Ok. Flash back to 2006.
Along with Flight Simulator 2004 I got this Logitech Attack 3 for $19.99. It was the cheapest stick I could find. This stick INTRODUCED me to flight simming. It's spring tension was ideal, it felt solid, came with a little throttle wheel and plenty of buttons.
Up until 2012 I have been using this stick as my primary. Here's where it gets stuffty.
Fast foward to 2008. I ask my parents for the Saitek Pro Flight Yoke System (I wanted to fly Cessnas and stuff, and the yoke looked realistic). My parents couldn't afford the pricy $250 so they bought me this abomination:
The Saitek Aviator, stylized by Saitek as the "AVI8OR". It looked promising from the box I opened seeing as it had a starter switch, a twist system for the rudder, a bigger trigger and two semi-large throttle levers.
Upon plugging it in and flying around I was immediately dissapointed. The stick was sloppy, it was hard to fly with and felt plasticky and cheap. The feet it stood on had such a short base to them so when I banked hard the stick would lift off my desk.
The only reason I kept it was because of the rudder control. My Logi Attack 3 didn't have that, so I had both plugged in but disabled everything on the Aviator except it's twist function. I needed some way to control the rudder.
Ok. More bad incoming. Fast forward to 2012.
My Attack 3 decides to quit. My PC no longer recognizes it and I'm heartbroken and joystick-less (Oh trust me, the Aviator died far before this. It basically snapped in half.). I'm once again in the market for a joystick, so I look to the appeal of this:
The Saitek X52 HOTAS system. It looked interesting as it had a separate one-handed throttle (like an F-16 or what have you), a twist throttle you could lock, and plenty of buttons on the top of the stick.
I had a little money from birthdays and inheritance, and this thing costed almost $150 so I said forget it and jumped on. Little did I know I would be so utterly disappointed again.
The whole entire thing was made of the cheapest possible plastic Saitek could find. It didn't clamp to the desk and because the tension on the throttle was so strong, trying to throttle up would result in me throwing my fist, and the throttle, into my computer monitor.
The stick was literally identical to the oh-so-horrid Aviator. It had the same spring, it felt terrible to fly, there was an unfathomable deadzone in the aileron/elevator axis, and this time even the rudder twist sucked.
However this time I was smarter and decided to return it from where I bought it. However, the place I bought it from didn't accept refunds.
I resorted to selling it for $120 on eBay, losing an extra $20 as punishment for my mistake.
Once again though, I needed a joystick. Badly. So I thought forget Saitek, I'm getting another Attack 3 (or something logitech made). I go to the nearest Best Buy and find this little guy:
It's the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro, and would you look at that - It has a twist rudder! AND IT'S $22.99!! How could you go wrong?!
No, this is not the part where I say it's stuff and horrible. This is the part where I say it's everything I've ever dreamed of.
It felt BETTER than the Attack 3. It feels amazingly smooth and solid, I can throw my aircraft around, be it a Boeing 747 or an F/A-18 hornet. The twist function is fantastic and even the throttle has a big thumb lever on it! I couldn't have been happier and I still love this stick to this day.
Now one last mistake.
Fast forward to today. September 4th, 2013.
I'm employed, have been for months. I'm almost 20 years old working $11.50 an hour. I've got a nice income, so I've gone a little haywire with my PC setup when it comes to flight simulator X.
I'm still loving my little Extreme 3D pro. But, I have $1840 in my bank account and want to try one more thing.
I'm gonna buy that Saitek Pro Flight system. What could possibly go wrong?
As it turns out, everything. Again.
The stick is made purely of cheap, rattly plastic - EXCEPT for the yoke shaft, which is stainless steel. This is bad, very bad, because the plastic bushings that hold it in place are, well, plastic. Which means no lubrication allowed or you'll corrode the plastic to bits.
The throttle is advertised to be pretty big in that photo but I warn you it really isn't. It's loving tiny and the throttle handles feel like stuff. The clamp system on the whole configuration feels like it's going to snap at any moment too.
My biggest problem is the yoke's pitch axis (in and out). I cannot use the yoke at all without it getting stuck at some spots and then suddenly jerking forward. It's almost like the yoke gets stuck in place. This means if I try to pull up or push the plane down, the yoke gets stuck in some areas and I end up either stalling or nose-diving and spiralling out of control. It's horrable, it's noisy as forget and squeaks like crazy.
This was the biggest disappointment of all because I look back 7 years and remember how badly I wanted it and how I've wanted it ever since. This yoke turned out to be total garbage like the rest of Saitek's joysticks and I feel I have seriously learned my lesson about them. Luckly I can refund this yoke for full price from Best Buy and never look back.
Here's the scary thing though - if you look online people eat this stuff up. People ADORE the X52, the Pro Flight Yoke System, and the Aviator like crazy. Further googling reveals that so many people complain about the same issues I just listed but the reviews on websites say that these products fell from heaven itself. My only conclusion here is that Saitek's representatives have personally gone out and written the best reviews about the products when they really are all kinds of bad.
SO,
TL;DR, Stay the forget away from Saitek products, mainly their flight joysticks. Go for Logitech, save your money, time and anger. Even CH products are presumably better. Thrustmaster is also fantastic, if you have the money their Warthog HOTAS system is loving amazing.In the world of budget, however, the Attack 3 is still being sold for $15 on Amazon and in many stores.
So if you feel like going and getting a copy of X-Plane or Flight Simulator, or maybe you want to fly better in Battlefield 3 or War Thunder, anything that involves flying - grab an Attack 3, or spend an extra $5 and grab the Extreme 3D Pro. Hell, if you want force feedback too, the Logitech Force 3D Pro is the same as the Extreme 3D but with Force Feedback. Mind you it's $99, but still cheaper than the X52 and the PFYS.
One more thing before I go pack up this yoke for refunding: The Attack 3 I bought years back isn't dead. Turns out I just had a faulty USB port. This thing still works wonders.
