Buy direct from the US in DOLLARS, you will save a fortune and the delivery is very quick

Here are some lists, some wont post to Europe but most will, even with shipping you will save a FORTUNE

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B...86353473&sr=1-3

I am a die hard MSFFB2 guy myself.. and I am happy with my MSFFB2/X-45 combo setup.... but if I had to choose again from scratch Id probably go with the 52 Pro. Why anyone would spend the money for a fully modded Cougar is totally beyond me.. unless of course they just have money to burn. Frankly..... As I said I'd go with the X-52 Pro. If worse comes to worse and you don't like it (You are not a noob simmer so you should be able to give it a 2 or 3 hour run and see if you like the action on it) return it. Just make sure of the return policy before you buy. If not that I'd go with CH.. but spending all that money on a Cougar just seems like a waste.. I mean really. As for the pedals. The Saiteks win hands down. Unless you are kind of small... I prefer the wider stance of the Saiteks and I think they have smoother action.

I had i hotas cougar and considered it a 20lb paper weight, it was descent for games like falcon 4.0 etc, built to last.. i was lucky to sell it back in the day and get 250 for it when they were going for 350+

the x52 does the job but still need good pedals with it. Saitek also has a prob with plugging in 2-3 saitek devices and sometimes screws the profiles which is very annoying for example pluggin them in a different order etc..

but for the price the saiteks are very good, i use a x45 trottle with evo stick. Sisters fiance has the x52. Out of my expierence I think the best joystick manufactor is CH, trottle stick and pedals to be honest. All depends on what you like some are diehard microsoft ffb2 fans I cant stand them went thru 3 of them in 6 months back in the day and got loose pots from the force feedback but others had them for years and say they are fine still. Check on ebay you see hotas cougars for as low as 140-160 and thats with alot of the mods on them.

Been down the Cougar path got all the mods Uber Cougar, Hall pots on the TM pedals the lot, Spent a fortune on the cougar. Great whilst it all lasted but when something breaks there is ZERO support. If you arnt preppared to buy all the mods then dont touch the Cougar. I subsequently went the CH way. All the CH stuff except the pedals are great. Current setup is CH pro throttle, F16 USB stick and Saitek pedals.

I just got the x52 pro a few weeks back,had an original build x52 with the dead zone issue,which finally is just too sloppy to zoom around with anymore.

I find the pro a much tighter stick (double sprung)but i prefer the rotaries on the older version,no dead zone at all and i am having to readjust my flying again.The throttle has a notchy feel at 10 and 90 degrees to simulate breaking the wire or whatever it is called,dont like that at all.More buttons and options for macros and modes but overall sfa difference from the original,i would have been happy if i could have just brought the stick as a seperate unit.

Here is a copy of a recent post I made in the hardware thread.. All costs are in USD.

I currently have

1 ea X-45
1 ea X-52
3 ea CH Fightersticks USB
3 ea CH Pro Throttles USB
3 ea CH Pro Pedals USB
2 ea CH Combatsticks USB
1 ea CH Throttle Quad USB
1 ea CH Fighterstick Gameport
1 ea CH Pro Throttle Gameport
1 ea Thrustmaster Cougar Stick and Throttle (USB of course)
2 ea Thrustmaster Elite Gameport pedals

I USE the three CH USB HOTAS setups on my three main computers... Other than the CH Gameport stuff they are the oldest controllers I have and are still in everyday use.

The X-52 a spare is for guest players that occasionally visit.

The CH Gameport stuff STILL works fine after all these years but is in my attic.. No more Gameports on my machines and Win XP is troublesome to programmable Gameport devices.

The Cougar had several mechanical failures in the first six months of use and has been relegated to a place on my 'hero' wall for decoration. It was a big disappointment to me, it looks cool, works bad, costs a lot.. (Remember I REALLY flew the F-16 in the USAF so the look of this unit was attractive)


One complaint about the CH HOTAS is light control loading, The TM Cougar is opposite.. Hard control loading, more than I personally cared for. The X-52 is just as 'soft' as the CH stuff.. In fact it feels a lot softer and sloppy than the CH USB sticks. It is a good piece of equipment, but I prefer CH. Some people claim the Cougar is more 'realistic', well that is an opinion, but consider that my kid brother (Former USMC F-18 pilot 11 years-current airline captain) and I ( Former USAF F-4 and F-16 pilot 15 years- current airline captain), both went from the TM Cougar to CH Products.

Another interesting fact is I know of at least 14 folks that have gone from the TM Cougar to the CH USB HOTAS, I don't know of ANYONE that have given up CH in favor of the Cougar. I am sure there are a few, but I personally don't know any. It would be interesting to have a poll of how many former TM to CH users there are vs CH to TM...


COSTS: THESE ARE APPROXIMATIONS!

For a full HOTAS

TM Cougar $ 180.00 + GAMEPORT Rudder pedals, if you can find a used set = ?

X-52 with Saitek pedals $110.00 + $120.00 = $230.00

X-52 Pro with Saitek pedals $180.00 + $120.00 = $300.00

CH Fighterstick = $97.00
CH Pro Throttle USB = $100.00
Ch Pro pedals USB = $90.00 TOTAL= $287.00


Depends on what you prefer, Good luck!


_________________________
Vince Putze

SimHQ

Beercamel

Regarding the light stick loading on the CH sticks I have used a simple Rubber band mod that takes all of 5 mins to do. I will post in the Hardware forum with the details.

http://www.simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2277459&page=0#Post2277459

You can go to Go Gamer and get a set of Saitek pedals for $100 and a 52 Pro for $170...

The last good joystick made was the MSFF2. (Still available on ebay but very expensive.)

The Saitek Aviator is a good second choice.

The Cougar throttle is the best by far on the market. Includes great Foxy control software.

Saitek Pro Rudders

CH Pro Throttle and Fighterstick with Saitek Pro Pedals all the way.