Now that we've got the TM Warthog for some time, I was wondering what the general opinion was regarding our current selection of HOTASes. I currently have a Cougar but for some reason, my throttle rotaries are always drunk and partying and for some reason, these rotaries seem to affect the joystick input.

What I'm looking for now is for a stick that may replace my Cougar. I plan to play more DCS A10 than Falcon 4 but "stick realism" isn't really a big issue with me --- at the moment, I just want a simple plug-and-play-and-the-damn-thing-works-as-it-should HOTAS. My main contenders are the TM Warthog, the Saitek X65F, and the Saitek X52 Pro.

I'm looking at the Warthog basically because it is as close to the real thing as is available. All that switches on the throttle = yum! It's expensive as hell and it's made by Thrustmaster so I'm not too sure. If it were priced this way but with excellent customer support, I'd buy it ASAP knowing that if I hit a snag, I don't end up with a £300 paperweight. Realistically speaking, I probably won't get this HOTAS until March or April 2011, but if this is a good choice then I don't mind shelling out the cash for it.

I'm curious about the force-sensing feature of the X65F and I wonder how my flying with change with such a stick. The fact that it has a split throttle as well is a plus. However, I've been hearning about poor-workmanship and downsides of being plastic, and again, a lot of people are saying Saitek support is crap. Now I wonder which stick has the poorer customer support, Saitek or Thrustmaster?

The final candidate is the lowly X52 Pro and is on the list for the basic reason that it is cheap now, about £100 from what I could research. I've been reading how people who had the X52 Pro and upgraded to either the X65F or the Warthog claim that the X52 Pro was an inferior joystick but if it's a plug-and-play-and-the-damn-thing-works-as-it-should HOTAS, then I'm not complaining.


Thoughts and comments appreicated!

I have the X65, and the force sensing works very well, and u can tailor the force settings to your liking. You can also switch between 4 force settings on the fly, so it's very versatile. Also, throttle has 2 rotaries which the TM WT lacks. That said, its not a "a simple plug-and-play-and-the-damn-thing-works-as-it-should HOTAS". Saitek drivers and SST programming is currently buggy. But if u are willing to spend some time to configure everything, the stick is very precise, as a force sensing stick shd be.

Since u are playing mostly DCS A-10, TM Warthog is the obvious choice. The construction quality and feel of the buttons/switches is way better. Software is better too. BUT...u are stuck with ONE force setting, LOL.

Thanks for the info! Any details on "buggy"? I don't mind having to twiddle with the programming software, and it can be as hard as hell to program, so long as when all is done, the HARDWARE itself works as it should. I can deal with "stupid user" problems, sure, but hardware problems piss me off.

For some strange reason SST does not recognize the "a" key...means I can't program any button to output "a".
BUG BUG BUG!
And there's an obvious bug in the drivers relating to deadzone setting of Y axis.

I have the X65f and I love it, I find the stick is very well done. I can not speak about the software as I have most of the critical items on the stick with out the profile software. I do have some issues with the throttle but it is mainly cosmatic and does not reflect the actual action of the throttle.
Good luck in your selection there are a nice selection out there. Oh I used the X-52 for about 5 years and never had an issue with it.



Bullet

The decision is made, and is currently approved by the Budget Committee (read: wife). I'm going for a Warthog, I mean, what the heck, I'm gonna be stuck playing the A-10 anyway, so might as well... I mean I would love to get a force-sensing stick if nothing but to try it out, but I figure the Warthog will be more "useful" for the simple fact that it's modelled after the real layout, plus the extra switches on the throttle assembly.

Thanks for the feedback guys!