Saitek X52 Flight Control System

Rating:
Summary: an excellent folow up to the X-45
Review: I probably spend more time than I should with flight sims, mainly IL2-sturmovik but also FS2004 and lomac, and have worked my way through a few sticks.

before I purchased the X-52 I used an X-45 for near a year. I was happy with it and it still worked perfectly, but when saitek released the'52 I knew I wanted one.

I have used it about 2 weeks now, and man is it sweet. the action on all the axis' is silky smooth,and accurate. I believe the "non contact" technology they are advertising has alot to do with this.

All the buttons are laid out in an intuitive manner, and there are more control options than the X-45 has. the blue LEDs are spiffy, and they thought to allow a way to dim or extinguish them if you so desire

The multi function display is nice to have, but essentialy just eye candy unless you need to know what time it is or what profile you are running.

overall it has a quality feel and look the X-45 was maybe lacking a bit.the hand rest on the stick is adjustable for height, which is also a nice touch. its large enough to accomodate large hands, mine arent exactly tiny and I moved the rest up a notch to be comfortable

I also liked the "two stage" trigger as now a slight pull is guns, and pull it fully and its guns+cannons.its the little things that mean so much.

anyway, it comes highly recommended by me, and at least 6 of the people I fly with also have and love their X-52's. you can't go wrong if you are looking for an advanced flightstick/throttle at a fair price.

Rating:
Summary: Incredible value - full featured HOTAS
Review: First, a short plug for AMAZON: They've provided the SAITEK X52 at a terrific Christmas price, delivering it with flawless service!!! Kudos to all of you at Amazon.com! Happy New Year!

I own and operate the Thrustmaster Cougar and now have the Saitek X52 to compare. First of all, they are similar and different but you can't fully appreciate one without knowing the other. This is a terrific opportunity to do a head to head comparison.

The X52 is simply a delightful work of art. It is beautiful sitting on my desk in the dark with it's illuminated buttons, switches and most of all the throttle's blue, backlit LCD. I wouldn't have believed I could own such technology for approximately one Ben Franklin but it's true and I'm in a little bliss over this new, superb flight control system.

THE GOOD X52

There's so much to say about this pair of controllers and almost all of it is positive. The aesthetics are unpretentiously modern star wars motif. The textured black on silver puts one to mind of a new stereo outfit. The little rubber inset grippers on the rotaries, dials and POVs are very appealing but the configurable intensity blue LEDs and LCD are so peerless that a smile is invoked every time I look the controls over. You can move the hand rest for the flight stick to five positions. This should accommodate a range of large to small hands nicely as the POVs, buttons and mode switch are put in effortless reach of thumb, index and pinky fingers. The stick has a short rotational throw with "relatively" strong spring resistance for rudder control. This is one 3D stick that doesn't seem to produce an affect on the X and Y axes when the rudder twist is engaged. There's a lock at the base of the stick to eliminate the rudder function but isn't especially necessary if you don't wish to use the stick's rudder feature. It really doesn't seem to interfere at any time.

The SST programming software can be optionally installed. In other words, you can keep things bare bone simple by allowing the buttons to be assigned to basic tasks within a game. You lose a great deal of potential function by not programming the X52 but you will still have a very powerful controller even in its most basic form. The SST isn't exactly intuitive but with a few hours of reading the installed Profile Editor's manual, under the HELP tab, and some experimentation, you will be amazed and pleased by a powerful and well thought out programming interface. You can really open up the interface by switching from a 3D display to a tabled "Data View". It seems as though there is no limit to the variation and combination of switch settings with 3 Modes and six base toggle positions. Like the Cougar, you can continue to multiply function by invoking the pinky button while selecting what a button, slider or POV will do. You have a micro stick on the throttle that will most likely be used as a mouse control. There's a hat on the throttle as well as a thumbwheel that operates very much like the thumbwheel mouse button combination on modern pc mice. The fore mentioned Slider and Thumbwheel are not on the Cougar's throttle but the X52 lacks the dogfight and Speed Brake switches. All else has comparable counter parts. The Cougar and X52 flight sticks are also close in features. The X52 lacks two POVs but has a 3 position rotary and six toggles on the base. The flip-up cover for the primary pickle button on the X52 stick is an Easter egg to me. Some might consider it a nuisance or waste but it can be left in the up position and poses no restrictions for critics. I find it an appealing item that shows a playful and generous attitude on the part of Saitek's engineering team. Another nice item is the small green power LEDs on the X52 controls. Again, it may be unnecessary but why not? There's a space for them and if you should choose to turn the LEDs and LCD backlighting to the off option, you'll still know your units are powered up.

THE BAD X52

Hardly worth mentioning when considering the incredible price! The units are very light weight; less than a pound for the throttle and perhaps a little more than that for the stick. Unless fastened down or minimum resistance is set for the throttle, you will be tipping and sliding it around when throwing the handle forward or back. I haven't wanted / bothered to install the supplied suction cups so that may be the way to go for many users. Suction cups aren't for me though. The action of the flight stick's axes is so light that you will require some practice getting used to a feather touch for control. It can be readily done but may not be immediately what you want for confidence inducing sensory resistance. I am happy with the action now but initially it didn't feel right. You might wish the flight stick handle to sit an inch lower as the zero contact design seems to have elevated the stick a bit more than it would be otherwise. If you can mount the stick a little lower than desk top level you might like the stick height a little bit more. Also, there is no solid detent for the idle and afterburner on the throttle. The resistance at least doubles when these boundaries are engaged and I do know that I have reached them but the familiar snick into a detent is what I'm used to and thus it doesn't feel quite right at this stage of my introduction to the X52. It's not a disaster without the detents and the lack of them may prove to be an absent point of wear that won't become an issue one day.

The SST programmer interface lacks the availability of a REMark statement but a comment can be made to momentarily appear on the throttle's LCD when a button press or macro is engaged. This quieted that lacking REMark complaint to a barely audible murmur from me. To see a short definition of a key press on the LCD adds to a sense of total technology coolery.

The multi language hardcopy manual looks loaded and promising but once opened you will be disappointed in the 30 pages of pertinent information that in part is a warrantee disclaimer and Saitek contact information. The manual that gets installed with the SST software doesn't mention the X52 at all but refers to the X36 and X45. One reference to setting milisecond timing for keypresses isn't correct with this version of the SST. There's still enough help available to understand the X52 adequately and it's a good guess that an update help system is in the making. By contrast the Cougar has an excellent hardcopy manual but in just a few hours I feel I know as much about the X52 as I do of the Cougar after two years of intermittent exposure. Sometimes less can be more.

The SST programming software lacks a literal KEYTEST applet, as well as many other FOXY like application and programming aids. Any of the FOXY like applets would be a terrific addition to an otherwise great programming interface. I might add that within the X52's control panel is a TEST tab. When testing each button, POV, mode switch and rotary, there's has been an ever so slight jittering in one or the other rotaries. Right now, I'm seeing nothing so I won't know how that will fair in the future but for now, it is not a problem to me and at present, doesn't even exist.

THE FINAL CONSENSUS

Quality, at least in part, is in the eye of the beholder. The Saitek X52 is light weight plastic. The Thrustmaster is heavy duty aluminum. You can never compare the two on a price level. The Cougar's FOXY programming language interface with all it's tutorials, keytest applications and interactive graphical interface is without comparison. The X52 simply is no match for these two features. But the Cougar is more than twice the price and doesn't have the LEDs and informational mode LCD with three time zones, button engagement information and timer. But, in the end neither really performs any greater or less than the other. One is a Honda and the other is a Hummer. They're both terrific and will get you reliably to your destination. I wouldn't want to choose between them and I'd rather own them both if possible. If you want the most expensive and robust feel that performs extensively and well, then you need the Cougar. If want the coolest looking, feature laden outfit available, go for the X52. I love the X52. I won't know how it will work in two years like I know of the Cougar but for the moment, I'm a coon in a cabbage patch.

Rating:
Summary: Best joystick I have ever owned
Review: The last joystick I have own was the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro. That thing seems like nothing compared to this. The picture you see at Amazon makes it seem like it is very small, but it is a pretty good size.
I don't know what this jotsick could be without the throttle. It brings out the full effect of the X52. The stick is what makes it thought. It takes awhile to get used to because it is so easy to turn. When I saw all the the fire buttons and everything on this I said to myself "Man, I need Combat Flight Simulator for this thing".
There is a button on the throttle that acts like your mouse. When you are in the middle of a flight of you can use that button on your throttle, instead of taking your hand of of the joystick to use it. I thought it was a really handy feature. I can't even start to name everything you can do with this.
The way it looks really boosts the rating. When I plugged it in the my 2.0 USB port, and I looked at it, basically everything was glowing blue. It was the coolest thing I have ever seen! It might seem funny for me being a pilot getting a joystick because it looks cool, but you have to give it some credit for that.
I was at Best Buy one day and I saw the X45. I pulled the throttle back on it, and it wouldnt stay in place. I went to Saitek's website and I noticed that they had a different model, the X52. I saw the features and I saw that this one had suction cups! So none of you have to worry about the problem the X45 had.
I hope my review was helpful and I would highly recommend this product, "Saitek X52"


Rating:
Summary: Outstanding controls / Good looks!
Review: Though it took a long time to arrive (ordered 12/3, arrived 1/8) it was worth the wait.

Great controls - x/y axis, twist function, weapons toggle, thrust control and digital display. I will reserve it for the more intense combat flight simulations UMI Lock-on.

Excellent job Saitek!!!


Rating:
Summary: Great idea, bad implementation
Review: To be honest, I really like my x52 and plan to keep using it. However it could be so much better because of a few problems.

Problem #1, can't recalibrate. You'ld think some program that came with the 52 would be able to recalibrate the joystick, but no, it requires editing registry settings in regedit. Fine for a guy that knows computers but a bit advanced for others.

Problem #2, a lot of people are experiancing a huge dead-zone that is apparantly a hardware, not a software issue. Please read the forums at saitek for this issue at
saitekforum.com/showthread.php?t=6176

Problem #3, the mouse wheel does not work. See this thread at the saitek forums for more info.
saitekforum.com/showthread.php?t=6264

Possible problem #1, the stick is HUGE, and this size gets some getting used to. It feels like you have to throw the stick back and forth because it is so tall

Possible problem #2, the response curve for the joystick is different than for other joysticks. I've heard that the curve is linear instead of logarithmic. I don't know if this is true, but you have to adjust your in-game settings in order to get this stick to feel like others (In Pacific-Fighters, which is what I play, this means sliding all the sliders for the joystick responses way up). Furthermore, there is no Saitek utility to edit this response curve, if there isn't an in-game joystick response option page in your favorite game, you're stuck with what you're given here.

There are other problems posted by users at the Saitek forums, but I have not experianced them personally. My recomendation is to read through the forums and see if you can handle the risk involved in getting the stick.

My subjective conclusion: great idea and design, but it lacks quality assurance.