VWood

LOGIRich, I'm a bit late to this thread but, if you are still reading this, could you perhaps tell us what kind of microswitches the X56 has. Or at least how many cycles they are rated for? Thank you.

Thank you for all the replies. And thanks crab for that detailed reply. I think I will look for that thread posted by the Logitech rep.. Otherwise I may settle for the Thrustmaster t16000m.

I am in the market for a new HOTAS since I wish to start playing flight sims again. I do not have the budget for a Thrustmaster Warthog or VKB Gunfighter, none the less I do expect a quality product. Will the Logitech X56 be a reliable purchase or should I wait until further build quality updates have been made? I used to own a Microsoft Sidewinder Precision 2 for more than a decade. This unit was used primarily for space combat simulation and mech combat simulation games and so it was 'thrashed' around almost exclusively during use. It saw possibly thousands of hours of use and never showed any signs of failure. I have since given it to my cousin and he still praises its quality and prefers it over other sticks. I expect this type of reliability in any product that I purchase and since I am now in the market for a new HOTAS I have shied away from Saitek because of their notorious build quality and have leaned more toward CH and Thrustmaster. However, since the people at Logitech have a good reputation as far build quality and have acquired Saitek I may consider the X56, despite some button layout issues.

Thanks for the replies. It seems Shapeways is the way to go. So your saying the grip won't bend out of shape? That is good to hear. I understand why they use molding for all the parts, including the plastic. Machining can cost more than 20 times as much as molding. It would have been nice if they used something other than zinc though. Thank goodness Thrustmaster's high end HOTAS have such a large support community.

Hello, I would like to find out from people who have owned the FSSB R3 mod for a while if you have noticed any sort of 'wiggle' develop in the grip? Hearing from people who have the FSSB or FSSB R2 cougar would also be very welcome since they would have had the mod for a much longer time. The reason I ask is because the grip and shaft appear to be made from pot metal and doesn't seem to be inserted very deeply. I have also seen a video of someone who had a failure in this part: I would like to get the mod, but I am concerned about the extra strain it might put on the stick and the effect this could have over time. Thank you.