Rudder pedals or HOTAS?

[IonicRipper]

Currently, what i use to play flight sims is a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro and a TrackIR 4 (with obviously a mouse and keyboard.) I'm thinking of upgrading my setup a bit and i was wondering what should be prioritized between rudder pedals (i heard a lot of talk about them being almost mandatory back when i flew WWII planes) and a HOTAS kit.

 

Personally I'm leaning towards the HOTAS as my Logitech joystick feels somewhat cheap and inaccurate but i would like to hear from more experienced pilots before i make the jump. Any thoughts?

[Panthro]

My opinion, get the HOTAS first is you must make a choice, that said taxing & yaw etc. will be done with either assigned buttons or a modifier on your stick.

[IonicRipper]

I would probably be getting a Saitek X52 and i believe, if I am not mistaken, that it has a twist axis so it should work fine.

[Jacques Lees]

Greetings. The answer you seek depends on what aircraft do you intend to fly with it. And also how deep you wanna dive into the sim world. It's always a pain moment to try to choose which one to pick up. I'll suppose you are a serious simmer, you do everything the most realistic way, and here is my advice: 1. If you fly airliners in FSX, X-plane, Prepar3D, which is what the majority of people are doing out there, then you don't really need to change your joystick. Yours will do just fine. You just need rudder for taxi, even you bought one you'll find you won't use it much at all. As for breaking the default trigger will do just fine. 2. If you fly aerobatics and formation in FSX, LockOn or BMS, DCS, you can consider a HOTAS now, as this will ease out your progress in your team. The separate throttle give you a much better control, and you can progress into combat sim when you are not flying civil. Rudder is a must if you fly prop plane aerobatics, but twist handle here will do fine. 3. If you wanna fly in Combat sim, aka BMS, DCS, then HOTAS is a must. You need to program your settings as close as the real thing, lots of buttons and HAT have to be done here. Without one I can't imagine how you could fly a F16 or A10C. You don't really need rudder though. Il2, Rise of flight is different. Back in that time you don't have lots of gadgets available, A simple stick and throttle will get you going, as you can always click in the 3D cockpit what you want to switch. But as they are all prop planes, you get prop wash most of the time, and in dogfight the rudder can give you some advantage. So a rudder is much welcomed here. 4. If you fly Helicopters in FSX, X-plane or DCS, A rudder is a must. No twist handle here, you need an actual rudder pedal. Without one you simply can't fly helicopter. Impossible. The Ka-50 being a special coaxial design is less demanding here, you can fly without a rudder pedal, but you'll find yourself looking for one while flying it. Twist handle can not be controlled precisely, you should know that you are flying the most difficult machine that man have ever designed, you need all the controls you got, and you need lots of time to perfect it. 5. If you fly spacecraft in Orbiter, Space Shuttle Mission, your old joystick will do fine. All you need is a joystick, as in Il2 you can click the 3D cockpit. In outer space you rudder won't function either, save you the trouble ;-) Now you should have an image of what you are getting into. Now some tips: Twist handle can get the job done if you are not fly helos, but if you ever plan to upgrade, you would hate it in the future, especially when you have a real rudder there. For which HOTAS to choose read here: http://www.simhq.com/_technology2/technology_094a.html And most important of all, DO NOT PUT YOUR JOYSTICK OR HOTAS ON YOUR TABLE!! I can't emphasize enough on this one. On your joystick there is a hand rest. Your forearm should be level with your hand. This is the universal law, be it yoke, centerstick or sidestick, always level with your forearm. Most of time your keyboard table is too high for your joystick, you have to find your own way to deal with that, either find a lower support to put them on or build your own support, you don't fly with a wrong gesture. This is lesson one for the real pilots out there: Adjust your seat correctly so you can remember the correct landing picture in your mind. You can't fly the plane well if the control is not naturally comfortable, let along to merge with your plane as one. Happy flying !!

Edited January 29, 2013 by Jacques Lees

[lxsapper]

Since you are going for the x-52 then i'll say HOATS first, if you were getting a warthog ir similar with no twist function I'd say it depends on the sim/aircraft. Some sort of yaw control is mandatory for helicopters and props.

[IonicRipper]

Thanks guys. I think I'm gonna go with the X52 since its the only HOTAS that seems to have a twist axis. Now i just have to find a store in Canada that has one in stock...

[JG14_Smil]

It's not a sim without rudder pedals.

[IonicRipper]

Just my luck... I'm finally ready to buy and every store i look is either more expensive then the rest or sold out. I ended up buying from Amazon.ca but they say it should only ship within 2 - 4 weeks. Bummer :(