I was going to look at getting the X55 again but seems to have been superseded by the X56 and a little more than I want to pay at the moment. Wished I’d have kept my Warthog though…
There has been a few threads on this one in the past few weeks, but I’ll summarize. The biggest downfall is the lack of buttons/hats on the stick. The stick is very precise and feels great, but has only 1 hat, 3 buttons on it. The buttons on the base are nice, but not very helpful for DCS in my opinion. The throttle setup is great.
You can definitely work around the stick button issues, and I highly recommend the HOTAS as a whole.
I just got my X-56 so I can’t really comment too much on it yet, other than the throttle is a bit stiffer than I expected, but the build quality is high. After 9 years with my old G940 it will take a while to both program it and learn it for all my sims.
I considered the T1600 but I felt it worthwhile to spend the extra on the X-56 in the end. Half the cost of the WH anyway…
I liked the X55 but at the moment I think it’s out of my price range to buy again, or X56 I should say now. Is the 56 just a recolour or are there other differences?
couple of minor switch changes … i think the countermeasure thumb button on the stick is now a 4 way and also a change to the mouse stick on the throttle … but not much overall difference
The main diference between X55 and 56 are the ministicks on X56 stick and throtle. They are aimed more for the space sim flyers.
In regards to price vs value the T16k HOTAS has good references.
I own only the T16k stick and it is good piece of hw (at least till the pots serves). Only the central spring is too stif for me. But it can be moded.
I’ve got one and I really, REALLY like mine. Feels far better put together than the HOTAS X and it is miles above the Saitek X-52 in terms of build quality. However, I do have a problem with the programming software. TARGET is easier than CH Products’ software, but not as intuitive as Saitek’s older programming for the X-45. There’s a learning curve, but it pays off because you can do so much to improve the feel of the controls.
It is perfect for the FC-level aircraft in DCS World, but not as good for the more complicated modules like the A-10C, Harrier, and so forth. For those, you’d really want a Warthog.
The T16000M FCS is a simple design and because of that, it is (relatively) bulletproof. Fewer moving parts with Hall sensors = fewer chances of something breaking. And you cannot beat the price. For what you’d pay for the X-56, you get a stick, throttle AND pedals.
I have both stick and throttle. I do have large hands though.
The throttle is very solid, lots of buttons, in the right places (roughly hornet like). The sliding motion is comfortable for small adjustments, and there is a stiffness adjustment. After about a year of use though, I find it best to use on the lighter setting, because the throttle gets a bit sticky otherwise.
The stick spring is not strong: I fly helicopters and this stick is the best you can get for that, apart from home-built extremely light or no springs with a damper setup.
Hall sensors are nice to have, and provide pretty good resolution. (Roughly 16000 values per axis) The stick is large enough to use comfortably with big hands for precision helicopter flying.
Only downsides are:
the buttons on the stick. They are few and the ones who are there, don’t have a great feel.
stickiness of throttle at higher friction setting: this can be mitigated by putting some felt between the sliding mechanism, there are quite some articles and YouTube vids for instruction. Haven’t done it yet though as I am fine with low friction.
PS I use the pink side switch on the throttle as a modifier when flying the M-2000C or other HOTAS aircraft
Thanks for the info I’ll be using it for the study sims mainly the Hornet for which I’ve already seen a profile that looks pretty good. At the moment I have a thrustmaster Hotas X so anything is better really!
I currently do not use the rudder rocker at all, but it should be mappable to a button in the TARGET software. I haven’t looked into it yet, since you have to lift your fingers to use it, you can’t really use buttons number 2,3,4,5 then. I use button 2 as a modifier and would recommend using both button 2 and 3 if you need more
I just have dumped the T.Flight HOTAS X in favor of T16000 FCS and I have to say it’s a LOT precise.
In DCS I had to use non-linear curves for X, Y and rudder axis (I use the rocker on the throttle with both josticks), now with this new joystick I just use the default linear curves and I’m fine with it. Also the HOTAS X had that nasty deadzone in the middle for the throttle which drove me crazy during air refueling, with the new throttle it’s a lot easier - I just reduced the friction - you can do that by putting it in max setting (fully forward) so you can see a screw (in the hole when you flip the throttle upside down) for setting the friction.
For the price tag it’s currently the best hotas you can buy. The downside is the stick has only one 8-way POV hat, but the additional switches on the throttle makes up for it. I mapped most of the HOTAS functions for Hornet without any modifiers. With HOTAS X I had 4 modifier buttons on the throttle.
I’ve not had a chance to use the ministicks on the X56 in DCS yet. They seem like they’ll be easier to use than the hat/stick the G940 had. That was the main hat at the top of the stick and it was hard to do precise pointing motions with your thumb at that extension.
The main difference with these is you can push down on the ministick as a button. While it sounds great in theory, in practice it’s HARD to move that stick to say 2/3 of the way to 2 o’clock and then press down without moving the stick halfway around. The sticks require a good amount of force to activate the switch.
Checked with the CO and she said it was ok to get one so I’ve ordered the T16000M HOTAS. I would have bought it anyway, didn’t need her approv…oh damn, she’s coming…say nothing!
