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...rather than replace it with another one, or ask what the options were, I just said to heck with it....I'm not flying anymore!

Well actually that lasted about half a day. But I did come up with a plan.....

Rather than buy another joystick I bought Mrs. Stoopy a ring for Valentine's day.

Well actually she wanted it and it was the weekend before Valentine's day. But I did come up with a plan.....

I milked it and said it shoudl be good enough to serve as another wedding band and that I'd put it on her finger on V-day. Well that worked.

Because, I mentioned....on the way home.....well, that dang joystick problem. And so she asks what I'd want to replace it with.

It was kinda like the scene in "A Christmas Story" at the dinner table when little Ralphie is asked what he wants for Christmas and he blurts out "I want an official Red Ryder carbine action two-hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock".....yeah I want a CH Products stick like the one I used to have but also rudder pedals to go with it and a throttle".

So the plan worked....she said well go ahead and order it then.....which I did and it too, was all here by Valentines Day....just in time for when I got back from the airport.

So following the short ring-ceremony and other goings-on accustomed to the day of celebration, I went to hook it all up. Since each device needs a USB port and I only had a few to spare, and CH recommends an internal PCI USB card rather than a hub for reliable power to the devices, I snagged a cheapo SIIG PC USB card at an electronics store while I was in Texas. So I did have to crack the case open and install the card, but it's a good unit (Windows recognized it immediately, no drivers needed) so seems a good way to go. Has 4 USB ports on the back plus one internal, and the more the merrier!

The stick itself totally lives up to my previous CH experience (the old stick never died, it was just a game-port 15 pin connector and not USB, and so isn't suported anymore). It's big, and not the prettiest thing, but it's what's inside that counts and it has a HUGE amount of travel and very precise feel. The return springs aren't stiff and actually feel weak so that you wonder if the stick will return to center by itself when you push it over to the side or pull back and let go.

But it all adds up to a "light touch" precision feel and the feeling of actually FLYING now is amazing. reminds me of the last flight I had in a single-engine plane, you don't really move the stick as much as you just apply gentle pressure. This feels the same way.

The throttle is very smooth as well and has tons of buttons and hat switches, even a mini-joystick built into it (I guess so you can fly a virtual R/C model in formation with your virtual aircraft or something??).

Anyway to make a long story short, the precision and solid feel are really worth it - and no setup issues, FS9, FSX and IL2-1946 all recognized this stuff right off the bat, I haven't used the CH COntrol Manager software yet but if I do then apparently there's 176 switch uses that can be defined (!!) And tho it weren't exactly cheap to get it all at once, the reviews are still raving about CH durability so it shoudl last years and years.

Anyway, just in case anyone wants to know and needs a recommendation, yup I'm ecstatic with the setup and highly recommend it!

The obligatory pix.....the hardware, and some flying stuff....



A dramatic moment as The Killer Stik makes it's first appearance to the world.....



Everyting "naked" and out-of-the-box.....



..and all stuffed in place, as well as can be, on (and under) the 'puter desk....



Precision with the pedals, throttle and stick is GREAT. Here's a sequence of the checkout flight, doing a "nose-around" an airport beacon tower....hadn't even had time to get used to the stick yet, and no problem!









Even started the dang Slingload Tutorial mission in FSX and was able to snag the pallette and get it on the truck in record time.....unfortunately the Humvee got away from me becuase I let it get swinging too much n the way to the freighter and the cable broke......I take the blame for being excited and impatient....




...and thanks to the fine control of the rudder pedals, setting the Deke down on the exact middle of the runway so the tailwheel comes right down on the centerline, is no problemo!



Anyway, highly recommended!

You really have a way to hit the soft spot with the misses ain't ya Stoop !

Well Congratulation with your new acquisitions and may I wish that they wil serve you well for a very long time


fled

Wow...I can just imagine the smells of that new gaming hardware when you first open the box. Brings tears to my eyes, Congradulations!

I notice you also use the top of your scanner for 'temporary' filing.

Ahhh........ the trick of bowing down to the higher power's wishes before 'mentioning' a need has always worked for me too..lol

Wonderful addition to your set up Stoopy!! There's nothing like having a quality product to make your life more enjoyable... Congrats!!

In response to Hammer's question in the other thread....

- 401RCAF_Hammer

-S-

Hey Stoopy..I was thinking of going to the CH Joystick, does it feel like the Logitek Extreme Pro.?..in the sence of stick tension. I dont like sticks that have a lot of freeplay as in the Sataik. Do you have to return the stick to center after a bank or can you just ease off and let the stick tension return to center. How about freeplay..eg null zone, is it small and can you set it..? I do all my flying on IL-2 1946 so I am looking for a fast stick combo. Picked up that Saytek monster, was the best throttle I have ever seen, but the stick sucks...way too much freeplay and the centering springs are a joke..I gave it to a friend for his kid. Makes me wonder why a company would produce such a great throttle and such a lousy stick..?

Hammer

Little more info on the stick itself and the nature & feel of it:

The throw travel is quite large - 4 inches from center to the extreme for a full 8 inches from side to side (don't use it next to your monitor or you'll bash your knuckles in the heat of combat).....and during the whoel amount of travel, the input is very precise and smooth, it's not "steppy" in any way whatsoever:




As you can infer in the second pic above, spring forces are very light, there's a few ounces of pressure applied from the tip of my pinky is all. That's not to say it won't center itself...it most assuredly will...but if you let go it will come up imemdiately, overshoot a but, and rock back and forth a few times as it centers, like a pendulum with a light centering spring attached...this is due to the large mass of the stick itself since the size and number of buttons make it fairly weighty.

Frankly I very much prefer this since it's so much like the stick forces in the real T-6 Texan I flew in a year and a half ago, it's amazing. You flew the plane my just applying fingertip pressure to the stick...no ham-handed grab-and-yank stuff. This is the same thing....in IL2 fighter aircraft, or bush flying in the wilderness, you get that "responsive yet somewhat loose" feel that's awesome. Hand-flying the plane feels just like it sounds...hand flying!

To be honest if the spring fdorces were tighter (and you can do this, CH will provide the springs and I opened up my last one to alter them) I wouldn't be as happy....but to each their own.

The stick comes with some impressive driver and setup software for customizing the dead zone and responsiveness as well. Without altering the setup, I've noticed that in IL2 I get some very slight aileron inout one way or the other depending on which way I release the stick to center and can't quite leave the SBD Dauntless in hands-off level flight because it isnt' quite 'dead' on the middle of the roll axis....normally I just adapt to the hardware but I'm going to try the below changes (see X and Y options in the second pic) and see if this cures it...I'm sure it will actually, as the options to configure and tweak this are pretty wide open.

The CH control manager also has some wicked button-mapping options that I haven't explored yet simply becuase I'm having too much fun flying right now....

I know y'all are probably tired of hearing about it but I thought this was worth sharing and it closes the loop on any questions too:

There's kind of a subset in the community that are CH fanatics....and the company reps and engineers are actively involved in community support.....kinda neat to see, and the forum (if you ever have questions or need setup/mapping suggestions) is here:

www.ch-hangar.com/forum/

Some really interesting posts, testimonials, and even modifications of their equipment (such as the "Franken Potato" which must be seen to be believed I think).. Kinda neat to know about......you don't see this kind of brand loyalty and direct involvement with the community very often.....another thing that really sets 'em apart I think.

You're quickly giving me the bug to update my 'stuff' ... lol

Well, had to let some other sucker...eeh hmmm, I mean Boss go first.

Ordered the Fighter Stick and I'm loving it. Very smooth and precise. I've had CH Pedals for about 3 years now and of course have loved using them, a must for helo flying. Now having both the stick and pedals is awesome. The control manager/center software allows me to map the joystick and pedals as 1 device so I can finally fly my "Search and Rescue: Vietnam Medevac". Wished I would have spent the extra money and got one instead of my previous Logitech.

I highly recomend it to anyone looking to get a new joystick and shop around. I got mine for $108 out the door through ANTOnline.com.