200-571 CH Products Fighterstick USB

Flight simulator fans have special requirements of their controllers. In a game with several hundred possible control inputs, you need something with enough buttons at hand, as well as exact, precise inputs along the X, Y and Z axes to control your virtual craft with precision.I've tried many joysticks in my couple of decades worth of flight simming, but this one is the best one I've used. I will heartily recommend this or any other CH Products items to anyone who needs the best possible control. I've used their old analog 2-button Flight Stick, the F-16 Combat Stick (back in the serial port days,) the Flight Sim Yoke, and Pro Pedals. Every single product that says CH on it is guaranteed to provide the most precise, reliable control. This is critical in many flight sims (I'm a big fan of the X-wing series, LOMAC/DCS, and IL-2) where you are aiming a very small pipper at a very small target, while both you and your target are in high relative motion. If you need to aim a 4x4 pixel gunsight at a 2x2 pixel target that is very far away, CH products are the only way to go, as far as I'm concerned. It's the only thing I've used with enough precision and tactile feedback to allow you to fly your virtual craft to its maximum potential.For years, due to my low budget, I was using a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro. It works, sort of, but not for long. It worked fine out of the box for about two months, but with regular use, I think something inside wears out and the inputs become completely random. A slight move of my hand created jumpy, random inputs that make it impossible to aim at small targets. It's fine for big maneuvers, but for precise aim, it's completely useless. That, and the twist-handle yaw axis lends itself to putting unwanted yaw into your pitch and roll maneuvers, as your hand has a tendency to twist the stick as you move it. Also, durability in the Extreme 3D was questionable. Over a few years, I ended up buying three of them. At $30 or so a pop, I figured I'd just save up and spend $100 on the real deal and get a CH Fighterstick. It's what I should have done years ago.It's the best gaming purchase I've made in years. If it's anything like my old F-16 Combat Stick, it will last for years to come. It feels solid, like it's made to last. CH Products is under a parent company that makes customized controllers for industrial applications, so they know how to build things for applications that require precise, exact control. That, and they build things to last. As a side note, my CH F-16 Combat Stick from the mid 1990's still works just fine, regardless of how many hours I've used it and how many times it's been slammed into things. The only reason it fell out of use is because it's an old analog, serial port device that isn't compatible with computers these days.Tactile feedback is great. Unlike the "squishy" and imprecise feel of the Extreme 3D, the Fighterstick has a definite "click" as you pass through the center of the X or Y axis, and you can feel it "break" free of centerline. This is perfect for feeling where you are and making small, fine corrections very near to your flight axis. Resistance pressure is low, but substantial enough to keep you from being sloppy.The buttons are right where they should be and make definite clicks under your fingertips. You get four traditional buttons,three 4-way hats, and an 8-way hat along with a Z-axis roller (usually set as a throttle or elevator trim.) There are also X- and Y-axis centering rollers, but these are holdovers from when these joysticks were analog, serial port affairs that required manual centering. It's best just to calibrate the stick in your computer and leave these alone.If I understand correctly, the stick is modeled after the same molding the F-16 and A-10C use. I figure if the design works in the real planes, it's certainly good enough for me.The only complaint I have is that the button that is defaulted to "Fire Button 2" is somewhat uncomfortable to use frequently. But, that leads to one of the best features of this stick, and CH products in general.This comes with the CH Control Manager. The CM is a *very powerful* tool to set up this and any combination of CH controls however you want. It allows you to leave a button, axis, or any combination thereof in default DirectX input mode, or configure any button to duplicate a keystroke or set of keystrokes as seen by Windows itself. (That is, if you set up Fire Button 2 as a "w" key, if you hit FB2 in Notepad, Windows will type "w" just as if you had used the keyboard. It also works with modifiers, so ALT-C would work as well.) You can also combine controllers, so if you have, say, this stick and the rudder pedals, these can be configured so that Windows sees them as one controller. You can set one of the buttons as a "shift" key, so that every other button has a second function when this is held down. Further, to multiply your capabilities, you can set up the controller to have three modes (as indicated by the LED's on the upper left of the base) for three separate sets of commands (for example, navigation mode, air to air, and air to ground.) Combining this with the "shift" function, and even other controllers like the CH Pro Throttle can yield an insane number of keystrokes all at your fingertips. The biggest trouble would be remembering where you put them all...to this end, you can find empty "kneeboard" templates online. Print one out for each game or profile you have, and you're all set.The CM has a built-in scripting language and tutorial. While the interface looks somewhat dated, the results are amazing. Within about 15 minutes of reading the included Help menus, I had my setup ready to go just how I wanted it. Some people get pretty crazy with this, automating many functions (like automatically retracting speed brakes when you hit full throttle) with scripts. You can set up a button to replace a keystroke or any combination thereof, as well as using the numerical values of the *axes* as an input or trigger for something. If you want to deploy flaps when your speed is set below 20%, you can do that. If you want one key to type Poe's "The Raven" into Windows, you can do that, too. You can save your maps, profiles and scripts into stand-alone files to save or upload for public use, as well as configure an included utility to automatically load one of your profiles upon Windows startup. CH really though of everything here, allowing users to customize their control setup to an amazing degree.If you have ever picked up a flight sim and thought, "Man, this would be fun, but I can't seem to control my airplane," maybe the problem was with your joystick. If you have interest in flight sims, be they historical, contemporary, or space, do yourself a favor and try out either this or any other CH Products flight stick. You'll be amazed at how much better you just got at your simulator.That said, if you're into virtually flying more general aviation types, such as Microsoft Flight Simulator X or similar, you may prefer the Flight Sim Yoke and Quadrant, versus the Fightertick/Pro Throttle combo. The Yoke and Quadrant more accurately model the feel of a jetliner or small aircraft like a Cessna 172. Although they'll both technically work either way, the Fighterstick feels much better for combat simulations and the Yoke for general aviation sims. I tried using the Yoke in LOMAC to fly an A-10, and couldn't keep the thing under control. Just a heads up.Either way, the Pro Pedals are a great match for either yoke or stick. I can't imagine simming without the pedals anymore.Whatever you do, don't waste money on a cheaper flight stick from another manufacturer. It will ruin your simming experience and may well end up malfunctioning soon, anyway. Do yourself and your wallet a favor and save up for a higher-quality flight stick like this one, or any other from the CH Products line. It's completely solid, perfect as far as tactile feedback goes, and amazingly customizable for a simulation experience to fit whatever your style, software and hardware combination may be.

I have owned the CH Products Fighterstick for a little over a month now and I am now ready to compose a full review. I have been a MS Sidewinder force feedback2 user for years. I was very happy with that stick but when I started playing Lock On I decided that it was time to step up to the plate and purchase a real HOTAS system. At first glance the fighterstick appears to be built to last. It is constructed of very heavy gauge plastic and all of the devices seams are sealed properly. It is not flimsy or fragile in appearance or feel.The stick only comes with an instruction sheet. There is no owners Manual or software disk included. The new owner must download the drivers and CH Control Manager software from the CH website. Setup is a very simple operation which involves plugging your stick into it's own USB port and running the drivers software. Setup was completed without a hitch and I did not miss the absent owners Manuel. I then proceeded to use the CH Manager software to configure the stick for the first time. It was at this time that I encountered my first and only problem while using the software. While attempting to configure the Y axis I noticed that the stick's signal would jump from one end of the scale to the other with very little movement from the stick itself. I could not figure out what the problem was on my own so I called CH customer service and they told me to be sure and center the two trim wheels before configuration. Sure enough after I corrected the position of the two wheels, the configuration process was completed without a problem.Next, I ran Lock On in order to put the stick through it's first flight trials. The Fighterstick fits my medium sized hand very well. My only complaint is the fact that button #2 is located very high on the stick and is hard for me to reach without repositioning my hand. I believe this is due to the fact that this stick is based on the design of the F-16 joystick configuration. The problem with this choice of design styles is that the real F-16 stick is mounted between the legs and at about waist height inside the cockpit, where as the CH Fighterstick will be mounted on some ones desktop. This creates an ergonomic problem that the F-16 design was not meant to handle. Beside my issue with button #2, I have experienced no other problems with manipulation of the stick ingame.Stick response and accuracy are very good. I can pull all kinds of high "G" maneuvers, fire all kinds of weapons and deploy my counter measures with a level of speed and accuracy that I have never experienced before. All the buttons work as programmed and the x/y axis is very smooth. Some say that the springs in the stick base are very lite. I don't feel that there is anything unusual or loose concerning the feel of this stick. I am very comfortable with the level of tension in the stick. Keep in mind that I have been working with the Sidewinder up to this point and that this may be the reason why I don't have a problem with the level of tension in the stick.CH Control Manager is a wonderful program that gives you the ability to adjust all of the sticks important settings. It also allows you to create your own personal button program maps which can be loaded or saved for future use. CH Control Manager does not come with a tutorial so you will need to consult with an experienced user in order to fill in the blanks left after you have read the online user guide, as I did. After asking a few questions on an internet user forum I was ready to begin programing the stick for the first time. Once you know how to use it, CH Control Manager is a joy to work with. However it is not as intuitive as I would have liked it to have been.The CH products Fighterstick is considered the top of the line PC flight controller. Unlike Thrustmaster's best stick it doesn't have any outstanding quality control issues. The Fighterstick has an excellent maintenance record and I am confident that it will last me for many years of flight siming fun.Update: I stand corrected on the position of the stick in the real F-16, however I stand by my criticism of the feel of the stick when used in the desktop position. Thanks to the PC cockpit I now use, I no longer experience this problem.