I have the Logitech Flight Yoke and quadrant.  I definitely get the utility of those.  I have the multi-panel and it's been a game changer.  Love it.

But rudder pedals.  I bought a set early on and just didn't enjoy using them.  Took them back. That was 6 months ago.

This past weekend I couldn't make a tight turn on a ramp and then said screw it and went and re-bought them. 

But since then, I've slid my feet back and forth on a couple of flights and I still just don't see where they add enough to the sim to have that extra peripheral taking up space down by my feet and the extra cord/cable adding to existing tangle, not to mention the $170 cost.

Am I missing something? Are there simmers out there who use them and really swear by the additional realism they bring to the sim?

Thanks to anyone who wants to take a run at this.

 

 

Edited August 10, 20214 yr by mick92627

Partly depends on the pedals. 

Also whether you fly in real life.

I have the Saitek / Logitech rudder pedals, and even though they're relatively cheap and made of plastic, I find them very useful.

I can't imagine flying or taxiing without them anymore. The toe brakes are so useful when taxiing, and I always use the rudder on landings and takeoffs. 

With regards to space, I just push them a bit out of the way when not using them. They do take up space, but I get used to it. 

I also have thr saitek pedals and haven't used them in about 2 years. I was just thinking about taking them out of the garage since I just got the honeycomb alpha and bravo 

I can't imagine flying an aircraft without rudder pedals. How can you make a crosswind landing for one thing? 

I need them like I need a steering wheel when driving.

9 minutes ago, Republic3D said:

I have the Saitek / Logitech rudder pedals, and even though they're relatively cheap and made of plastic, I find them very useful.

I can't imagine flying or taxiing without them anymore. The toe brakes are so useful when taxiing, and I always use the rudder on landings and takeoffs. 

With regards to space, I just push them a bit out of the way when not using them. They do take up space, but I get used to it. 

I had CH pedals for 13 years before the USB part of them finally gave up. I replaced them with the Logitek. Two things I do not like about the Logitek, is that they slide all over the place. Tried Velcro, that didnt work. Finally had to go out and by a 2 foot by 2 foot piece of 1/2 inch plywood, and screw them to the plywood, which works fine. The other thing I do not like about them is the clicking sound I get from them when right near center on the rudder pedals. I heard there was a fix for that, but in order to fix them, you have to take them apart, which I am not about to do, so I just put up with the click.. If these ever die, I am going to go back to CH pedals. 

Edited August 10, 20214 yr by Bobsk8

1 minute ago, Bobsk8 said:

I had CH pedals for 13 years before the USB part of them finally gave up. I replaced them with the Logitek. Two things I do not like about the Logitek, is that they slide all over the place. Tried Velcro, that didnt work. Finally had to go out and by a 2 foot by 2 foot piece of 1/2 inch plywood, and nail them to the plywood, which works fine. The other thing I do not like about them is the clicking sound I get from the when right near center on the rudder pedals. I heard there was a fix for that, but in order to fix them, you have to take them apart, which I am not about to do, so I just put up with the click.. If these ever die, I am going to go back to CH pedals. 

Yes I've learned to ignore those things. They're cheap. 

54 minutes ago, Bobsk8 said:

I can't imagine flying an aircraft without rudder pedals. How can you make a crosswind landing for one thing? 

Yes, this is really the argument and it's why a good set of rudder pedals is absolutely worthi investing in. Flying coordinated turns in the sim isn't such a big deal, although maybe it depends on which sim you have. Mostly though, it's really hard to do because you have to rely on visual cues, which generally means fixating on the turn coordinator on the panel.

When A2A released AccuFeel I made some attempt to suggest they add sound cues for being out of balance. They ignored me but I've tried such experiments myself since, with various degrees of enthusiasm. You can do it with something like Air Manager and I think FSUIPC's sound library functions from a Lua program. For my most entertaining experiement, see below 

 

 

Edited August 10, 20214 yr by MarkDH

1 hour ago, mick92627 said:

I have the Logitech Flight Yoke and quadrant.  I definitely get the utility of those.  I have the multi-panel and it's been a game changer.  Love it.

But rudder pedals.  I bought a set early on and just didn't enjoy using them.  Took them back. That was 6 months ago.

This past weekend I couldn't make a tight turn on a ramp and then said screw it and went and re-bought them. 

But since then, I've slid my feet back and forth on a couple of flights and I still just don't see where they add enough to the sim to have that extra peripheral taking up space down by my feet and the extra cord/cable adding to existing tangle, not to mention the $170 cost.

Am I missing something? Are there simmers out there who use them and really swear by the additional realism they bring to the sim?

Thanks to anyone who wants to take a run at this.

 

 

Can't properly fly an aircraft without rudder pedals. Period. 

8 minutes ago, MarkDH said:

Yes, this is really the argument. Flying coordinated turns in the sim isn't such a big deal, althugh maybe it depends on which sim you have. Mostly though, it's really hard to do because you have to rely on visual cues, which generally means fixating on the turn coordinator on the panel.

When A2A released AccuFeel I made some attempt to suggest they add sound cues for being out of balance. They ignored me but I've tried such experiments myself since, with various degrees of enthusiasm. You can do it with something like Air Manager and I think FSUIPC's sound library functions from a Lua program. For my most entertaining experiement, see below 

 

 

Actually the few aircraft I have flown like the small Cessnas and Pipers, when normally flying, not much need to use rudder pedals, except on takeoff, climbing, slips, and during stalls and of course landings.

I flew a Level D full motion 767-400 Sim with an Airline check  pilot, and on short final he had me making small heading corrections with the rudder rather than using the ailerons. He said this reduced the wing wagging that occurs when banking left and right rather than using the rudder to align with the runway. I use that technique when landing aircraft like the PMDG DC6 and it works well. Probably 98% of the time flying small GA aircraft, my feet would be on the floor. 

Edited August 10, 20214 yr by Bobsk8

1 hour ago, Bobsk8 said:

I can't imagine flying an aircraft without rudder pedals. How can you make a crosswind landing for one thing? 

Left and Right Trigger buttons on XBOX controller control rudder position.

Edited August 10, 20214 yr by David Mills

2 minutes ago, Bobsk8 said:

Actually the few aircraft I have flown like the small Cessnas and Pipers, when normally flying, not much need to use rudder pedals, except on takeoff, climbing, slips, and during stalls and of course landings.

Same here. Just with my VR headset, half the time I don't use my rudder pedals either. It's a combination of laziness and the relative amount of realism that is added. I also have trouble keeping my Saitek peddles from sliding. They really don't mimic RL rudder peddles IMO. Besides the sims all an have autorudder setting.

9 minutes ago, jabloomf1230 said:

Same here. Just with my VR headset, half the time I don't use my rudder pedals either. It's a combination of laziness and the relative amount of realism that is added. I also have trouble keeping my Saitek peddles from sliding. They really don't mimic RL rudder peddles IMO. Besides the sims all an have autorudder setting.

And we have driverless cars today, but I still want a steering wheel and brake pedals and accelerator. I have never used Autorudder in any sim. 

14 minutes ago, David Mills said:

Left and Right Trigger buttons on XBOX controller control rudder position.

Can't imagine that ever working properly.