I have the Cougar modded with FSSB, and it turned out to be a problem in some sims. It's great for jet flying, but I'd prefer a G940 for Helos and WW2.

OTOH I can't quite believe Saitek is going that route in a mainstream product. It just doesn't make sense.

The components and finish on the stick look great in the end.

Well, it would not be hard to just put a biggish spring above or under the sensor and arrange a mechanical lock to switch between sprung or solid. If the sensor is sensitive enough it will directly translate the spring deflection into a force

As an FCC-modded Cougar owner who also has IL-2, take my word for it-you will HATE it for prop jobs.

Your hand will be sore, you won't be able to hold your ailerons and elevators steady or even make small tweaks easily, and it's just totally the wrong feel.

I actually do enjoy this Cougar mod, but mostly when I'm playing Falcon 4.0: Allied Force, or maybe a space combat game or something that doesn't require really twitchy input and significant, constant directional changes.

Another result is that I don't play IL-2 much now because I don't have any satisfactory deflecting sticks. I have a Logitech WingMan Strike Force 3D, but I have to alter the way the pots connect to the gimbals to work around some horrible engineering (moving the stick in only one axis still induces play in the pot for the other axis) and have not yet sourced a small metal rod and some suitable linkages for the mod project yet.

Ideally, I'd just get a Logitech G940 and pair it with the Cougar (or possibly replace the Cougar with the X65F altogether, depending on Saitek's execution), but I can't afford that.

Ditto here. I bought a Cougar some months ago (the newer vesion with plastic keys, unfortunatelly) and haven't touched it because it felt rather stiff and imprecise to handle without some mods. FS mods seemed perfect for it.

I planned on getting the X65 (vs the 940) as an FF stick because I prefer it's looks and material (Logitech design and plastics and keys seem rather sterile, kinda like CH products which is why I never considered getting those CH sticks). But, now it turns out that the X65 is an FS stick, which would mean I'd get it and the 940 and then some other mod for the Couger (too bad Evenstrain is not available any more) which doesn't make sense (I have the X36 USB in good condition plus the X52 and not much to use even those two ), not to mention the money required for such a feat.

So, maybe an FF mod for the X65 would be the solution?