MFG Crosswind - Review

[LeCuvier]

For me, it was just plug and play. Didn't modify anything from deadzone/saturation point. I did, however, angle the pedals a bit more. I found it more comfortable.

Same here.

[Sporg]

I screwed the MFG pedals onto a 16 mm furniture plate (see picture). This does 2 things for me:

1. Enough mass/weight to keep the pedals in place without having to drill holes in my floortiles.

2. Ensure the right distance from the wall. The spacers supplied by MFG are too short for me. I actually pre-drilled several series of holes in the furniture plate, so I could easily experiment with different distances.

My office chair is not optimal as I cannot block the wheels. I move the chair so that the wheels are oriented in parallel to the wall so the chair doesn't roll backwards.

I had same issue with my chair rolling, and with distance to the pedals.

 

My first solution was very simple and cheap: Buy rubber door wedges and cut them so they fit inside the chair wheels:

 

 

I put the wedges on the two rear wheels, and pointed them backwards, and mostly it worked fine.

 

When I got better pedals from Slaw, I needed to fixate the pedals, and realized I could fix the chair wheels in the same plate.

I made holes that fit the two front wheels.

Now distance and rolling problem was solved in one go:

 

[hansangb]

That's a great solution as well! I have to push mine away when I'm not on DCS, so I couldn't go with a larger board.

[fargo007]

I got my pedals today and can't stop crowing about how awesome they are.

 

These pedals have totally changed the complexion of the sim.

 

If you ask me, totally worth the asking price. They are literally THAT good.

[NahkaSukka]

When i got these pedals i bought chair like this http://www.trycat.fi/images/603/full/1406739795091042700.jpg

 

Cost me 9€ and is perfect to use with pedals.

[Sporg]

That's a great solution as well! I have to push mine away when I'm not on DCS, so I couldn't go with a larger board.

Thanks. :)

 

Actually, I have planned to cut the board and put hinges, so I can fold the outer part inwards and away from the chair, when I don't use the pedals.

That could be usable in your case as well, couldn't it?

[hansangb]

Hmmm, maybe. I'll have to measure it out. Maybe I could even go with a tri-fold design. Interesting. Thanks for the idea.

[DeepDrummer]

I got my crosswinds about 1.5 years ago. The first hurdle was to stop the office chair from turning so I drilled and put a bolt through the shaft. I added some longer pieces of wood to brace it against the wall. It caused me grief for months but I loved the spring tension and the feel.

The chair and the pedals were still rickety and wobbly and it was driving me nuts so I took the bull by the horns to tame the crosswind and make it solid. I have since done further mods to the left side of my sim pit, adding another stick over there and making a shelf that attaches to the bottom platform and slides in and out with same. It really is a rock solid wonderful setup.

The wood was all repurposed from an old bench and the seat cost $35 at an auto wreckers and I had the casters in a pile. That was the second board. The first one was toxic press board.

It is easy to roll in and out to clean or whatever. Rock solid! I can feel my rudder properly now.

 

[Rogue Trooper]

I got today the pedals, didn't have much time to test them

They look and feel very nice, but I have to fix them on the floor, somehow, and even if I do, I'll have to replace my PC chair, I'm moving back when I press the pedals

What kind of chair are you using, guys?

Thank you

 

 

 

Initially I used a standard cheap dining room chair but wanted a neater solution for my centre stick so I eventually opted for the Gameracer flight chair which has no wheels and adjustable mounting points for a centre stick and left right mounting platforms for the throttle etc...

[Lenux]

Which spring / cam are you using, guys?

[Lausbub78]

I'm using the strongest Spring Setting and CAM 5 for about 4 Years now.

[Lenux]

What's the difference between the cam 5 and 4 / 6 ?

[Lausbub78]

From memory 5 has a very soft center and force increases to the end of travel,while either 4 or 6 has a noticable center and the other has also a soft center and froce doesn't increase much to the end of travel. I believe there is some FAQ at the Crosswind site explaining the difference of the CAMs

 

Edit: Here is the link to the FAQ http://mfg.simundza.com/assets/downloads/CAM%20Presentation.pdf

Edited October 15, 2017 by Lausbub78

[NahkaSukka]

Are you guys using the pedals with shoes or just with socks on? My heels start to hurt after a while when playing with only socks on. Those heel stands or whatever they are called, should be definitely taller like in Slaw device so you could rest your heels against them. Or i just should be wearing shoes.

[Lausbub78]

I only use socks,or when it is hot in summer with bare feet. Never had a problem with it.

[Simicro]

Those heel stands or whatever they are called, should be definitely taller

 

I don't use MFG anymore but I agree with you on that point. A taller heel stand/rest would also help to relieve the muscles of the leg during long flights if you leave your feet on the pedals.

[Flamin_Squirrel]

Socks here too. If your heels hurt, perhaps adjust the pedal angle so the top of your feet take more pressure?

[klem]

Are you guys using the pedals with shoes or just with socks on? My heels start to hurt after a while when playing with only socks on. Those heel stands or whatever they are called, should be definitely taller like in Slaw device so you could rest your heels against them. Or i just should be wearing shoes.

 

Errmmmm yes, wear shoes. Did your mother never tell you about athletes foot? You know it's -30 C at altitude? I may sometimes fly in my underpants but never in socks!

[LeCuvier]

just socks, or bare feet in summer. But I agree, would be better if the heel rests were a bit higher, with rounded corners

[dburne]

I am typically barefoot, does not bother me at all.

[javelina1]

I'm barefoot as well, no issue. (being in AZ, we try to keep cool as possible with the desert heat). :-)

[Rogue Trooper]

Are you guys using the pedals with shoes or just with socks on? My heels start to hurt after a while when playing with only socks on. Those heel stands or whatever they are called, should be definitely taller like in Slaw device so you could rest your heels against them. Or i just should be wearing shoes.

 

 

 

Bare feet is what I usually use, 200 odd thousand years of evolution bred us with superb micro grip grooves all over our feet and they seem to enable me with superb control of the foot pedals. No pain felt in my heels, indeed the rear heel stop appears to be a non event for me.

 

 

May I suggest changing the angle of each foot pedal to better suit your seating position, also check that your seating position allows perfect leg length to pedal.... tune your pit for perfection!

Edited October 21, 2017 by Rogue Trooper

[Art-J]

I understand NahkaSukka's issue. The problem arises when you can't change the pedal angle all that much. I've got my MFGs set up pretty steep as well, because I have to sit relatively far from them (long stick extension, stick mounted between legs -> long stick throw -> sitting further from the desk compared to previous, non-extended stick sitting on the desk).

 

Thus I have to keep the pedal angle steep, almost like in real airplane, to operate toe brakes at all, but that naturally makes my feet want to slide off the pedals more - I wouldn't mind the heel stands to be taller indeed. I might try to mod them somehow myself.

[Tvrdi]

These pedals are great the only problem is I think it really misses the combat footrests so we can rest our heels on the flor. I think this design is better for fatigue, more comfortable and more natural (like in real plane). I will definitely buy MFGs and will se what I can do if the combat footrests doesnt produce by then....anywas the MFGs are awesome. BTW im just thinking...Initial footrests could be like they are now but shorter so we can roatete hem upside down and use them as "combat" footrests so the heels are on the floor. In "normal" position they would be just like they are now (with the small bumb on the lower part for heels).

 

An original drawing for "combat" footrests from Milan:

 

 

 

DIY solution

 

 

 

https://a2asimulations.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=62714

 

BTW I have one question for Crosswind owners. I noticed that "tension spring" is located on the left side of the pedals. That doesnt feel strange when using them? I mean spring resistance is equal on booth foots (qually when you push left and right pedal)?

Edited April 9, 2018 by Tvrdi

[Varis]

Got mine recently and have been able to do a few flights now. For some strange reason I end up flying the Kamov all the time now...

 

MFG is quite responsive if you have questions, shipping was a bit slow after payment, I guess don't go ordering at the verge of the holiday shopping season if you're in a hurry :smilewink: Other than that how Milan operates the business seems very professional: there's a date published several weeks in advance for when your bill will arrive if you order today and so on. A little different from some other well known brands of top of the line sim controllers :music_whistling:

 

The sensors seem very precise, and mechanically they're heavy and well built. Pedal movement is extremely smooth with a progressive increase in force at extreme left/right, and there is no centre bump like with the Saiteks (I fly light aircraft and the centre bump found in most controllers (pedals or otherwise) has always felt very unrealistic). It's great to find a controller that's solved this problem.

 

That said, if you like a centre bump, you can swap out the CAMs for a different profile that has one, as well as adjust spring tension to your personal preference (more detail on the website). Pedal force and angles are also adjustable.

 

Pretty much my overall first impression. Quite accurate controller, should still make a re-test against my old twist joystick. Feels surprisingly light when operating! I wanted an accurate feeling so I went with the cam6, haven't tried the new softspring as I think that would be too soft! I want crisp centering so I'm using the inner slot for the spring hook and I cranked the spring out for some 20mm for a bit of more centering force.

 

I got the pedals because there seems to be something in the product philosophy that resonates with me. If you got regular plastic pedals you'd still pay almost a half the price of these - and MFG seems to have many advantages, above all configurability. This is probably lost on most users though as pretty standard settings and about a minute of adjustment made them certainly good enough for me :D But basically you can make them behave exactly how you want in a number of respects. (Even the width can be modified with some limitations, I think in the smaller direction at least. The default seems very good for a person of regular or slightly large size.)

 

In the center there is a bit of vagueness - the feel is like a bit sticky or sucking sensation, quite gradual and it doesn't lock in the exact middle but usually you would be 1% off if you try to carefully center it. This however is eaten by a deadzone of about 4 inside DCS. A more digital center position could be interesting but then again it might feel very abrupt - I can imagine this being a rather difficult aspect to optimize. I wonder if one could make a small careful adjustment with a file - for a perfectionist it might make sense to ask for a double of your favourite cam profile to be shipped with the pedals, as the part is cheap to manufacture and most of the cost is probably in the additional hassle involved.

 

I did little setup for the firmware - basically a 5 minute calibration of the 3 axis and saved that. Already works great and I'll check out the rest of the settings later. The pedal plates and toe springs feel just fine with the default settings.

 

My thoughts so far are a little mixed. The high quality is apparent and obviously the product delivers what it promises. Then again it starts to be the expensive kit in your simming and it feels a good throttle brings more value per buck. (Also these are my first pedals ever so I don't have much comparison point.)

 

If you must have all top of the line kit, go for them. Going to anything even more expensive would be a hard sell, at least for me :D Perhaps skip otherwise... for serious helicopter flying they are obviously a good choice, will make your spinning more accurate and natural. Plus I guess the two toebrakes will yet be useful for something...

Edited December 15, 2018 by Varis