wheels which allows it to support GA aircraft well. You do have to be comfortable using hat switches for mappings though, as it has 1, 8-way and 1, 4-way hat and that's where most of your button mapping is made; albeit it has 6 standard buttons too. Like all other CH-Products, it has a 2 year warranty.

The T.16000M stick uses a Hall Effect magnetic sensor for its X and Y (aileron/elevator) axes, and as a result it's very tight and smooth.  The Z (twist) and throttle axes are standard consumer-grade pots that do eventually start to wear and spike.  But for a $50 stick it really can't be beat. 

Been using the same X52 since I started in '05 - what Logitech has done for it is hard to say.

Another vote for the T.16000. The standard stick also gives you plenty of buttons to map.

Here's a wildcard: XB One Controller with chat pad. All controls in your hand, no keyboard required. Perfect for VR. Never went back. And yes, I know it's a gamepad and technically not a joystick. Life means compromise.

 

17 minutes ago, Colonel X said:

Here's a wildcard: XB One Controller with chat pad. All controls in your hand, no keyboard required. Perfect for VR. Never went back. And yes, I know it's a gamepad and technically not a joystick. Life means compromise.

 

Indeed.

On my portable simming rig, I have it set up with one option to use an XBox Elite wireless controller (minus the chat pad).  I wrote a utility that uses FSUIPC to take the right joystick Y-axis inputs and use that to move the throttles at a variable rate based on stick deflection, and with the long-throw stick head on the left joystick, it does work surprisingly well.  The same utility also combines the left and right trigger axis inputs into a single rudder axis output.  The XBox Elite uses Hall sensors on the joystick and L/R trigger axes, so it's actually quite precise.  It packs up well for transport, making it a good controller for road warriors, and since it's wireless with everything on the one small controller, it's also a good solution for small spaces (dorm rooms, RVs etc).

 

I press X and Y to "throttle up/down a bit" and with some practice it works very well. It is super precise for its small form factor, and that is also the overall thing, the feeling of flying a big bird in, literally, the palm of your hand, totally relaxed, on the couch. So good to not need a table/keyboard, just a wireless mouse on the side.

Edited October 5, 20196 yr by Colonel X

Thanks all, the T16000m sounds like a winner for me on the basis of the magnetic sensors which I would think will give a smoother feel. My Av8R is really terrible for null-zones and spikes in movement, particularly in the pitch axis, the slightest move and the whole plan launches in that direction.

Gladiator MKII ?