Joystick Mod for helicopter pilots

[gorgar0]

Hi all,

 

I own a Saitek x52 and enjoy flying helicopters in DCS but I was was getting frustrated with the design of the joystick. The spring design made it challenging and I wanted to have the joystick mostly mimic the feel of a real helicopter's joystick where the joystick didn't force back to center. So I made a mod that works very well for me and wanted to share it with the community.

 

The idea is to remove the spring and replace it with a set of magnets on the base and a metal plate "attached" to the joystick post.

 

Here is a picture of the magnet base (this is a representation of the finished magnet ring but shows the set of magnets used):

 

 

Here is the joystick with the metal plate installed:

 

 

As you can see it is a destructive mod - I needed to remove the spring and the plastic guide. Unfortunately, the design of the joystick doesn't make it easy to remove the spring and guide so I had to cut them out.

 

Here is a video of me using the joystick flying he Huey:

 

 

Not the greatest video but you get the idea. The motion is like glass and constant pressure across the entire range of motion. There is not a centering feature but neither is there in a real helicopter either (at least the helicopters I worked on while in the Army: CH-47, OH-58 and UH-1).

 

Since this is my only joystick, I use it for all of the other fixed wing aircraft and it works well for me. Maybe one day I'll add some kind of centering detent.

 

If you're interested in more detail please PM me. I have 3D printed the parts (except for the metal plate) and can easily replicate it if needed.

 

Thanks,

 

Rick