Rudder pedals. They are really necessary?

[Echo38]

A pair of home flight pedals look to have a throw of about 3 inches, and a twist grip gives you maybe half an inch - so let's put it as you have 6 times more latitude with pedals

 

My pedals have about six inches of throw, so that's 12 times better than twist. And these things are dainty little CH pedals, not nearly fighter-sized.

 

The long throw advantage of the pedals that you use with your feet is probably offset by the considerable higher proportion of you brain that's devoted to controlling the twist stick in your hand.

 

This is an interesting suggestion, one which I haven't encountered before. However, I think you're overlooking workload. The right hand is already controlling two axes, and, in practice, that's about all the brain can handle on that digit. As Zaltys pointed out, trying to juggle all three with the same hand results in interference, for all pilots. Having three times as much capacity shouldn't make a difference when you've got three times the workload, right? Sorta balances out--and then you're left with just the difference in throw, at which point the pedals come out on top--roughly a dozen times more potential precision, assuming similar quality of manufacture (i.e. no comparing cheap potentiometer plastic pedals with high-end Hall sensor metal twisty).

 

Anyone who can kick ass with a twisty stick can kick much more ass if they transition to pedals (and that means taking a few weeks to adjust, to un-learn the bad habits). Every virtual pilot I've talked into pedals has been initially frustrated with them, but all of them were later glad that they switched. One fellow took a whopping two months to adjust (most take two or three weeks), but even he ended up flying better than before and pleased that he got them. The only people I've ever known who disliked pedals were people who'd used twisty sticks for a long time and then tried pedals briefly, and never used pedals for long enough to become accustomed to them. (Those who never use twisty sticks, but go straight to pedals, shouldn't need any adjusting at all--I certainly didn't.)

Edited June 22, 2013 by Echo38

[GriffonBR]

WOW!!! Looks like that I'll have to learn everything again:lol:. It's a whole new experience playing with rudder pedals.

My first takeoff attempt was a mess, all these years playing with a twist rudder made me very confused but now, like you said the Stang is more tamed during the flights. Now, I have to focous a little bit more in dogfights, but overall, the experience is so much better now with the CH Pedals.

 

One more time, thanks for the help, guys.

 

Good fights and guns, guns, guns.

[gavagai]

The long throw advantage of the pedals that you use with your feet is probably offset by the considerable higher proportion of you brain that's devoted to controlling the twist stick in your hand.

 

If you were doing a static test where the only thing you had to do was move the rudder precisely, then I could see how that might be confirmed. However, for twist stick users there is a problem with involuntary inputs between the ailerons and rudder. Add in the joystick hotas buttons, and it makes good sense to distribute the work load to some other limbs.

[Weta43]

I'm not (wasn't) suggesting that pedals aren't a good idea - only that it's not impossible to fly the DCS.P-51 with a twist stick as rudder - or putting it differently, that pedals aren't so much better than a twist stick that flying the P-51 is possible with them and impossible without.