Introducing the new Logitech X56 HOTAS

I once sat next to someone that in all seriousness used the term ‘leveraging levers’ in a meeting. I sort of died a bit inside that day. :slight_smile:

That Logitech Bridge VR keyboards stuff is funky, so yeah, I think they are on the hype words train…

2 Likes

Oh, I know that coast! It’s on Mandelbrot Island.

My Logi G940 is getting long in the tooth, but there doesn’t seem to be any replacement in kind for it.
I got a programmable FFB stick, throttle, and pedals in one set.

Despite severe reservations I made the purchase. After a 2 hour jaunt in X-plane using the twist for a rudder it seems to work nicely. A few little Q^2 issues but nothing worth mentioning yet.

2 Likes

Is there anywhere full specification of the HOTAS? Like what is what, buton, rotary, slider, hat, thumb stick etc.?

If I have time I will write about it after a month or two of use. The logitech website has a function breakdown I believe. All I can say now is that it has a BUNCH of buttons, dials, mini-sticks and POV hats. None of them are really in places I would choose. But I will learn them eventually and make do. My initial complaints are that the throttle is still a little stiff for my taste. Apparently that was a big problem with the previous version. I never touched it so I cannot compare. But I am normally a complainer and this is not a problem for me. So I think they have addressed the issue but maybe fully to everyone’s standards. The thumb dial is smooth in one direction and stiff and a little “crunchy” in the other. With use it seems to be getting better. ALL axes are the most precise of any sticks I have ever used.

1 Like

Whelp, dusting off this thread. I have a simple Logitech Extreme 3D joystick and it’s serviceable enough, but I want a HOTAS of some sort.

I don’t fly a lot, so I don’t need something expensive and extravagant. I’m taking a look at the X56? Anybody have a recent version of it that can render an opinion?

thanks.

First be sure it is the new Logitech X56 and not the Saitek X56. Logitech did update it.

@smokinhole definitely has one ( covered in dust I guess). Plus @Mace recently got one.

I have older X55 and it works quite well. Sensitive stick sensor with very good resolution and no dead-zone.
Enough buttons and switches.

I really like it. I had the X55 years ago and is pretty much the same except they added a mouse stick to the thumb position on the stick and changed the graphics and fixed issues that plagued some.

The throttle is great, a little stiff but eases of each time you use it, and has lots of buttons and rotaries and even a 3 mode selector if you want to programme different modes to switch between. The stick is sensitive and has a little wobble at the centre but adding some deadzone sorts this, it’s accurate in it’s movement and again lots of buttons.

I can recommend it.

1 Like

Best joystick setup I’ve ever owned. No significant issues after 2 years of hard use.

1 Like

I will never do this :slight_smile: it’s great without deadzone especially for helos.

1 Like

Same here. I also don’t do curves. All they do is multiply the suffering to a different area of the stick’s throw. There is a exception; and this is also where the X-56 shines. IL2 Flying Circus lacks Rise of Flight’s excellent joystick properties that are set up plane-by-plan, if the player so wishes. So when flying a plane without trim like the Camel for instance, you have to hold constant forward pressure. The X-56 lets you set up an asymmetrical curve almost on the fly so that you can relax your hand. The real men flying those machines had no such luxury.

1 Like

I remember plane specific settings from ROF, very ‘handy’ :slight_smile:

I would speculate about luxury of real WWI airmen.
I think field mods were very common also at that times.
And would belive that they had many more options in this regard than we have in games.

Is there a chance that Logitech will also sell X56 HOTAS as separate units ? ( for reasonable prices of course :slight_smile: )

I experimented with this also.
This is how I did it on my X55. Two cable ties. It is the softest spring and the ties made it a bit shorter so it feels even softer and with the spring in place it still provides the centering.

2 Likes

You’re a freakin’ genius! Of course you are. All helicopter pilots are geniuses.

:ok_hand: :sunglasses:

I should try this out with my old X55 stick.

I replaced it with the TMWH and haven’t looked back but the reality is that I fly enough helos that the default centering force of the non-extended Warthog is not fit for purpose. It makes it a lot harder to fly with a relaxed cyclic hand.

I use trim a lot, which helps, but it still means that I end up ham-fisting manoeuvres: holding the stick off centre means fighting the centering force, preventing you from making very small corrections…the alternative is trimming and re-centering the stick but that is a bit clunky as well. You kind of have to guess the right trim point and find out after re-centering if you got it right or if you’re still off…not great when you’re trying to stabilise for a rocket run or whatever.

Wonder if an extension for the standard WH base would help. I just really like that grip and I’m hesitant to go back to the plastic feel of the X55.

1 Like

Any smart solutions for the stiff throttle throw?

1 Like

Mine is pretty good. I think I have it full-loose or nearly so. If it’s been awhile I work it fore and aft a few times.

I also had it full-loose from beginning. What I actually did then is that I disassembled the throttle unit and extracted all the tightening mechanism. Because I didnt use it anyway.

Its little better than before but I guess the next step could be cleaning the default vaseline and replacing it with something different.

1 Like