For me the pedals would be for helicopters and dogfighting, (and for doing turns and crosswind landings in the civil sims.).


Limited budget... thinking either the CH pedals, or the Saitek pedals... which would you pick and why? Or maybe instead: which did you pick and what's your experience been, happy with it or regret it and wish you'd bought something else?

I had the Saitek Pro Flight rudder pedals.... I still have them, actually. After a good 3-4 years of use, the spring on one of the toe brakes decided to go (or maybe it's the plastic hooks/mounts inside), but aside from that, the rudder still works fine. I just need to keep my toes on the base of the pedal so that I don't accidentally trigger the toe brakes, but that's about it. A year or so ago, one of the SimHQ guys decided to upgrade so I bought his Saitek Combat rudder pedals from him and that's what I'm using now. So far, no compaints.... but then again, I fly BMS and Elite Dangerous mostly so accuracy isn't really a big concern. I would expect people who fly helos or WWII aircraft might not really be a fan of Saiteks.

If I had the money to spend, I'd look at MFG Crosswinds, Slaw, or VKB rudders.

I find it silly that I bought my Saitek Pro Flight rudders in 2010 for £90.... but now they go for £115 or more! Insane!

Thing is Logitech G PRO Flight Rudder Pedals (ex-Saitek) is now a bit overpriced ~$170,00.

Some DCS players say that for DCS helicopters CH PRO Pedal obsolete (from ~2000) USB controller resolution of 8 bits (256 steps) show their age.

Neither is going to be good for helicopters. For regular dogfighting both are about the same. The CH, despite their "obsolete" internals are better built than the Saiteks. Neither is very ergonomic if you are setting at a desk--I speak from personal experience. If you need to go cheap consider the Saitek combat pedals--they have toe brakes and are a bit more comfortable to use as you don't need to fit your feet in the slot as with the other two.

Even though they are outside the price range, I still have to highly recommend the VKB t-rudders especially for helicopter use plus they are a bit more ergonomic than the other choices.

Ok thanks guys!

Got a used Saitek for cheap, if it doesn't live up to requirements i'll look at those pricier options!

You wont regret it, wise choice

Marc..

I have had the regular Saitek Pro Pedals for many years (since October 2007). They are pre-MadCatz, which may explain why they are still working like new after so long. The only things that have broken are the two spring loaded knobs that allow you to adjust the pedal size. The axes are all spike free. There is a small problem with return to center sometimes offsetting a little to one side. This is easily fixed with a very small deadband around the center. I have no trouble flying DCS helicopters after being used to their response for so many years.

Based on what I have read, when these fail, I want to see if I can get some Slaw combat pedals. But if money were no object (not that Slaw pedals are particularly affordable either), I found a set of Boeing pedals for airline simulation that are mechanically almost identical to the way F-4 pedals work right down to the handle you can rotate to adjust pedal reach for shorter or longer legs. But they are super expensive: $3,500 http://www.flightdecksolutions.com/components/b737ng/b737ng-flight-controls/b737ng-rudder-pedals/