Saitek X52 Pro Flight System Controller
by Saitek
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List Price: Our Price: $140.42 You Save: $29.53 (17%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $116.11 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Saitek X52 Pro Flight System Controller
Customer Review: serious hardware for serious pilots.
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this product over six months ago. As far as a simulation controller goes, this product takes the cake. The controller itself is very rugged and solidly constructed. Even after the joystick took a shortfall, its works perfectly.
Breakdown: Buttons, solid feel and good response. The LED's are customizable so you can set the intensity and color of the lights - that is a neat feature. The primary POV (silver) is showing some minor slop in response but that is to be expected with some good use. I have no worries that the product is going to fail on me. The included throttle is a dream. The friction setup is a little weak but the slider itself gives a good, positive feed-back which is what you expect when you roll on a lot of thrust. The MFD is customizable to a degree. With the correct plug-ins, it can display a wide range of information and the its easily accessible and intuitive to use. The scrolling wheels located under the MFD are a bit clumsy and when entering frequencies, can be a hassle. The main issue between the stick and throttle units is the connection. The system utilizes a corded port connection with several small pins inside of the barrel. This connection will get weak over time and you frequently have to ensure the cord is seated between both units to get a good working setup.
The software: To use this stick as a basic setup is a breeze. But to really utilize the powerful software takes lots of time and some advanced knowledge of working with programming. At times the Saitek interface was more of a hassle than a bonus so often times I never activated it. Sometimes it would clear profiles erroneously or get in the way of the scripting interface to operate the MFD. Unless your serious about have all the modes activated and running smoothly, the programming feature is pretty frustrating.
All around precise and great stick despite the minor short comings.
Customer Review: Incredible Controller, iffy technical support
Summary: 5 Stars
Product: 5 out of 5 stars
It is heavy, which means you can go to the full extents of the axis without tipping it over. It has a twist function for the rudder, which is a big plus for those of you who do not want to spend an extra $[...] on pedals. The MFD is very nice, as it interacts with Flight Simulator X to provide a truly immersive simulation. For the money, this is an amazing bargain. You can easily go over $[...] for a throttle and joystick combo. The throttle is smooth and functions perfectly. With 30 plus buttons, you will be able to control all but the most intensive simulations without using the keyboard. And as if that was not enough, it includes a dial to switch between modes. If you are in an F-16 and you need to switch from air to air to air to ground, you switch modes and suddenly your fire button is your pickle button and so on. I cannot think of enough good things to say about this controller.
Product support: 2 out of 5 stars
Their website was extremely unhelpful, and all the forums were closed. Their USA server was down, so you could not get a USA tech support number. When I finally figured out their USA number with Google Earth and selected technical support, it appeared to be warranty support. The technical support number I was given turned out to be a private number.
I would highly recommend this product, but be prepared for some travail if you have questions
Two flight simulators I would highly recommend: Falcon 4.0: Allied Force and Microsoft Flight Simulator X Deluxe DVD
Customer Review: Only One Minor Problem
Summary: 5 Stars
Saitek X52 Pro Flight System Controller
Only one minor problem. I am a lower-intermediate flight sim user. I use FS 2004, CFS 2 and CFS 3. I had some difficulty with trying to determine the difference between 'Mode' and 'Profile'. I found the on-line video from Saitek on how to program to be very helpful.
Previous reviews indicated that I may encounter problems with possible cross controling the ailerons and elevator or rudder when transiting the stick through the null point. This does not happen with my unit. Another concern was that the throttle transition from 90% throttle to full trottle would require excessive force. I have found that there is a little extra force that is required to go into full power. This is just about right. I have not changed the out-of-the-box friction settings.
My third concern was that some owners have experienced problems with keeping the stick and throttle in place when operating the units. I have not had any trouble with the stick or the throttle slipping or sliding. They are placed on a formica desk top. I do not need to install the suction cups that were provided. However, I can see that some gamers would have problems if they tend to slam their controls from stop to stop.
The adjustable stick handle is a blessing (5 possible positions). The stick returns to the center (neutral) position everytime. The hand grip on the throtle is supurb. Both units have a solid feel.
My next purchase will probably be FSX (along with a new computer with some muscle to crunch pixels). The X52 Pro will be ready when I make these upgrades.
Customer Review: Love em!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Saitek X52 Pro Flight System is beautiful! Every time I look at my X52 Pro, I think to myself that I wish I had more games and more time to play with these!
Admittedly, I have only used the Saitek X52 Pro to play HAWX, so I haven't had a wide-variety of testing to put behind this review. I own the Saitek X45 HOTAS and briefly owned the X52 HOTAS, only to return them within a week to buy the Pro version. The X45 HOTAS always bothered me because the action was too stiff and I had issues with keeping the base on my desk while manuevering the stick around. I also had issues sometimes with center/deadzones on the sticks. The X52 just felt CHEAP, which is why I returned it.
The X52 Pro however, is awesome! The build quality is top notch. The buttons have a nice tactile feel to them. The action is smooth and has just the right amount of tension behind it. I *do* plan on playing more HAWX (great game!) along with other games (X-Plane, DCS: Blackhawk and IL-2-Sturmovik). I won't comment on the software since I don't remember what my impressions were when I played with it. Sadly, this stick has been collecting dust for little more than a year since my job has kept me busy working out of town. I used this with Vista, but now I'm running Windows 7. I plan on installing drivers and playing with this again soon!
I'd totally recommend the Saitek X52 Pro to friends, or anybody else who wants a nice HOTAS system, but doesn't want to spend the money on full-fledged simulation equipment.
Customer Review: X52 Pro stcik and throttle
Summary: 5 Stars
I really enjoy the combination set. While I am not a very 'techy' person I will just give you my personal feelings and judgment based on use and not specs. The programming for me was hard to learn and use. Once I read the directions about 6 times I think I have it down now.
My first set came in damaged and could not use the joy stick. Amazon did a great job taking care of the problem, sent me a new set immediately, then I sent the defective set back.
Over all feel is smooth and translates to the controls on the screen with equal sensitivity and precision. I used to have a force feedback joystick from Saitek and I do miss that feedback from the stick. Still, this set is so good I am getting used to it very quickly.
I have one other control that I am not familiar with called the 'mouse button' on the throttle control handle. This tiny joystick will take the place of the mouse to move your viewpoint around and get the big picture while flying and in combat. It is not intuitive and needs some practice to use. Again the more I use it the better I get.
I only wish there were more profiles I can download to use the stick to it's full potential, I just have to keep looking and set some of the profiles myself.
I have a question for anyone out there. What is the 'i' button on the throttle. When it is pressed the hat button on the joystick blinks. I could not find any info on the use of this button.
Thanks for reading my thoughts on the Saitek X52 Pro Joystick throttle