Which HOTAS??

Hi Newbee here , looking for some advise on which HOTAS also rudder pedals to buy? Any advice greatly appreciated.

You should give your price range. And prepare to be shocked by the total price of a good setup.

Personally, I love my TMW HOTAS and Saitek Pro Flight Rudder Pedals. They do everything I need them to do and I have never had an issue with ghost presses or anything like that. Vipril also makes a great product though I've never used one personally.

Steer clear of the Saitek X-55 unless you also do space Sims. It's $150 of garbage.

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I would put money to savings to get at least 450-600 € before considering a good HOTAS.

Like the cheapest and most "common one" would be CH fighterstick, throttle and pedals. Each about 150€. I would skip all the Saitek (Logitech these days) and even Thrustmaster Warthog (too many gimbal problems).

And do just the simple thing, get the VKB or Virpil stick and throttle when both have them in store. You can get as well their pedals too. But you will be paying far more than what CH hotas system is, but you will get more for your money (features and performance too).

So I say you have good three choices, CH, VKB and Virpil. And then if really must to do a compromise, a Thrustmaster. Skip else if just possible.

If want to get for ultra cheap, seek second hand CH fighterstick and throttle and combine with some cheap pedals.

> $100

Thrustmaster HOTAS X/4 - Well is "HOTAS", but don't expect miracles. :) Twist and rocker rudder control

$100>200

Thrustmaster FCS (T.16000M+TWCS throttle) - add rudder pedals optional (twist and rocker rudder control)

Saitek X-52/X-52 PRO - add rudder pedals optional (twist rudder control)

VKB Gladiator (a better stick than T.16000M) + TWCS - add rudder pedals optional (twist and rocker rudder control)

$200>400

Saitek X-56 - add rudder pedals optional (twist rudder control)

CH combo (Fighterstick, PRO throttle) - add rudder pedals required.

$400+

Warthog - add rudder pedals required (~$90 to ~$500+)

VKB or VPC stick + TWCS or CH PRO or Warthog or GVL224 custom throttles or 'soon™' VPC throttle (VKB await 2019) - add rudder pedals required.

Personally, I love my TMW HOTAS and Saitek Pro Flight Rudder Pedals. They do everything I need them to do and I have never had an issue with ghost presses or anything like that. Vipril also makes a great product though I've never used one personally.

 

Steer clear of the Saitek X-55 unless you also do space Sims. It's $150 of garbage.

 

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I have owned an X-55 for 3 years now.

I am most likely going to upgrade to a Wharthog, but what is bad about the X-55? For the price, it's a damn good peripheral. The only thing it lacks is a 4 way on the thumb part of the stick and a proper slew device on the right. It is a minor inconvenience, but not game immersion breaking.

Can you still get an X55? However that may be the while the X56 is no substitute for the good stuff it's also a fraction of the cost and works fine for what it is: An el cheapo HOTAS. In one respect it's superior to the good stuff in that it has more buttons and programming options then anything else available. Logitech posted here that they had improved many of the quality control issues and it appears to be true. The wires out to the throttle were extended, no ghost presses, etc. A person can do a search and will find that the updated stick (black graphics replacing the blue is the easiest way to tell the difference) been getting generally good reviews over on the space forums where it's more popular due to the thumbsticks.

Not that these other gentlemen/women are wrong, you can get a much higher quality if you're willing and can afford it. And yeah, Saitek had an awful reputation for quality control which they got the old fashioned way, by earning it.

If nothing else Logitech is at least trying to reduce warranty losses by fixing the most egregious problems. It's still el cheapo but should be evaluated in it's price range where it's quality is par, not against options that triple it's cost.

I have owned an X-55 for 3 years now.

 

I am most likely going to upgrade to a Wharthog, but what is bad about the X-55? For the price, it's a damn good peripheral. The only thing it lacks is a 4 way on the thumb part of the stick and a proper slew device on the right. It is a minor inconvenience, but not game immersion breaking.

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Depends on budget. For USA buyers:

< $100: TM T.16000m

$100 to $200: X-52 Pro or TM T16000m FCS HOTAS. Each of these has their advantages.

Infinite budget: X-56 or Warthog.

For pedals you can get:

$100: CH Pedals. These are clunkly and narrow but also completely indestructible. They will outlast you.

$300: MFG Crosswinds. Widely considered the best, expect to wait months to get them though. Longevity has yet to be determined.

--snippage--

 

$300: MFG Crosswinds. Widely considered the best, expect to wait months to get them though. Longevity has yet to be determined.

Considering how many people have had it for years now, I think longevity question has been answered. The design itself (contactless) leads to years of service. Along with simple mechanics etc. I had my CH Combat pedals and they were OK. If you are not aiming for the "best" experience CH pedals will do fine.

Longevity has yet to be determined.

> $100

 

Thrustmaster HOTAS X/4 - Well is "HOTAS", but don't expect miracles. :) Twist and rocker rudder control

 

$100>200

 

Thrustmaster FCS (T.16000M+TWCS throttle) - add rudder pedals optional (twist and rocker rudder control)

 

Saitek X-52/X-52 PRO - add rudder pedals optional (twist rudder control)

 

VKB Gladiator (a better stick than T.16000M) + TWCS - add rudder pedals optional (twist and rocker rudder control)

 

$200>400

 

Saitek X-56 - add rudder pedals optional (twist rudder control)

 

CH combo (Fighterstick, PRO throttle) - add rudder pedals required.

 

$400+

 

Warthog - add rudder pedals required (~$90 to ~$500+)

 

VKB or VPC stick + TWCS or CH PRO or Warthog or GVL224 custom throttles or 'soon™' VPC throttle (VKB await 2019) - add rudder pedals required.

This. Excellent summary in an incremental order IMO.

The x55/56 quality/longevity seems to be a bit of a coin flip, many swear by theirs, others have nothing but problems. The lower cost TM hotas seem to be an excellent starter HOTAS, so if your budget is under $4 or 5 hundred dollars, it's probably a good place to begin. I have 2 dozen+ HOTAS I've collected over the years, right up to and including all the latest custom sticks and pedals (no custom higher end throttles, not until next month at least), and one thing I'll stand by is that any hotas is better than no hotas at all. Again, if your budget is under $150 grab the TM setup, the TWCS is actually quite good, I've got one, and IMO it's as good or better than the CH Pro Throttle, and with a decent stick, can serve very well (it has a rudder rocker if you can't afford pedals out of the gate as well). In fact, a CH Combatstick and Tm TWCS can be had for well under $150 if you find both on sale, and that's probably the best bang/$ out there for a budget hotas.

The next best option is to search for used hotas. Kijiji.ca here in Canada plus the other usual suspects like Ebay/etc, usually yield one solid deal per month for me. I've purchased 3 out of my 4 Warthogs in this manner, 2 Cougars, and various CH and other units (Got my X65 Saitek for $150 USD like new there) for great deals. I've found like new Warthogs in the $250 USD range, so this is a viable option as well if you're patient - this source makes for a good "second" hotas, or your next "step up", as patience can be required for good deals to come along. As another example, I picked up a VKB Gunfighter base for $175 USD that was new in the plastic wrap still, and a 90% condition Cougar for $50 including the shipping, which works perfectly well.

Good point, the used market is a great alternative to getting into an up market HOTAS if money is a problem. *thumbs up*

I have a saitek x56 hotas i never really used I ordered it through amazon ‘s prerelease and never like it.

$300: MFG Crosswinds. Widely considered the best, expect to wait months to get them though. Longevity has yet to be determined.

MFG exist since ~01/2013 at least. Until now no pictures of broken parts appear - like happens, for example with Warthog stick, neither report of "bricked" PCB's, like for example, Warthog throttle, since ~2010. ;)

If the X-52 Pro now owned/produced by Logitech matches the quality of my original X-52 Pro, then I would suggest that as a good compromise between capability and price. But I understand most Saitek products had quality control issues after Mad Catz took over. I am not sure how good Saitek products are now that Logitech owns the label.

Thrustmaster has some fairly good stuff roughly comparable to the X-52 Pro in both capability and price. If I had to get my son a HOTAS to replace my old X-52 Pro that he still uses, it would probably be T.16000M FCS HOTAS.

If you can get one for about $350 or less (I have seen sales as low as $300), I still highly recommend the Thrustmaster Warthog. The feel of the stick is a little annoying, though some of the newer sticks apparently work better than my original stick. A lot of people have had problems with throttles "bricking"... i.e. something happens to the USB power during system startup that renders the throttle useless, requiring the main board to be replaced. My throttle served me flawlessly for quite a few years until one day I unplugged it from my powered USB hub to play a game that didn't like all of my flight sim controls. When I plugged it back in, it "bricked". I would have repaired the throttle, but Thrustmaster support said I would have to wait a month or so due to the part being temporarily out of stock. I ended up buying a new HOTAS set (it was not cost effective to buy the throttle alone). The new stick feels much better than my first one... no "stiction". I still need to go back and repair my original throttle so I can have two complete, operational Warthog HOTAS setups.

But if you have money to burn and are patient enough to wait for new stock, the VKB MCG pro has become my main stick still paired with the Warthog throttle. It was very expensive, but it will be worth it if it lasts anywhere near long as my X-52 Pro and Warthog sticks. This stick is the holy grail in precision and feel. It has all the controls it needs to emulate the functionality of a Warthog stick grip but is really optimized to support Russian/USSR aircraft controls, such as the analog brake lever.

Logitech says they also updated the X52 Pro to address the various QC issues but I've not read up on that one. Going to the VKB it may or may not be a good idea but right now it doesn't matter, you can't get one. Those are only for pilots who already have something and don't care about waiting for months and then some. That's just the stick, we're talking HOTAS here and their throttle is at best December if you believe their estimate. Of course anyone that believes their estimate already owns swampland in Florida for which they paid top dollar. A more realistic guess might be this time next year still finds you hearing excuses rather than shipping dates. Not exactly a viable option.

Considering how many people have had it for years now, I think longevity question has been answered. The design itself (contactless) leads to years of service. Along with simple mechanics etc. I had my CH Combat pedals and they were OK. If you are not aiming for the "best" experience CH pedals will do fine.

I actually bricked my Xwind's recently attempting to flash the firmware. Which apparently I just got really unlucky as Milan said he couldn't brick an MCU no matter how hard he tried.

Milan got me setup with a replacement MCU and this is another selling point of the crosswinds - if ever anything does need repair, you can take them apart with confidence. Literally took me 5-10 minutes to break them down and put them back together. The only wires are the toebrake cables and aren't terribly difficult to get to should they ever short or malfunction, and the MCU itself requires no soldering.

Crosswinds may be pricey but worth every penny imo. smooth as butter, much stronger than plastic, and not too difficult to repair if ever it needs it. Plus they're gorgeous. I wish he had been offering them in graphite or black when I ordered mine. :)