MFG Crosswind - Review

I've just replaced my Saitek rudder pedals with MFG Crosswind pedals from here: http://mfg.simundza.com/mfgcrosswind.php

The difference is amazing. The sensors seem very precise, and mechanically they're heavy and well built. Pedal movement is extremely smooth with a progressive increase in force at extreme left/right, and there is no centre bump like with the Saiteks (I fly light aircraft and the centre bump found in most controllers (pedals or otherwise) has always felt very unrealistic). It's great to find a controller that's solved this problem.

That said, if you like a centre bump, you can swap out the CAMs for a different profile that has one, as well as adjust spring tension to your personal preference (more detail on the website). Pedal force and angles are also adjustable.

While they're not cheap, IMO they represent good value for money and I wish I'd got them earlier. If simming is your thing and you can afford them, get them; you won't be disappointed. :thumbup:

Dammit guys, stop posting such positive reviews. I'm itching to order the Crosswinds even though my Simpeds are still perfectly fine... :lol: :D

Do they suffer center detent like Saitek's pedals? No. - /me runs to turn calendar back to rewrite Santa's letters

These and the Slaw Device pedals are quite high up my list of priorities for toys in the future.

They just look so good and I can't wait to be fully rid of any Saitek hardware I still have.

Got these pedals a few months back and got rid of the Saitek Pedals and they are a huge step up in terms of quality, feel, and performance - Milian's done a great job and has continued the development of his supporting firmware and utility.

If you have the $ - couldn't suggest any other pedals

These Pedals are the best Pedals i've ever owned. i use these for like a month, and i will never give them back. :smilewink:

The precision, smoothness, lack of stickyness and all the things you can adjust are simply amazing. And to mention the best thing: wallspacers!!!

I mean fsck yeah, why did no vendor ever think of that? How was I living without them? :thumbup:

Yes, they are a little costy, but I really enjoy these pedals!

+1 Using them for just under a month now. Smooooth.

I was in contact with Milan the other day and if I order the pedals now, I could have them up and running in March and I'm really itching to get them.

But before I order them I have a question: do you lucky s.o.b's that already own the Crosswinds have anything negative to say about them? Something that annoy you? Or is it just roses and strawberries all over?

I've not lived with them for any length of time, but so far its roses and strawberries.

Dammit guys, stop posting such positive reviews. I'm itching to order the Crosswinds even though my Simpeds are still perfectly fine... :lol: :D

Im the same, I have only recently updated my simpeds with a bodner board and some strengthening of the weak spots but I want these badly:helpsmilie:

I was in contact with Milan the other day and if I order the pedals now, I could have them up and running in March and I'm really itching to get them.

 

But before I order them I have a question: do you lucky s.o.b's that already own the Crosswinds have anything negative to say about them? Something that annoy you? Or is it just roses and strawberries all over?

The only negative I experienced was the initial firmware upgrading process where the pedals had to be unplugged (USB) but's a thing of the past with the later firmware boot tool - so really at the moment I can't give you any negatives from my point of view.

Well actually.... I wished Milian had made these earlier!

it is just roses and strawberries except that they are light and require fixing down. The crosswind have felt pads on the base that don't work with wood floors but works well on carpets (there may be an option for silicon pads).

I fixed the crosswind to a wooden board with large silicon anti slip pads at the bottom which gave me a very stable and solid result.

I was going to do this with my old ch pro pedals anyway.

Now every ounce of pressure is transmitted accurately into the sim.

I just received mine, and must say...woooow.

Finally can take off in huey pointed in same direction

Yeah, the Crosswinds are absolutly amazing!

yes they are, indeed strawberry and roses...

Well I'm waiting on mine being produced. I contacted Milan over a month ago as he was in the process of making these pedals with US fighter style footrests - prototypes should be ready shortly. I think they're going to be the same price too, and the footrests are also going to be available seperately, I believe. Am very excited about these although my Saitek combats have done me proud I just need a change

Another MFG Crosswinds Rudder Pedal user review:

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3920537#Post3920537

Sokol1

I was in contact with Milan the other day and if I order the pedals now, I could have them up and running in March and I'm really itching to get them.

 

But before I order them I have a question: do you lucky s.o.b's that already own the Crosswinds have anything negative to say about them? Something that annoy you? Or is it just roses and strawberries all over?

The pedals have matured with the latest software and electronic updates, from when I first reviewed them last year:

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=110618

The biggest problem you are looking at is their narrow base and getting used to holding both feet on them all the time - else they tend to bank with toe brakes set to a shallow angle.

All this is easily solved with either placing them against something solid so they can not move around, or best solution you can do - mount them properly with screws to the floor or your simpit.

But when you weigh in all the pros, this really is negligible. :)

You can always screw them tight to a piece of wooden door from an old kitchen cabinet if you got one laying around in your basement for example...and then buy a black color spraycan

MFG Crosswind Rudder Pedals

Twenty digits up (all fingers thumbs and toes) for these pedals

3 words Smooth, Smooth, Smooth

Peeled off the felt feet and replaced with velcro industrial hook side and dropped on carpeted floor.

Plugged in connectors (I use Stabalant 22A on all connections http://stabilant.com/techt02h.htm) followed firmware update instructions and all is smooth, smooth, smooth.

These pedals are like upgrading to a luxury automobile from an entry level utility vehicle.

Additionally to my surprise in the software setup there is an option to cause the toe brakes to issue a button command. ( brakes/lock tail wheel IL2) or left toe for key ?/macro right toe for key ?/macro.

A very happy satisfied consumer here.

Exceeded expectations.

:)

It's perfect.

As other people said you may need to attach it or stabilize it somehow (I just put a wood plank under it) because they're not too heavy and may tilt to the sides depending on how you use them.

Besides that, just plug them in and you'll be sh*tting rainbows all over the place.

Milan Sim has a lot you Youtube videos and Google Docs explaining the ins and outs of the rudder, and they've been very supportive and proactive over email (dozens of email exchanges/day) (and yes, even after they got my money).

Milan Sim supplies a home brewed software to set it up or upgrade the firmware (the one I received already was upgraded to the latest firmware). In that software you can:

- see just how precise the baby is (4096 position for the rudder and for each brake pedal)

- set up all axis the way you want them (average filtering, round filtering, dead zone start %, dead zone center position, dead zone end %, revert, slider mode)

- assign a DX button to the brakes axis (old games or just customization)

- other MFG-specific stuff

Hardware customization is also a thing. You can choose which actual physic curve you want to have (many available, ask Milan for more info). Then you can *very precisely* tune the intensity of the centering. Or, you can switch from having a center to having the rudder roam freely on its axis *very easily* and in less than 5 seconds (switching from plane to helo for example). You can adjust the position and inclination (up/down but also left/right) of the brake pedals or change the force of the brakes. Milan also provides plates to increase or decrease the width of the rudder set.

In-game, well ... it does not do the maneuver for you, but it sure makes it an awful lot easier to control your aircraft. For the sake of comparison, let's assume you own a TM Warthog. Now imagine having to fly with a Logitech Extreme 3D (and I actually own one, it's actually a good joystick). This is what I'd feel if I had to go back to my good ol' Saitek rudder set ...

My pair of these arrived today and man are they awesome. The craftsmanship is impeccable. They are incredibly sturdy and their smooth action and precision makes the TM Warthog pale in comparison.

They are not a steal though, coming in at a bit less than tripple of what saiteks cost, but the difference in quality more than justifies it, they simply are *that* good. If anybody is on the lookout for quality pedals, these are most likely the last ones you will ever need. To top it off, Milan is a very nice fellow who kept me in the loop during the whole process (he had some problems with an electronics supplier this month it seems), and even though it took a little longer than previously expected, it was definately worth the wait.

Sobek...can you share your thoughts after couple of flights with your new pedals?

The story so far:

The good: Very precise, very sturdy, *very* adjustable

Having played around some more with them:

It can't be stated enough how well you can adjust these, going from simple spring tension to spring position on the lever to cam profiles to notchless adjustment of brake pedal angle.

The software is also very well done, it offers some nifty features (filtering/deadzones/saturation of axes) and the settings are always saved onto the non volatile memory of the controller, so if you want to use the unit on another pc, it will work with your settings right away.

The only thing i am not uber-happy about is that the lowest spring force setting for the brake-pedals is still a bit strong (note that this is due to me having small feet, therefore i can't utilize the full lever of the pedal without shifting my foot up a little, if i shift my feet up it's perfect). The second thing is that they are quite a bit shorter than my previous saitek unit, which makes it impossible to rest them against the wall behind my desk and still be able to reach them from the front side (i not only have small feet, but short legs as well :P). They do however have *very* sticky rubber feet that make them usable without being rested against a wall at lower force settings (i've got wood laminate floor). Also note that they can be screwed onto a wood base or i could simply put one or two wood boards between the wall and the pedals to act as spacers, so it's not a huge problem.

I, too, received my pedals today, and like sobek, I'm just blown away by the quality. These things are by far the best pedals I've ever owned. The movement is so smooth, so fluid, that you forget you're using sim pedals. Pricey, yes, and I never thought I'd spend so much on pedals, but now that I have them in my pit, I have to say they were worth every penny.