General Question Joystick Models

[elephantium]

Hi everyone,

In another thread, I saw that someone suggested getting a joystick to play Orbiter. Doing a quick search online, I see quite a few models on sale in the $20-$50 range.

My issue is, I'm not really sure how to compare them. Are there any particular models that work especially well for Orbiter (e.g. having extra buttons that can be mapped to prograde autopilot, HUD mode, etc vs. a more simple joystick to replace the pitch-roll-yaw controls).

Thanks in advance!

 

[Arthur Dent]

From personal experience, I can recommend the Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas X with its detachable throttle control. It is more a versatile all-round Joystick that works well in Orbiter and other FlightSims.

I bought it for about 30 Euros ($43) a year ago (I think you get it a bit cheaper, now). So it should be in your price range.

It might not be the best joystick in the market, but IMHO has an excellent price-performance ratio. It's the closest you can get to a X52 without paying a fortune.

 

[blixel]

I also like the Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas X. I ordered one in May of this year (2011) from amazon. I paid $33.95. (No shipping since it was an order over $25.)

I don't have any other joysticks to compare it with, but I knew I didn't want to pay a small fortune for a joystick since I'd only be using it with Orbiter. And even with Orbiter, I'd only be using it for winged takeoff/landing on Earth.

I use autohotkey to map the buttons on the joystick to functions in Orbiter, such as Gear up/down, elevator trim, and so on. Joy2Key is also an option.

In my opinion, the buttons on the Thrustmaster certainly don't have the most intuitive layout for use with Orbiter ... but I suspect that will be a problem regardless which joystick you buy.